Applicant Tracking System Checklist

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is the new "hiring saving grace" and it means that recruiters have gone a step forward to ensure proper hiring. Applicant Tracking System is a software that helps employees to manage their recruitment and hiring process satisfactorily. The purpose of this system is to optimize and automate important hiring activities such as receiving, sorting, assessing, and tracking job applications from candidates. Also, the ATS is more like the powerhouse that saves and compiles every candidate's information, making it less stressful for receivers to evaluate each piece of information and make a decision. 

Major Functions of the ATS

• ATS provides a standard template for job descriptions and gathers the applications in a main file.

• ATS allows companies to list their job openings on different job websites. 

• ATS saves applicants' information ranging from the cv/resume to the cover letters and every other document. 

• The system uses keyword-matching algorithms to filter applications.  

• The automation feature of the Application tracking system can also be used to communicate with the candidates during the hiring process. 

• During the evaluation process, a feature on the ATS gives room for employers to make a note or comment they want to come back to. 

Key Features of the Applicant Tracking System

The brilliant functionality of the ATS is a result of the features embedded in the system. These features allow recruiters to accomplish whatever task or idea that would improve the hiring process. 

Career Page Hosting

This feature allows employers to create, publish and manage job listings. The ATS provides an environment that makes it easy for potential candidates to assess and apply for the jobs. 

Receiving and sorting applications

This is so much work and instead of having it done manually which can lead to inaccurate or improper compilation, ATS helps out. There are AI tools integrated into the ATS to sort and shortlist resumes for proper assessment and evaluation.

CV/Resume Storage

The hiring and application process requires candidates to send in their CVs/resumes for evaluation. These documents are stored in the ATS during and even after the period of hiring. This allows employers to maintain a database of a talent pool or potential candidates for subsequent job openings.

Interview Schedulers

Based on the availability of the interviewer and information the ATS must have been provided with, the system can suggest available time slots and erase the stress of having to go back and forth with communication. The interview scheduler can integrate with common calendar platforms such as Google Calendar to set a reminder for the interviewer and candidate. 

Resume Parsing and Keyword Matching

This is more like the big work an ATS does on the CVs and resumes. Automatically, the system parses and extracts relevant data from the resumes sent to it. Also, it tags and recognizes the necessary keywords that are expected to match a particular job description. 

Applicant Tracking and Workflow

Depending on a company's operation, candidates may have to go through different stages during hiring. The ATS tracks the progress of each applicant and produces feedback, analyzing all stages the candidate has gone through and where they currently are. 

Collaboration

ATS encourages teamwork where the recruiter can share the information of an applicant with team members within a company. This particular team gives their opinion about the applicant (s) and this enables the recruiter to make a better decision. 

Candidate Screening and Ranking

Depending on set criteria, the ATS uses algorithms to screen and rank candidates. If there are about 10 applicants for a particular role, the system outlines their eligibility from the 1st to the 10th person. This will help employers focus on the "most likely" candidate for the job. 

How to Beat the Applicant Tracking System

One way to beat the ATS is to do the right thing with your application and resume crafting and this is where the ATS checklist comes in. 

Applicant Tracking System Checklist

The ATS checklist highlights all the key considerations or criteria that can help you send a better application that will pass the ATS test. Not to worry! Here is a checklist that can help you do that! 

Optimize headings and sections

Use simple headings, at the same time, adopt descriptive section headings in your resume as this enhances readability and helps the ATS to understand the structure of your resume. Differentiate each section like this: 

• Work Experience

• Experience

• Education

• Skills

For example, If you are using a heading 4 for your "work experience section", maintain the same heading for every other section to ensure a more defined pattern.

Use the essential keywords

This is a very important aspect of the applicant tracking system, so you must put much effort into reviewing your job description while creating your resume. If your job description does not match with one that was provided to the system, your application may be rejected. Also, these keywords should reflect the skills, experience, and qualifications needed by the company/employer. Pay attention to the keywords and how they are written in the job posting. If the employer needs applicants to be proficient in SEO, while it is okay to include Search Engine Optimization, also put in bracket (SEO) because it is most likely the ATS picks the acronyms better than the full word. 

Have a professional summary/objective

This should always be the first part of your resume because this section catches the ATS' attention and gives it an insight into what to expect in the body of your resume. You can also plug in a few keywords in your summary but make sure you are using the keywords right and not just including them dogmatically. 

Keep the layout simple 

Don't go about using logos, pictures, or any form of graphics on your resume as this would cause an error on the applicant tracking system. Looking at it from another important angle, it is unprofessional to do this because they are a form of distraction and they may make your resume look bumpy and messy. 

No fancy fonts

If you want the ATS to be able to read your resume, then you need to do away with flamboyant and tiny fonts. It is advisable to use fonts like Tahoma, Verdana, or Arial and stick to a font size of 12. Fonts that are too small or too big and clumped may get your resume dismissed.  

Bullet the points where necessary

If you are highlighting your skills, certifications, tools, or job description on your resume, it is much better to put them in bullet points. They are better captured by the ATS that way. So, instead of saying Skills: Good communication skills, Negotiation skills, Project Management, Data Management, do it like this: 

Skills:

• Good communication skills

• Negotiation skills

• Project Management

•  Data Management

Choose an ATS-friendly file format 

It has never been a good idea to submit resumes in PDFs; for ATS, this may even cause compatibility issues and result in parsing errors. Therefore, make sure that your resume is submitted as Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or plain text (.txt). 

Avoid creative wording and excessive use of special characters

Only use words that the ATS can understand, also, avoid excessive use of special characters or symbols that can disrupt the ATS' ability to accurately interpret your resume. 

However, it is important to note that while you are optimizing your applications to be ATS compliant, it should also be human-friendly. Although ATS has come to solve the trick and recruiters have trusted it a whole lot, never forget to maximize your chances of being noticed by the ATS and also human readers. You can always come back to this checklist, just to be sure.