Understanding Recruiting And The Applicant Tracking System For Job Seekers

My goodness…there is so much misinformation out in the world about how the ATS “works”.

First of all…let’s talk about “bots”, or AI (artificial intelligence); more specifically what AI is NOT.

The word “bot” refers to “chatbots” NOT “robots”. As AI is currently used in recruiting, think of it as an arrow in a regular old flow chart. It is used most often in high volume recruiting where there is a very limited number of qualifications needed for a specific job. Think customer service, retail sales, delivery driver. In a chat function, the “bot” will ask you very simple questions. “Are you over age 18?” “Are you legally able to work in the US for any employer?” “Do you have a valid driver’s license”? “Are you within the geographic area where the job is located?”

If you answer “yes”, you move on to the next question. If you answer “no”, you do not meet the minimum qualifications and your application is terminated. That’s it. The “bot” doesn’t make complex value judgements, it does not “decline” you based on subtle concepts in your resume. THIS IS THE LIMITED CAPABILITY OF AI AT THIS POINT IN TIME as it can legally be used in recruiting.

Let’s move on to how recruiters use keywords. Every job has specific requirements, and there are generally two components to this: actual functional skills, and length of time using those skills (experience).

KEYWORD SEARCHES ARE USED FOR SKILLS. Humans are needed to evaluate timelines. The only time a numeric value is applicable in a keyword would be something like “Six Sigma”, where the number is part of the actual skill.

When a job opening gets a HUGE number of applicants, a recruiter may use keywords to narrow down the candidate pool. Any resume that doesn’t list those basic keywords is not considered a match. Keyword searches can be short or long, it depends on the capabilities of the ATS. It is the same technology that created Google (Boolean Logic, if you are interested.) Once a keyword search is run, the ATS *stack ranks resumes by percentage of match based on the number of times each keyword is repeated within the document*. So if a recruiter is looking for a sales rep using Salesforce with a strong history of cold calling, the more repetitions of “Salesforce” and “Cold call” each within the document, the higher up in the returned list the resume shows up. The recruiter will STILL look at each document, but as the percentages of matches gets smaller, the chance it will be forwarded to a hiring manager gets slimmer.

The other way keywords are used within an ATS is if a recruiter actually searches existing resumes/profiles within a database to see if there are any past applicants that may be a fit. (This is also the way keywords are used on LinkedIn, Indeed.com, Glassdoor, Monster, ZipRecruiter or any other resume/profile database.) This is also why a fairly robust LinkedIn profile is necessary if you are looking for a job and want recruiters to actually *find* you.

Once a recruiter has a list of resumes that at least have the skills they are searching for, then they start looking through the actual resumes. What they are looking for now is *context*. How were the skills used, how much actual experience does the applicant have compared to the job description, what sorts of projects or accomplishments do they exhibit using the skills they claim? Do they meet the experiential requirements of the job? (This includes education and certifications, as well as actual types of experience).

THIS is when a recruiter will most likely decline a candidate. And believe it or not, most recruiters prefer to err on the side of being generous (we call it “screening in” resumes) when they are not sure.

This is the most important thing applicants need to understand: the way resumes are evaluated is heavily influenced by LEGAL requirements. Recruiters that make decisions on whether or not a candidate is qualified for a job have a lot of responsibility to make sure they are considering all qualified applicants (“qualified” as it is defined by the job requirements.) Different companies and roles have a variety of state and federal laws they need to adhere to. Discrimination is a huge component that every recruiter deals with every day. In the US, there are a wide variety of protected classes at the federal level, different states have additional protections, and even some cities or counties may have even more strict protections. We go through significant training to know what those laws are and how to apply them. Recruiters don’t decline candidates lightly; the information we process is only as good as the resume/profile you share with us.