top of page
Writer's pictureaarush ak

How an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Works [Guide]

A 2015 report from Glassdoor revealed that, on average, every job opening receives about 250 applications. From these 250 résumés, hiring managers will reach out to only about four to six applicants. At the end, the company will only hire one person to fill the job position.


Checking through the résumé of each of these applicants requires a lot of time and effort from employers. If only there were a faster way to scan through all of these applications and find qualified candidates. No employer will pass on this opportunity.

A system like this will make the hiring process not just faster, but also efficient, i.e., selecting qualified candidates also becomes more seamless. This is why about 99% of Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system to choose candidates for a job.




What is an Applicant Tracking System?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is used by recruiters and hiring managers to organize and look through applicants’ information. ATS is an essential tool used in the human resource departments. It allows employers to store applicants’ data, organize them, and search for necessary information.


How Does An Applicant Tracking System Work?

There are different kinds of ATSs that companies use to store applicants’ data. Each of these applicant tracking systems has its own ills and perks. However, despite the differences between the applicant tracking systems, they all have the same essential function.

Sometimes, while applying for a job, you will be asked to answer questions or take a screening test. These quick tests are known as knockout questions, and they are used to screen applicants for a job. This is one of the first encounters you will have with an ATS when applying for a job.



The applicant tracking system will grade your answers and determine if you are qualified for the job. If your answers are satisfactory, you can proceed to the next stage of the hiring process.

However, if your answers are unsatisfactory, the system will notify the employer or delete your application. This reduces the number of candidates that will be considered for an interview.

Applicant tracking systems are also used to store and analyze the information on an applicant’s résumé. These bits of information are stored so it is easy to filter and search through them.

But how do these applicant tracking systems work? Below are some of the features of an ATS that allows recruiters or hiring managers to scan through many résumés:

  1. Applications Viewing: An ATS will enable employers to have a glance at potential employees’ résumés. Applicant tracking systems help to highlight the top skills and qualifications of applicants. As a job seeker, you must highlight your relevant skills in your résumé. Highlighting your skills is vital to make sure that you can quickly get the attention of a recruiter.

  2. Résumé Ranking: Hiring Managers can find the most qualified applicants by filtering through an ATS. The tracking system will compare each résumé with the job description to determine how eligible each applicant is. This is an easy way to filter applicants based on how much they fit a job description.

  3. Keyword Search: Recruiters can search and filter their list of applications to get specific applicants, using keywords. These keywords can be anything from skills, past employment, education, and so on.


How To Beat an ATS

ATS is used to rank how qualified an applicant is by matching the résumé with the job description. Since it is an automated process, you need to make sure you optimize your résumé to beat the applicant tracking. If you want to create an ATS-friendly résumé, here are a few tips to follow.



  1. Modify Your Résumé to Fit The Job Description: Each job you see on the internet has different job descriptions and requirements. Hence, you must modify your résumé to fit the required skills and experience before applying for a job.

  2. Make Use of Keywords: ATS searches for keywords in résumés when scanning through them. If you want your résumé to rank well in an applicant tracking system, fuse keywords from the job description in your résumé. When using keywords that have acronyms, make sure you write the long-form and the acronym together.

12 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page