How to Get Your Resume Past the System and Into Human Hands

Landing an interview for a position in a giant organization can feel impossible if you don’t have any personal connections. People often blame the sheer volume of resumes that are submitted — HR simply can’t review them all with enough detail to see what a perfect candidate you are.

And this is partially true — one study suggests that recruiters spend only six seconds looking at each resume. However, many resumes are trashed before they’re even seen by human eyes. How is that possible?

Here’s how: Many large organizations rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to help pre-filter resumes. The systems work by scanning resumes for contextual keywords and key phrases, mathematically scoring them for relevance, and sending only the most qualified ones through for human review. Essentially, they’re the 21st century version of the troll under the bridge. Read more...