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9/24/19 – Expert Tips on How to Navigate the ATS

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Written by Julia Churan

It sounds so easy to apply for positions online. No hassle driving to a prospective employer’s office and trying to find someone that will accept your resume, or sealing a copy in an envelope and running it to the post office only to wait for a call that may or may not come.

The reality is there are so many websites that promote the same jobs and each one wants you to upload your resume with the hope of landing your dream job. Then there is the anxiety of whether your dream company actually receive it and are they considering you. Did some bit of technology between your internet provider and the company’s recruiters go haywire? You wonder if you will get a call and you may never even know if the role was actually filled or if your resume was seen by the hiring manager. The whole process can often feel overwhelming, impersonal and extremely frustrating.

Making Sense of the Online Application Process

Keynote Speaker: Jackie Schierenberg, Dignity Health

Jackie took the stage with over 20 years of experience in talent acquisition. She was there to share her insights from the other side of the job search: the recruiter’s perspective. Her focus has been on finding top talent, understanding HR technology and maximizing social media in the hiring process.

How does a Recruiter find talent?

  1. Candidate submissions
  2. Past applicants whose data is still in the applicant database
  3. Current employees
  4. Referrals – both internal and external
  5. Social Media – Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Facebook
  6. CRM – databases of acquired names through Talent Pools and other sources
  7. Boolean Search
  8. Conferences and Association Lists
  9. Job Boards

Most companies give current employees first consideration. Roles that are more difficult may require more extensive methods of search.

The ATS

The database system that recruiters use to manage the entire hiring process is known as an ATS or Applicant Tracking System. The software will do everything from post new job requisitions on websites, store and help categorize candidate resumes, manage the interview process and track activity on any particular job opening.

Companies rely heavily on these systems to process the hundreds of applications that may come in for a posting in a faster, more efficient manner.

Some ATS systems allow new postings to populate the company’s portal and the most popular job boards in a fully-automated way. Many of the newer systems are using artificial intelligence to aid in the overall process and remove human bias.  Companies are able to maintain compliance and pull reports to analyze metrics about a specific posting, role, candidate and more.

Most job searches today start on Google.com. Candidates can search to see who is hiring, research desired companies, learn minimum requirements and keywords to include in their resume, gather salary information and tips for interview preparation.

Tips to Be Aware of When You Upload a Resume to an ATS

  • Keep things simple! – Many ATS systems will strip formatting or even omit information if they find unknown tags within the document. Font type, bullet points, and some file types can “confuse” older systems. Consider a basic formatted version specifically for uploading online.
  • Be aware of the requested file type – Jackie recommends using a PDF format unless noted specifically.
  • Keywords – Be sure your resume has terms the are specific to the role and used in the company’s description. You can use generic keywords for a specific job, but if you are looking for a nursing role and the description specifies RN, be sure to use RN rather than Registered Nurse.  Some recruiters may include both when they search for candidates, but you have a greater chance of rising to the top of the search by using the exact terms from the company’s posting.

Do Your Homework

There are so many resources today, applicants have no excuse for not preparing when applying and interviewing for roles.

  1. Start with a Google Search – Understand the business, the products and get perspective on the corporate style and culture.
  2. Leverage Your Network – Reach out to friends and social media groups to find people to share insight about the company or role. Try to find people who are connected to individuals within the hiring team.
  3. Company Career Groups – Many large companies will have their own Career Groups where you can interact with the HR team and even inquire on status or resumes.
  4. Glassdoor.com – Research the interview tips, salaries, and benefits.
  5. Indeed.com – Recruiters monitor this chatter and reviews.

Other Tips to Staying Aware in the Search

Apply Directly to the Company’s Website. The job boards may not be as up-to-date with positions and a resume can get lost between the different systems.  Your best bet is to go directly to the source.

Sign Up for Email Alerts – This feature is often in the search function or after you have uploaded your resume on the company website. It can save you time from checking that company’s website every couple of days for new postings that meet your criteria. You may also be one of the first candidates to apply if you are on these lists.

Join Talent Pools – These are often available on the employer career portals. Sourcers are tracking engagement and this is a great way to show interest in the organization. This will allow you to become part of recruiting news or email campaigns.

Recruiters Often Tag Candidate Profiles – Try to make personal connections with the talent team by social media, career fairs, and even cold calls. Recruiters can apply tags to a candidate profile to make candidates easier to find later.

Email and Text Campaigns – Recruiters will send prospective emails to potential candidates from past applicants and talent pools. Keep your resume current in the ATS.

White Text Trick – Put added keywords at the bottom of your resume in white text. They won’t be detected when printing, but when a recruiter runs a search, they may help you get picked up.

Meet the Minimum Qualifications – If you do not meet the minimum requirements, you will not make it to the hiring manager through the talent team.

Be Discoverable – Companies can see the different resumes you have submitted and your history, but the hiring company is likely looking at your most recent one. Make sure your profile is as complete as possible to be found.

Cover letters – Recruiters generally do not read cover letters. Make the resume and cover letter all one document before you upload them to the system.

Get Personal With Recruiters – Leverage LinkedIn to find recruiters and hiring managers.  Search for them on Google and make a call or reach out directly to the talent or hiring team.

Track Your Application on the Career Portal – Many companies today do not notify applicants when the position has been filled, so watch your profile on the company’s portal.

Hiring Companies

Dignity Health

Marcos Day, Recruiter

Dignity Health is one of the Valley’s largest healthcare providers and growing with a recent merger. They will soon be known as CommonSpirit Health and serve 22 states. They often carry up to 8600 open positions at any time.

CommonSpirit offers a strong benefits package including a Zero Premium Option for employees plus a pension plan & 403(b) company match program of up to 6%. They also invest in their staff with a variety of educational and financial services.

Current Career Openings:

  • Patient Facing Roles – Nurses, Rehab Therapists, Radiology, Lab Techs, Patient Transportation
  • Non-Patient Facing – Food Service, Facilities, IT, CyberSecurity, Accounting, Finance, Marketing

Applicants are encouraged to apply on the Careers Website.

Copper Springs

Cooper Springs is a part of Springstone. They have mental health and addiction services in 17 states and are opening their newest facility in East Valley, Copper Springs – East.

There will be many clinical and non-clinical opportunities available for this new location. Check out their Career Website or contact Melissa Barry regarding the new Gilbert location.

Terros Health

Tracy Outlaw, Recruiter

Terros is a non-profit, integrated care provider in the valley. Since 1969, their mission has been to serve the needs of the public with integrity, passion, and empowerment. Today they provide services through 19 locations around the state of AZ in Primary Care, Counseling, Health & Wellness, and Addiction services.

Current Openings:

  • Front Office Staff
  • Behavioral Health Techs
  • Clinicians
  • Recovery Support Specialists
  • Case Managers

Apply online at https://www.terroshealth.org/

AZ DES – Department of Economic Security

Nancy Stanford, Recruiting Manager

DES is the second largest agency of the State of Arizona with more than 7,700 team members.  They assist over 2.9 million Arizonans each year through the following agencies:

  • Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS)
  • Division of Benefits & Medical Eligibility (DBME)
  • Division of Child Support Services (DCSS)
  • Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)
  • Division of Employment & Rehab Services (DERS)

Along with a comprehensive benefits package and time off, DES is one of the few employers to offer Arizona Retirement Systems with vesting after 5 years and a 12% match.

Current Openings:

  • Adult Protective Services Investigators
  • Program Service Evaluators
  • Direct Care Worker
  • Customer Service Reps
  • Case Managers
  • Finance roles
  • HR Roles

Application Process

  • Visit https://azstatejobs.azdoa.gov/ for current postings.
  • Be sure to watch for position closing dates, salary and job grades. Interviewing will not begin until the position close date.
  • Use keywords at the very beginning of your resume.
  • When applying and uploading a new resume, delete the old one first.
  • Recruiter’s information is always posted.
  • No ATS system is used, all resumes are reviewed individually by a recruiter.
  • Follow up with the contact in the job description and always refer to the Job ID#.
  • Keep applying!
  • Remember – Salaries are posted and always negotiable.

Upcoming Events

Diversity Talks – October 3, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

This is the 5th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Event in conjunction with BestCompaniesAZ to help Arizona’s top employers meet talented individuals from all backgrounds, ethnicities, experiences, beliefs and abilities.

The panel will include USAA, State Farm, Freedom Financial Network, GoDaddy, AMEX, USAA, Farmers Insurance and Charles Schwab. There will also be a career fair with top companies.

To register or learn about the participating companies, visit the Event Page.


Finding and Landing a New Career FAST! – October 10 in Scottsdale


The Networking Brief – October 22 in Gilbert

See the Events Page for complete details of these and other upcoming events. Register today.

Closing

Jessica Pierce, Founder/CEO of Career Connectors, took the stage to thank everyone for taking the next step in finding a new career.

She recognized the many hiring companies, sponsors and partners including Goodwill of Central & Northern Arizona and Brighton College.

Anyone interested in IT, funding is now available up to $4000 for tuition assistance of online certifications through Career Connectors Academy and AZ@Work. To learn more about these opportunities, connect with a staff member and visit the website.

Every seeker was encouraged to network with other seekers, build more LinkedIn connections, take a free DISC assessment and have a professional portrait taken by a photography volunteer at the event. Professional resume writers, LinkedIn experts and Career Coaches are also available at the event to perfect your search tools.

