Here’s why you get multiple auto-rejects when applying to jobs online

If you have applied to hundreds of jobs online with 0 responses, chances are your resume is not Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly. Here’s what that means and what you need to do to pull the odds in your favor.

Most companies receive thousands of applications online for their openings, and it is not possible for recruiters to go through every single resume. Hence they have an ATS in place. An ATS parses through every resume, gives a % value depending on how well the resume matches the job description, and then ranks it in a table. The recruiter then goes through the top few resumes in the table.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

The ATS also auto rejects several resumes, the majority of the candidates get a rejection email this way. Here’s how you can ensure you don’t get that auto-rejection and an actual human goes through your resume:

1. Format: Your resume should be parsable. If you have a funky format/template, chances are ATS messes it while parsing and you get rejected. To find out if your resume format is good, google “Free ATS checker” and use any of the tools available.
2. Keywords: Tweak your resume before applying to different jobs by ensuring you have the necessary keywords in your skills section. Let’s say you’re applying to this role: