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If you dig my schtick, forward to a friend and suggest they:
“My job search isn’t going well because I can’t get past the Excel sheet.”
Everyone fed up with their job search has the right to be upset. It’s difficult, nerve-wracking, and frustrating.
But misdiagnosing the problem makes things worse.
There’s a common misconception that the ATS system is some kind of supreme, diabolical AI. The Skynet of the HR tech world. Smart filters and barriers, blocking your resume and terminating your job search.
It’s uncanny how having it completely backwards puts you in exactly the same place.
Real talk: HR and recruitment tech is the least sexy and advanced stuff out there. And ATS systems in particular are the dumbest of the dumb.
Why? Because there’s so little incentive to innovate.
ATS systems in particular turn their clients into a captive audience. It is absolutely PAINFUL to migrate. Once you’re set up, you’re locked in. And that makes the barrier for entry for new, innovative players that much harder.
👉The truth is: you’re not getting through the ATS because it’s a black hole of data. Massive amounts of records + crappy UX = hard as hell for recruiters to navigate.
Job postings get excessive applications. Your resume is mixed in with the thousands of people who yolo-applied. (Thanks, Easy Apply button.)
And recruiters? There’s just not enough to manage the workload. (Another rant for another day.)
Your enemy is not an evil genius. It’s an Excel sheet.
(Apologies to the 1-2 ATS systems that aren’t a pile.)
(Also apologies to Excel. It’s an amazing tool that most people just don’t know how to use beyond a novice level. It doesn’t deserve this slander but I’m too lazy to re-write this.)
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Excel doesn't deserve this slander