Common scenario
Increasingly, executives are coming to us with CVs that they say are failing ATS (applicant tracking systems). Some of these executives are almost in a panic. It’s as if all their job hopes are swirling down a career black hole, and they have no control of it.
Conversations are along these lines are not unusual:
Executive: ‘My CV is failing ATS and none of my applications are getting through to recruiters.’
Response: ‘Is your CV relevant to the job you are targeting?’
Executive: ‘Yes.’
Response: ‘And the wording is typed, the text isn’t all in images?’
Executive: ‘Yes, it’s all typed.’
Response: ‘So if it’s relevant and applicant tracking systems can pick up the text, why do you say it isn’t getting through to recruiters?’
Executive: ‘Yes, it’s very odd. I’m baffled.’
Response: ‘Who told you none of your applications are getting through to recruiters.’
Executive: ‘Well, actually it was another CV firm. They ran it through a check on their ATS for me and it failed.’
Response: ‘Do you think they might have had an ulterior motive for telling you that?’
Executive: ‘Well, now you mention it, they did say they could make it ATS compliant for £350.’
Similarly, some firm’s comments include scores. E.g., ‘I’m getting rejected because my ATS score is only 45%.’
But whose ATS?
That of a real recruiter or employer?
Or just the ATS of a job site or CV firm fishing for business?
And is it the same score for every ATS? Or does it vary from ATS checker site to another?
And how reliable are scores anyway?
Please click here to discover more about statistics, including percentages.
Recently one executive told us that an advisor had told him that his CV was being rejected by ‘All ATS systems.’
It sounds ludicrous that someone at a ‘free AST checker’ site claims to know the results of every ATS system in the world, but the executive got so spooked that he was contemplating ripping up his perfectly good (and relevant) CV, and pay a fee for the firm to make it “ATS compatible” (even though it already was!).
It’s a sad state of affairs when people are spooked into paying for services that they don’t need.
It’s up to you if you entertain ‘free AST checker’ sites, but just be aware that ulterior motives frequently apply.
Most firms have ulterior motives for things, but some are more honest and trustworthy in how they conduct business.
Please click to discover more about common CV sector malpractices.
Please also click to discover more about our own research on ATS.
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