How the Résumé Black Hole Actually Helps You Get Hired

"I can't stand it," a job hunter complains. "Before I can even submit my résumé online, I have to spend lots of time answering questions, taking tests and revealing far more than I want to at this stage of the game." The complaint continues: "And then, I submit my résumé, and I never hear anything. It's a big black hole."

Of course, there is validity to these points when applicant tracking systems present an unfriendly face to job seekers. Yet, that needn't be the case.

In reality, ATS does much more than collect data and résumés from candidates. Companies rely on increasingly capable online systems to not only keep track of who has applied, but to also post jobs online, track all communications with candidates and amalgamate the data relevant to every specific job requisition. As much as job seekers may not like ATS systems, they can also be the bane of in-house recruiters who aren't on their toes, ever driving the company's hiring procedures.

Virtually every company of size has been using an ATS of some type for many years. The systems range from relatively unsophisticated spreadsheets with limited functions to enterprise scaled systems in the cloud. These complex systems can be utilized for multiple purposes by anyone who is involved in the hiring process or wants to track those whose job it is to recruit and hire top talent.

Like any other piece of technology, an ATS is simply a tool that performs as it's programmed to do. When used appropriately, it can speed up the hiring process, keep candidates updated on their statuses and bring worthy candidates forward to get the review they well deserve.

However, when these systems are not well understood by those who use them, or when they are outright misused, they can cause havoc, destroy an employer's brand as a great place to work and cause anger all around.

Here's a claim from a recent marketing piece for an ATS from SmartRecruiters: "Your time to hire is a minimum of 3x faster when your hiring managers actually approve reqs, screen applicants, rate candidates, and make hiring decisions without your recruiting team handholding them through every step in the process. This means that they need to love the [applicant tracking system] as much as you do."

When technology makes it easy and inviting for hiring managers to screen candidates rather than get a set selected by human resources, you have a greater chance of the technical language in your résumé to be understood and appreciated. Hiring managers can get a sense of who you are by how you write, and if you are a good fit, you can move through the hiring process faster. And that's a good thing from a candidate's perspective.

Applicants often complain that they never hear anything back from a company once they submit an application. Common courtesy requires at least an acknowledgement of a received résumé, and even though their answers may be boilerplate, at least a well-programmed ATS can give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are someplace in the system and will be given consideration.

As much as you might dislike the questions posed to you by an ATS as part of the submission process, those questions are in fact made up by someone involved in hiring. If they are intrinsic to the nature of the position being filled, it saves everyone time to get the answers recorded up front. Moreover, they are posed to everyone the same way, decreasing the likelihood of discrimination against any particular legally protected class of people. Once again, you get the same consideration as your competition, increasing the level of fairness in the process.

When corporate executives engage directly with an ATS, they can determine the metrics of the recruiting department. Without getting bogged down in any particular job search, they can determine key metrics, like how long it takes from the time a job is posted to the time someone is hired. They can monitor interactions between candidates and recruiters within the HR department. They can determine which advertising channels deliver the highest quality and/or greatest number of candidates.

In short, they can determine the competitive realities of finding the best candidates before their competition does. And when you are that person of quality, it will shorten your job hunt and the time it takes you to get your first paycheck at your new company.

Happy hunting!

Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic "I'll apply to anything" searches into focused hunts for "great fit" opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.