ATS Black Hole! 5 Simple Ways to Get Visibility to Your Resume.
What is the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Black hole? It's the place where your resume sits after you apply for a job waiting for a Recruiter or Hiring Manager to review it to see if you are qualified for the role. Unfortunately, a large number of resumes will fall into the “Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Black Hole” and never hear back from the company except for receiving a “thanks but no thanks” email.
Here are 5 simple ways you can increase visibility and not fall into the infamous ATS Black Hole!
Make sure you have a professional-looking resume and it is tailored to the job you are applying for. You need to include keywords specific to that job in your resume and show you have the relevant experience that is required.
Do you have any family members, friends, or college alumni that work for the company you are interested in? If you are comfortable, ask them to recommend you to the Hiring Manager or Recruiter working on the role. Companies love referrals and some of their best hires come from referrals. Companies sometimes have a referral bonus program that gives incentives to their employees for a successful hire.
Develop your professional network. Connect with others in the industry and join Alumni Associations, LinkedIn, and Facebook Groups. Studies have shown networking can cut down your job search time by weeks!
Job postings sometimes have the recruiter or human resources representative contact information at the end of the description. They also might say the job title of the person the role will report to. Utilize Linkedin to connect with the job poster and search and connect with the hiring manager. Also, LinkedIn job postings allow the poster to include their profile, and sometimes the hiring manager will share their open opportunity on LinkedIn. Reach out to the job poster, or individual sharing the opportunity on LinkedIn to introduce yourself. It also helps to send them a direct email if can find their email address.
Have you ever utilized social media to engage with a company or person to get a response about a product? The same can be used to connect with them about a job opportunity. One of my favorite tricks to highlight is to reach out to the company through its social media careers page.
Full Disclaimer - Not everyone is receptive to responding back to requests. These are just a couple of ways to help you get out of the ATS Black Hole!
Happy hunting and networking!
