Almost without fail, every job hunter who applies to a job of interest today and doesn’t hear back ends up wondering: “did I not hear back because my resume isn’t ‘scannable’ by the tools that HR departments are using to screen candidates?”

These tools, known as Applicant Tracking Systems, have become a huge topic of discussion in the field of resume effectiveness and (sadly) thousands of fear-mongering companies have sprung up to browbeat people into thinking that their resume isn’t set up properly to “pass” such technologies. They capitalize on the lack of knowledge most job hunters have about these things and realize that they can easily manipulate the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety of out-of-work professionals to make a quick buck.

In practicality, ATS systems really aren’t all that complicated. And if you ask anybody who is heavily involved in the modern hiring process, they’ll tell you that the issue of “resume scannability” is actually very, very low on the list of potential challenges an applicant may face. In most cases, there are far more traditional reasons as to why a person might not hear back from an application, with the primary one being the simple (but frustrating) reality that companies have tremendous access to talent these days and often can track down candidates with an even more note-perfect mix of credentials to offer. Additionally, in many other cases, an internal candidate or referred party is given preferred status over a “cold” applicant. Or where your lack of response is simply due to bureaucracy, such as when a job gets filled — but nobody actually gets around to removing it from cyberspace.

All of this being said, sure, it’s still wise to double-check that one’s resume doesn’t truly contain any “scannability” issues that might be holding it back. But the process is far simpler than some folks would have you believe, and essentially just comes down to:

  • Avoiding columns, text boxes, and graphics on a resume whenever possible, since they can make it difficult for resume scanners to “parse” one’s data effectively
  • Using standard section header names (Experience, Education, Key Skills, etc.) instead of ‘creative’ ones like “About Me” or “Here’s My Jam” and the like
  • Sticking with a conventional business font and font size (and no, the “hidden white font” trick doesn’t work, despite people trying it for 30+ years now)
  • Making sure you don’t place your name and contact info (or any other important data) in headers or footers, since some ATS tools can’t access text in these sections
  • Including as many relevant keywords as possible that are mentioned in the advertisement, ensuring you’ve phrased them in their most common forms
  • Submitting the document as a Word, PDF, or Text file for best results (and if you use a PDF, make sure it’s not a graphic and the text is “selectable” within it

That’s pretty much the drill — and again, given how relatively straightforward these rules are, I urge you to keep your guard up against services/sites claiming otherwise — or implying that your current document is way off the mark!

P.S. One can also simply ask any AI tool to review your resume for ATS compatibility and you’ll get a near-instant analysis that should point out most issues in this regard. And if you’re a client of Career Horizons, feel free to utilize the new AI-based “Career Horizons Resume Analyzer” tool I’ve developed at the top of my website’s Client Resources page!