So you've submitted your resume to hundreds of positions online, but nothing is happening. You've worked really hard on it. You've even had your friends and family members proofread it, but you're not getting callbacks, even for positions that you're the perfect fit for. 

Well, in this video we're going to explore a little something known as the ATS, otherwise known as Applicant Tracking System. Now, this could be the very thing preventing you from moving forward in your search. And today, I'm sharing four battle tested tips to help you conquer the ATS and land your ideal job offer. 

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If we've never met before, I'm Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com. And on this channel, I help professionals just like you land your dream job so that you can grow in a field you love. Now, if this is your first time visiting my channel, make sure you smash the Subscribe button down below and hit the bell notification so you're notified when I publish a new video or host a live training every week. 

And real quick, if you have not yet saved your seat for my free resume writing masterclass, what are you waiting for? 

During this free masterclass, you'll learn the five step system to write a resume that lands you more interviews and better job offers. I'm breaking down everything from how to quickly customize your resume to fit almost any job, even if you're making a career switch, and how to write achievement statements that showcase your skills and expertise plus much, much more. Now I'll, place a special link for you down below. 

So did you know that an estimated 75% of resumes never even get seen by a human? That's because so many businesses, especially large ones, use applicant tracking system to screen for potential candidates. In fact, 98% of Fortune 500 companies use some type of ATS. So what is an applicant tracking system you ask? 

It's a type of technology that prescans every resume submitted for a job and disqualifies resumes that don't pass the initial test. Now, here's the thing. You might be the most qualified candidate, but if you can't portray that on your resume, you'll never make it onto the next step. 

Now, there are some tricks of the trade that will help you get your resume past the ATS and into the hands of your future employer for a job interview, and of course, for your ideal job offer. The good news is that most of the tips that help you pass an ATS will also help you impress a hiring official, so let's jump into it. 

Step number 1, stick to a simple format. Now, contrary to what you may have heard on the internet, when it comes to the design and formatting of your resume, you need to keep it simple. Otherwise, applicant tracking systems can't properly read and sort your information. For example, if you use columns on your resume, an ATS might mix the columns up. And rather than reading your contact information first and then your professional summary, it might read your skills and your volunteer experience first. 

So here are a few things to avoid if you want your resume to pass the ATS guidelines. No columns, no tables, no text boxes, no graphics, no images, and no charts. 

Now, an ATS just doesn't know what to do with this stuff. You want to keep everything nice and organized from top to bottom. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to put contact or other information in the header or the footer of your resume. Most of the time, an ATS can't read what's in those areas the other thing you need to be mindful of is using any special characters, fancy bullet symbols, or complicated hard to read fonts. 

Make sure you structure your resume with simple descriptive headings, and be consistent with your style, the, hierarchy and your indentations. 

Now, most of the time these red flags with formatting can be easily resolved by making sure you pick a good resume template to start with, a template that is sleek but not too fancy the good news, is I have a free resume template that I created just for you that you can download right now. Use the link in the description below to grab your template. 

Now, if you start there, you'll already automatically start with the resume that is halfway there in becoming ATS compliant. And remember, formatting is just the beginning of an applicant tracking system compliant resume, which leads us to step number two, and that is to optimize your keyword. Not only are keywords critical to passing any applicant tracking system, but they are also necessary to convince any human reader that you are worth bringing in for an interview. 

Keywords are just as important for the hiring official to see on your resume as they are for an applicant tracking system, so you absolutely cannot skip this step. You need to demonstrate that you speak the lingo of the company. 

Now, to optimize keywords in your resume, you have to do some work for every job you apply for. First, look at the job posting and locate keywords or keyword phrases that seem the most important. One of the best ways to figure out what those words are is to look for words or phrases that appear multiple times in the posting. 

I even recommend printing the job posting and highlighting words and phrases that come up. Now, these keywords are there to show you exactly what the company is looking for in their ideal candidate It's up to you to convince the ATS and the recruiter that you are the perfect fit. 

Now, after you've figured out the keywords, go through your own resume and incorporate as many of those key words and phrases as you can. Keep everything natural. Don't lie or just put words in where they don't make sense. Instead, find ways to rephrase what you already have on your resume, or ways to bring out and emphasize the keywords that are already there. 

Evaluating the job posting carefully will ensure that you are speaking their language, which is something they'll really appreciate. For example, if they're asking for someone who can find solutions to complex problems but your resume says problem solving, try to find a way to write finds solutions to complex problems instead. 

And remember, if you want a resume that lands you more interviews and better job offers, make sure you save your seat for my free resume writing masterclass. Not only will you learn more about getting your resume past the applicant tracking system, but you'll also learn how to write an attention grabbing resume summary that hits employer's specific pain points. I'll place a special link for you down below. 

Step number 3, upload the best file format. Now, I get asked this question a lot. Heather, what file format should I upload my resume in to make sure it passes the ATS. The short answer to this is that you can do a Word doc, but a PDF will probably work if you need to use that, as well. 

Uploading a word document or a Docs file is the best way to make sure it will read properly. Now, if you need to use a PDF, that's OK, but not as good as a Word document. Applicant tracking systems have gotten much better over the years at reading PDF files, but some older applicant tracking systems don't read it properly, so make the best call on that one now. 

Step number four, go straight to a person. Even if your resume is perfectly optimized to pass an ATS, it's always best to get your resume in front of a real person. So how do you do that? You have to try to make a personal connection in the company and get your resume sent through an email straight to a hiring official. 

Now, you'll probably also need to use their typical online hiring program, but getting in touch with a real person will help you make sure your name is remembered and will make sure your resume gets looked at. In fact, this reminds me of a time in my career when I landed one of my first major teaching positions at a large university in my area. 

Rather than going through the traditional online application process. I reached out to a colleague of mine who knew the program director. She put me in touch with him which allowed me to request an informational interview. I approached the informational interview just like I would a real interview. I came prepared with my resume, some really good questions to ask. And to my surprise, the program director hired me on the spot. He later told me my resume would have never made it past the applicant tracking systems if I had sent it in that way. 

So this demonstrates the importance of getting your resume and yourself in front of a real person. Click or tap the video right here for even more guidance on writing a knockout resume. And if you like this video, be sure to hit the thumbs up button below. Be sure to hit the subscribe button for more videos just like this and I will see you in the next video. 

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