You can read and listen to this interview and learn from Ira Bowman through

1. Innovator Diaries website
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If the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) has been a huge hassle to you, we totally get it. However, no matter how much we complain, we will still go through this system in order to get hired. So, isn’t understanding and getting around this system the smartest thing to do? In this episode of TIPS, Ira Bowman shows us how.

The first and most common mistake we make is using PDF files for our resumes. There are thousands of ATS programs, and many of them do not understand .pdf files. This means PDF files can immediately be overlooked by the system right then and there. Use .docx, .doc, .rtf or .txt instead.

Then, stop making it pretty. Most ATS programs edit and change the formatting of all resumes to a standardized format.  It all boils down to the content.

More general advice on formatting includes not breaking your resume into columns, always using a font size of 10 and up, and sticking to the most basic fonts: Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, and Times New Roman. Also, never use coloured fonts. Bold is okay but never use italics. Do not import fonts or characters outside of Word.

It is also important to make your resume shorter. This feels counterintuitive, we know. However, short resumes are more powerful and get to the point. Recruiters initially scan resumes for about 6 seconds. So, condensed resumes do get prioritized over lengthy ones.

Finally, when it comes to writing, you can also trick the system into choosing you. How? Use keywords. ATS checks for keyword match percentage. Just go through the job listing and get the keywords you need there. Find synonyms and power words related to the job listing.

Good luck on creating an ATS compliant resume that gets past the robots! Take it one step at a time.

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