The mystery of the ATS finally solved
Picture the scene: you’ve found THE stunning template on Canva, you personalize it by adding your mix of professional experience and education, you export it, you post it on LinkedIn reserved for experts, and you start applying.
No less than 4 colors on this template, classy, right?
One week without a response: well, I’ll focus on my emails
Two weeks without a response: no big deal, I would never have passed the interview
Three weeks without a response: anyway, I didn’t want that one
Four weeks without a response: *starts writing an accusatory LinkedIn post about recruiters*
Everything is going wrong until your best friend, recently hired for their dream internship, sends you this article that explains the whys and hows, and I promise it’s not an HR conspiracy to make you despair.
The problem likely lies in your resume, particularly how it interacts with ATS. This barbarous name stands for Applicant Tracking System, essentially the software that recruiters use to post their job offers, see who applies, and manage who moves forward in the process.
The problem likely lies in your resume, particularly how it interacts with ATS. This barbarous name stands for Applicant Tracking System, essentially the software that recruiters use to post their job offers, see who applies, and manage who moves forward in the process.
- Your PDF is exported as an image format. In this case, it’s impossible for the software to see the text.
- Your PDF is exported correctly, but the layout makes the text illegible for the ATS.
Now you’re going to ask me, “who cares, the recruiter is going to read it anyway, right?”. Yes and no. When they open a position, recruiters are literally FLOODED with applications.
329 candidates for a typical position, on a single platform. I agree, the company seems great.
This is why they often use the filter function of their ATS, which allows them to remove all candidates whose resume is not visible to their software or who do not have certain keywords included.
Don’t panic though, this problem is easy to solve in 2 small steps:
- Use a resume template that works with a classic tool. For example, we offer you
- Test your resume on Brio (free). Check the ATS compatibility criteria. Especially if you insist on using Canva.
While you’re at it, I strongly recommend aiming for at least 80/100 on Brio to ensure your resume catches the eye of recruiters in your region.