ATS Score

-

 

What is an ATS?

An Applicant Tracking System is a software tool implemented by employers and recruiters as part of the hiring process. It automatically sifts, ranks, and sorts resume documents according to predefined, criteria set by the recruitment team. Originally meant to accommodate the overwhelming volume of applications on every job posting, sophisticated ATS systems are currently devised to help companies quickly source the right candidates.


Why An ATS Score Matters

Usually, when you send a resume, it doesn't go directly to the recruiter's desk. It first passes through an ATS. The systems will evaluate resumes based on keyword matches, relevant skills, experience levels, and other factors that are aligned with the job description. It will produce an ATS score, showing how likely your resume will pass through to a human reviewer. A high ATS score enhances your prospects of advancement to the next level in the selection process.


Major Influencers of an ATS Score

Here are a few major influencers of an ATS score:

Keyword Relevance: Most of the marks an applicant's resume will get at the hiring end are scored through an ATS because of keywords they used to write it up. This is determined primarily through keyword usage within your resume based off of a job post, the term found to include terms such as "project management experience." When the keywords are identical matches for words or their variants from this term used exactly within that same example with the use of synonyms.

Job Title: This is another area that ATS may try to match titles similar to the applied one. Including specific job titles or relevant ones in previous work experiences would increase the scoring.

Skills Match: Most job ads list required or preferred skills. Make sure those skills appear in your resume. When a job description talks of "data analysis" and "proficiency in Excel," make sure that both phrases appear somewhere in your resume if they really match what you can do.

Experience and Measurable Outcomes: The ATS systems can find measurable outcomes, such as "boosted sales by 30%. Such outcomes make the resumes more attractive to the hiring managers and improve the ATS ratings.

Action Verbs: Using action verbs like "led," "initiated," and "improved" at the beginning of bullet points makes the resume easier to read and indicates that one is results-driven, which most of the ATS systems often look for.

Education and Credentials: Relevant degrees, relevant certifications or even the attended institution - if required in a job ad - are taken into account by ATSs. Such recognized certifications or industry-oriented education are likely to earn more from the ATS itself.

Use traditional section headers such as "Experience," "Skills," "Education," and "Certifications." ATS systems are programmed to recognize these traditional terms, so avoiding creative headers (such as "Where I've Worked" instead of "Experience") helps ensure that all sections are identified and processed correctly.


Formatting Best Practices to Improve ATS Compatibility

To maximize your resume's compatibility with an ATS and enhance your score, consider the following formatting best practices:

Simple Design: Have a simple, clear layout without ornate fonts and designs. ATS might not read complex designs, images, and symbols. Use standard fonts like Arial or Times New Roman.

Do not use Columns and Tables: Many ATS systems cannot correctly interpret columns and tables. The information can get lost this way. One column is safest and ensures all text is read in the proper order.

File Format: Please use the file format for which the posting requires it - typically PDF or DOCX. Some ATS systems don't allow PDFs and other do. So just opt for DOCX in case you don't know what version is it.

Avoid the use of Graphics: This would include logos, images, or icons. These confuse the ATS. Subsequently, your score might drop since the system reads the graphics as white spaces or dead space.

Use Bullet Points: When listing responsibilities or accomplishments, use bullet points and not paragraphs. Bullet points are easier for the ATS system to process and better for recruiters to read as well.


Tips on How to Tailor Your Resume to Specific Job Descriptions

One of the best strategies to increase your ATS score is to tailor your resume for each job you applied for. Here's how:

Extract Keywords: Read the job description carefully and write down as many keywords as possible. Most often, the required skill or tool or qualification to be used is highlighted on that job description.

Use Exact Wording : If the job description puts down "project management", then use that in the resume. Sometimes synonyms get recognized, but if they match exactly, the scoring goes higher.

Mirror Job Titles: If you have had a similar role but in a different title, then try to match the job title listed in the description. For example, if you were a "Marketing Specialist," and the job is a "Marketing Coordinator," you could subtly integrate the job title into your experience or skills sections.

Show Relevant Experience: Highlight experience that is relevant to the job. You may take a short summary or pull out the most relevant ones under your "Experience" section to make it even more relevant to the ATS.


Tools to Analyze Your ATS Score and Enhance Resume Compliancy

You may use some tools for estimating and enhancing the resume ATS score, with valuable hints on which parts are lacking. Here are a few of the best tools that can be used.

Jobscan: This is one of the most frequently used tools when checking the ATS compatibility of any job description. You just copy your resume and the job description into Jobscan, and then you can get the match rate in terms of keyword alignment, formatting, etc. Even provides detailed recommendations on improvement.

ResyMatch.io: Cultivated Culture Free from, user-friendly. The tool analyzes the keywords, skills, and formatting of your resume. ResyMatch.io gives you feedback on how well your resume aligns with the job description and suggests ways for improvement.

TopResume: This platform gives free reviews of your resume. While not specifically designed to cater to ATS compatibility, it still provides feedback about formatting and readability, thereby indirectly helping to improve your resume's ATS compatibility. For further detailed analysis, TopResume offers paid services as well.

Zety Resume Builder: Zety also offers ATS-friendly templates but includes a keyword checker, which helps you include all relevant terms. This is best suited for people beginning with nothing and want to build an ATS-friendly resume.

SkillSyncer: It compares your resume with the job description and then tells you the keyword matches and the missing skills with a match score, thereby helping you understand where exactly you need to improve on your resume.


