[How To] How do I beat the application screening systems?
Hello job seeker,
You may find yourself applying to a seemingly endless number of jobs, all of which require quite a bit of typing and form filling out. When few, if any, return your application you may be left wondering "Why won't these people just call me back? I'm awesome! I'd hire me."
Here are three keys to remember about the application system!
- You need to have a good skill set match
This is really important and is the number one reason why applicants get auto-denied from programs like Taleo. The upside to this is that employers will be able to look at the top 5 - 20 applicants to a job and know they have the education, skills and experience to get in role quickly. The down side is that employment with a new company may not be an obvious "step up." You'll be applying for roles that have a lot of cross-pollination with your current experience, or else you'll just get dropped in the auto-reject pile.
TL;DR: Make sure your skill-sets are in line with what the employer is asking. You're not going to be perceived as a "good candidate for future growth" by an application system.
- You must produce a complete profile and an accurate depiction of yourself.
Leaving "That one form blank" isn't going to work. This may sound obvious, but the number of applications that are thrown out due to being incomplete is roughly 30% for my firm. If it asks you about education and the field isn't filled in, do not assume that "because it is in my resume" the system will find it. It won't.
Also, make sure to include things like properly addressed cover letters (requisitions frequently display the hiring manager involved in the selection process), and to include documents in proper formatting. As a rule of thumb, export everything to a non-protected PDF. Obviously, once you're done, check everything to make sure you've got it all filled in.
Tl;DR: Don't be lazy, check your work completely before submitting. Make sure everything is addressed properly and for the love of all that is holy: include a cover letter.
- The application system auto-rejects after about 30 minutes, generally.
I say generally because companies can customize this setting and make it appear as though they've more thoroughly reviewed your application. I suggest submitting your resume outside of standard business hours (like 7:00 PM on a Friday) so that over the course of the next few days you can get a better hunch of whether you're in the running.
If you're applying for a role at, say, USAJobs.com, make sure to check for application restrictions. They'll actually dictate who is eligible for the role. (Hint: if it pays more than $50,000, it will rarely be you).
TL;DR: Submit your app on non-standard business hours to get a better grip on whether you're in the running.
Here are three tips to getting past the app screener
- ###Closely review the requisition before applying and make note of phrases used to define the role and what the employer is seeking.
Notate phrases that indicate(1) key responsibilities and tasks; (2) education requirements (degrees, GPA, law review experience); (3) desired background; and (4) desired cultural/social aspects.
Include these phrases in your resume and cover letter at reasonable points to ensure the system regards your application as a skill-set match.
>##Example:
#Job description:
Will actively seek new business with SMB business owners through inbound and outbound phone calls from an inside sales facility. The ideal employee will have experience with sales process and sales pipelines as well as long-term relationship management.
##What You Should Notate:
- SMB Sales Experience
- Outbound sales
- Inbound sales
- Inside Sales
- Sales process
- pipeline
- relationship management
##Now what do?
Include these phrases organically into your resume and cover letter, the screener will run though both, but will place more emphasis on your resume. You can used the phrases multiple times (for some roles, it is important that you do. For instance the word "sales" should appear quite often in this example).
Don't lie. I'll catch you. But include them if you've got the experience; if you don't, apply for something else or include those items with which you do have experience.
-
###Pay attention to unique job characteristics! This is incredibly important because app screeners have a database of all the jobs currently being req'd. If all I do is hire sales people, the system will place less relevance on sales terms and more emphasis on the unique terms that hire specifically for that role.
##Example:
I have 5 positions open right now. 4 are engineering and one is communications. All place emphasis on ability to work together, provide leadership, problem solve and think critically.
##What do?
Review each of the engineering jobs and notate the major differences. You know which you're applying for, but make note of the different code languages required, especially those which do not appear on some/all of the other roles.
-
###Make certain the system fully understands your background.
When we allow the system to import our resume, we allow it to make stupid mistakes. This will make certain your application will get thrown away quickly by the system. You must make sure that the system correctly identified all of your background as it is found in your resume.
##Example:
The system imports your experience correctly, but misses your education section.
##What do now?
you need to get back into Microsoft Word and re-tool your layout. Using non-standard resume layouts or too many pages is unwise. The system will invite you to fill out many of the blank fields it could not auto-populate, but this will provide a poor picture to the screener and greatly lowers your change of ranking because it indicates the system does not fully understand your application, resume and/or cover letter.
Ok, well that's over 6000 characters! So, we'll leave it there for now. Post any questions or life examples in the comments.
Posted Jan 31, 2014, 8:20 PM UTC