The acronym ‘ATS’ stands for ‘Applicant Tracking System’. It can also be referred to as ‘candidate management system’. It is a software application designed to help organizations or enterprises recruit suitable candidates/employees more efficiently. Other uses of the ATS include:

• Posting job openings on a corporate website or job board.
• Screening of CVs/resumes.
• Generating interview requests by email to prospective candidates.
• Individual applicant tracking.
• Customized input forms.
• Generating pre-screening questions.
• Individual response tracking.

It is estimated that roughly 60% of all mid-sized companies and almost 95% of all large organizations or corporations make use of this software. As the labour market keeps expanding, more and more organizations have started shifting their focus from manually selecting suitable candidates to automated means which effortlessly makes their operation easy and fast. So, for these big enterprises and mid-sized companies, the issue of spending 20 to 30 seconds on your CV manually is fast fizzling out as the ATS software application almost, if not totally, functions at the same level with which search engines do.

If by now you are wondering why you have not been receiving adequate invite for job tests/interviews for your desired job, perhaps you may need to look closely at your CV or resume again to see if truly you have done all that it takes to be exonerated to that platform. And one big question that should therefore be at the back of your mind is “Is my CV/resume optimized for the right keywords or phrases for the position I’m applying for?” If not, the applicant tracking system will misread it and rank it as a bad match with the job opening, regardless of the candidate’s qualifications.

4 Salient Tips For Optimizing Your CV For An Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

• Do not send your CV as a PDF because this software lacks a standard method in structuring this type of document. It can easily be misread. If a recruiting firm specifically demands for PDF, that means, in most cases, it will be manually processed. Always send your CV in MS Word/Doc format.

• Adopt the use of content or ‘call to action’ words that are specific or which relate to your career path or the job you’re applying for.

• Make sure the content of your CV is grammatically flawless. Most candidates are carelessly unaware of the grammatical errors bedeviling CVs especially in the vicinity of spellings. Try as much as possible to subject your CV to appraisal before submitting it to recruiters.

• Avoid as much as possible the use of tables and graphics. This software application can’t read graphics and in most cases misread tables. ATS read tables ‘up and down’ instead of ‘left to right’.

If you’ve gained anything from the above or have additional helpful information on the topic, feel free to air your views in the comment section. Enjoy.
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True talk
To add to it, ATS also check the size. If your CV is too large, it will dispose it. It's good to save your CV in the newest fashion of MS Word cos compatibility version makes it extra large.

bwaley:
True talk
To add to it, ATS also check the size. If your CV is too large, it will dispose it. It's good to save your CV in the newest fashion of MS Word cos compatibility version makes it extra large.

Quite agree with you to some extent but it may surprise you that the length of the CV may be insignificant in this wise because all what this software application looks out for are those relevant key-words or phrases that must have been fed to it. So, according to research, the longer your CV, the more your chances of being picked because of the possibility of including many keywords or phrases.

My advice? Write your CV in such a way that both machine and human being will readily accept It. Afterall, the application screens first while humans do the rest i.e. interview.

Anyone with other perspective to this ATS?

how can we get the ATS software so that we can use it to test our CV before posting it online for job screening?

Interesting...so a CV now has to be keyword rich.
So if I'm applying for a sales position, all I have to do is research relevant skills a sales person ought to have, and input the corresponding keywords in my CV.
More like SEO Mk.2

ATS

hopeka:
how can we get the ATS software so that we can use it to test our CV before posting it online for job screening?

Get your CV screened on this site first: www.rezscore.com

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Noted. I v forwarded mine to the address below. Thanks

quote author=Benjom post=38153177]If you've been having a hard time getting job invites and would like to subject your current CV to a constructive check to know where the problem lies, you may send it as attachment to:

exceptionalcvbox@gmail.com

Use "Free CV Appraisal" as the subject of your mail.

.[/quote]

I did so and got a C+

Benjom:


Get your CV screened on this site first: www.rezscore.com

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Ataidara:
I did so and got a C+

Good... but try to aim for a "B" or above that. The "C" could be likened to 2:2 ... Aim for 2:1 and above to be on the safer side. If you can't, engage my service.
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Ataidara:
Noted. I v forwarded mine to the address below. Thanks

quote author=Benjom post=38153177]If you've been having a hard time getting job invites and would like to subject your current CV to a constructive check to know where the problem lies, you may send it as attachment to:

exceptionalcvbox@gmail.com

Use "Free CV Appraisal" as the subject of your mail.

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Seen... You'll receive my response today.

I have sent my cv to you Bro...... Would be glad to get the feed back soon sir.....
Thanks.......




I have been unable to use the link given, I tried it both on PC and my phone....

Yes I sure need ur help. How do we go about it?

Benjom:


Good... but try to aim for a "B" or above that. The "C" could be likened to 2:2 ... Aim for 2:1 and above to be on the safer side. If you can't, engage my service.
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Benjom:


Get your CV screened on this site first: www.rezscore.com

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bro i made a B+... Then i went on to check basic report, and i found out Brevity; 88%, Impact; 79% and depth: 99%.... thanks, i have really seen where to work more on my CV, however overall i had 87%

crixtex:

bro i made a B+... Then i went on to check basic report, and i found out Brevity; 88%, Impact; 79% and depth: 99%.... thanks, i have really seen where to work more on my CV, however overall i had 87%

Kudos to you. Aim for a higher grade.

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