Additional Best Practices for Maximizing Your ATS Score

Use synonyms and the thesaurus: some of the more advanced ATS platforms are now designed to pick up on synonyms, but generally try to use exact words as often as possible. However, where you have space to do so, vary them. Use "customer service" and "client support," for example.

Focus on Hard Skills: It is more about a bias towards hard skills. So, it prefers one more than soft skills, of which the former is way harder to quantify. One like "data analysis, and Python programming" more preferred than general traits or quality such as "a good team player."

Avpoid Acronyms, Unless Known: Acronym with the full term. Thus Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If it's listed with the job description it goes through the ATS identification,.

Keep it Short: Well, yeah, adding in the appropriate keywords is a positive thing, but don't keyword stuff. Let's remember what is most important-the abilities and experience the candidate must have.


What is a Good ATS Score?

Generally, a minimum score of 80% using an ATS is good enough for advancing to further levels in the recruitment process. Being in that range shows that your resume closely matches the specifications needed for a job; as such, you'll greatly increase your chances of receiving attention from a recruiter. High scores with ATS have nothing to do with passing on the human eye, especially about keyword optimization against making sure that your resume would pass for readability.


Conclusion

Optimizing your resume for ATS allows you to reach human reviewers. While this could be very complex, tools like Jobscan, ResyMatch.io, and Zety help fine-tune one's resume. Time spent tailoring the application and high ATS scores ensure greater success in job searching.

Remember, in building a resume, all this tells a compelling story and demonstrates qualifications, skills, and achievements in a style which appeals both to your computer-based ATS software program and human readers. So with a good ATS score plus careful customization, this leaves you standing out in competition over any job market you look to enter.


Why is ATS score done?

To identify resumes that closely matches the particular job requirements and needs.


How To Clear ATS Score? 

Step 1: Pick the right resume format.

Step 2: Tailor your resume with  keywords and phrases. (Avoid Acronyms Eg: BBA, BCA, MBA)

Step 3: Label resume sections clearly.

Step 4: Avoid headers, columns, tables and graphics.


Goal of ATS Score?

It helps companies in organizing applicants for recruitment and hiring needs.


Can ATS read PDF File?

Yes, but sometime ATS misses PDF files use Word file if you have the option to upload your resume in word file. 


How do I know if a job is using ATS?

If you are applying online.  Example: Indeed, LinkedIn have their own built-in


ATS Score

80% 

Your resume is submitted to a database and may be reviewed in the future if it obtains a score of below 80%. A resume that receives 20% or less is usually rejected.


How to Check your ATS Score Online?

Online Websites - Login your Gmail account

1. http://skillsyncer.com/

2. https://www.jobscan.co/

3. https://resumeworded.com/score

4. https://www.myperfectresume.com/


Online Resume Generator - You can use this to generate your resume and download your resume for free.

1. https://app.enhancv.com/

2. https://www.myperfectresume.com/


Word Cloud Generator 

https://monkeylearn.com/word-cloud


User Friendly CV (websites) - Both Paid and Free Version are given choose according to your preference: 

Resume.io (Free)

Resumecoach.com

Resumeworded.com

Wozber.com

Skillsroad.com

Hypersnap.com

Overleaf.com (Free)

Novoresume.com (2 free templates)

Enhance CV.com (Free)

My perfect resume.com (Free)






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Dissertation Upon Roasted Pigs by Charles Lamb

-
                                                            A Dissertation Upon Roasted Pigs Charles Lamb  Author Information Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian.  He is famous for his essays published in Essays of Elia.  He is related to the Romantic movement, and he is also a great friend of notable writers like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.  His writing has wit, humor, and nostalgia along with whimsy.  He was a clerk in the East India Company for decades and wrote in his free time.  His writing, especially his essays, is still widely enjoyed for their wit and understanding of people. Gist of the Essay: A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig is a  satirical  essay that  traces  the  history  of roasting p...
Read more

Four Kinds of Meaning - I.A. Richards

-
'FOUR KINDS OF MEANING' I.A. Richards Those who trust books forget that little sums constitute one bigger group. They do not consider whether little sums are properly constituted or not. Atlast, they find the error clearly. They believe the little sums   and do not find a clear way to the understanding of the book. They spend time in fluttering over their books as birds do while they (birds) enter through the chimney. They are finding themselves enclosed in a chamber. They flutter at the reflection of light on a glass window. They do not have the knowledge to understand through which   way they came into the chamber. - Leviathan After so much of documentation, the readers would be in a mood to welcome an attempt to point at some morals and some guiding principles with the help of which the complicated and irregular ways followed by them may   become less confusing. Otherwise, we have to admit the defeat in the principle- ' as many men, so many opinions ' as the standard...
Read more

Creative Writers and Day Dreamers by Sigmund Fraud

-
Creative Writers and Day Dreamers  Sigmund Freud Introduction Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, discussed in his essay, Creative Writers and Day Dreamers, the link between creative writing and daydreaming. He studied how the writer draws on his unconscious mind, just like a daydreamer, to build imaginary worlds. Freud argued that both acts—writing and daydreaming—are a means of fulfilling deep-seated psychological needs. This essay, in itself, presents a vivid insight into the creative process and motivations for storytelling. It was through the study of the mental processes involved in creativity that Freud sought to bridge the gap between psychology and literature. The Association Between Writers and Daydreamers Freud postulated that creative writers and daydreamers have a psychological similarity. The two indulge in fantasy work as a way of evading the world and exhibiting suppressed desires. He compared fiction writing to playing with toys in the case of a c...
Read more