Years ago, the trouble for job seekers was wondering whether or not the recruiter or employer is impressed by the skills they possessed; if the college they graduated from is prestigious enough; or whether they’re qualified enough for the job. For some others, weird questions often pop up; will he like my name? Will she like the layout of my resume? Did she go to my school? The list never ends. The story is the same for Canadian job seekers.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

But there’s a new Sheriff in town- and it’s not human. It is called the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Did you know that 75 percent of all resumes submitted are not seen by human eyes? Well, now you do. What this means is that you never have to worry if the recruiter likes your name or not. There’s a much bigger hurdle to climb. According to Inc, only about 5 people are called for an interview for any corporate position that attracts at least 250 applications. So you must stay ahead of the pack.

Canadian Applicant Tracking System (CATS)

Canada is a choice destination and millions of people across the world apply for jobs in the country. You must, therefore, pitch your resume in the most impactful way possible. Your resume must speak to the employer. But first, it must rank high on the Canadian Applicant Tracking System (CATS) and this can be achieved through testing and optimization. This post will answer all the questions you have about the ATS and how you can rank high on the system.

Employers and recruiters do not have the time to review the hundreds of applications they receive daily. They simply do not. So what do they do? They hire a machine to do it for them. The ATS is simply a software that scans through resumes and selects only a handful based on certain matched keywords or resume parsing. This process drastically reduces the number of applications that gains human contact. The rest of it? Drowned in the black hole of resumes.

Basically, employers use these software to hire the best candidates in a more efficient manner. Apart from selecting the “best suited applicants” for a recruiter, the ATS also analyses and stores resumes which may be referred to in the future. To get picked by an ATS software, your resume must contain explicit words that the software was programmed to identify. This may include words used in the job ad or job description as specified in the ad sent out by the recruiting company. So you must pay rapt attention to these words and use them clearly but intelligently.

Optimize your resume as a Canadian job seeker

There are other ways that you can optimize your resume as a Canadian job seeker. They include;

• Using the right file types for your resume. Docx are more easily read by ATS than pdf or images.
• Optimize for keywords based on important words and phrases on the job posting.
• Do away with graphs, charts or images. ATS software hardly recognize those.
• Pay more attention to soft skills. These are often more emphasized in job postings.
• Avoid putting important info in the header or footer.
• Use strictly Canadian English, which is more titled towards British than American. Be sure what works in official circles.
• Arrange your details clearly, using the right words and in order of hierarchy.