Thank you to Central Christian Church for hosting the event and the 90 volunteers that serve Career Connectors around the Valley.

7/19/18 – Expert Tips on How to Navigate the ATS

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ATS TipsWritten by Susan Lamphiear

Inundated with too many job applications to handle, companies of all sizes are routinely turning to the ATS–the Applicant Tracking system–for help. Frustrating as it is for the job seeker, this ATS has become one of several strategies companies use to electronically and quickly screen resumes for open positions. So the savvy job seeker today must understand the ATS and then design a resume that can be as ATS proof as possible– to have a fighting chance of nabbing one of the coveted job interviews. And maybe the job.

Keynote

An ATS is not inherently bad, though, as our keynote speaker Jackie Schierenberg explained to attendees. But last year Dignity Health reviewed over 550,000 resumes, so they regularly use the ATS.  She came to Scottsdale Career Connectors to give job seekers tips for getting noticed during the job hunt—including getting past the ATS screening.  Working for Dignity Health for 14 years, and in Talent Acquisition for over 20 years, Jackie leads her current team of 10 to fill both those hard-to-fill positions as well as leadership positions. Her team scours the internet in search of talent. The ATS has become a very important tool.

Tips for Getting that Job Interview, including Surviving the ATS “Cut”

  • Leave out what used to be called the “objective” section on a resume. Instead, spend time describing how you add value to the company. Use active verbs.
  • The Skills section is THE most important section from the standpoint of the ATS.
  • Do your homework.  Create your resume carefully. For example, find out if the company you’re targeting uses the term “nurse” or “RN” so the ATS system understands you. Make sure you’re using the recent lingo of the industry–or of that company in particular.
  • Read the minimum requirements and then make sure you use key words on your resume to describe–in those terms where possible– your qualifications.
  • Font type— Don’t get fancy or the ATS might not recognize what you’re saying. Same with bullets.
  • Sometimes ATS can’t read PDF files so consider submitting just a regular MS Word file.
  • Remember– Recruiters can specifically target the experience section. It’s Jackie’s favorite place to search. So craft this section carefully.

Q & A with Jackie and Scottsdale Career Connectors Attendees

  • As a recruiter, she’s paid to be on the phone, so she advises–be bold–call recruiters and hiring managers. Jackie said she will take your call even if it’s only five minutes and at least give some advice. As part of your homework, find hiring managers via linked in and then google to find their phone numbers.
  •  Cover letters can be great, but integrate them into one document that includes the letter and the resume. This forces the reader to look at the cover letter. It’s not reviewed like a resume, but if there’s something compelling that’s not in your resume, then include it in your letter. As a recruiter, Jackie says she reads very few cover letters. But there are always exceptions. Her husband included a cover letter to explain why he went into architecture. I believe he got both the interview and the job.
  • Dignity Health uses an ATS that can search the resume, the attachments, and experience sections.
  • The ATS system looks for specific “hard” job skills. But not soft skills. The company will figure out your soft skills in the interview.
  • Number of pages in a resume. Just be sure your experience on the resume is recent or relevant. She doesn’t believe in a limiting one-pager resume. Instead, she suggests you include enough to get the point across.
  • Address versus no address on the resume. She sees many resumes without addresses. She personally doesn’t include an address on her resume, but her cell phone indicates where she lives anyway. With pre-screening questions, distance from work is often revealed;  in nursing, for example, at times a nurse might be required to come to the hospital within 30 minutes after being called. So location becomes important.
  • Dignity doesn’t use a personality test as part of the application. That tended to bog down the application process for them. But Dignity relies heavily on the behavioral interview instead.
  • In some states, employers are no longer allowed to ask what salary you currently make. But they can ask what your salary expectations are. That’s different than “What are you making?” She reminds us of the well-known phrase that “The one who talks money first, loses.” But as a candidate you can answer by asking the question, “What salary do you feel is commensurate with my skills and experience?”

Jackie tells us the company she works for, Dignity Health, doesn’t use robots—yet.  But they use the ATS. And as they say, ATSs are definitely trending now.  Jackie advises job seekers  to be prepared and realize ATS systems are being used by many companies of all sizes. She recommends you design your resume with the ATS in mind so you’ll be able to compete for that dream job.

Hiring Companies

Bank of the West

Doug Deyo, Corporate Recruiter

Bank of the West has a location in Tempe starting in October of 2017, but employs 10,500 team members across 23 states, servicing over two million customers. Open positions span a variety of areas including managers and analysts, customer service, Admin/Human Resources, accounting, IT, and loan officers.

The company prides itself on a diverse culture, encouraging team members to share their voice/opinion to help advance the organization. The company offers several benefits including complete medical, tuition reimbursement, generous paid time off, company holidays, and discounted banking rates.

For more information on the company or to apply, visit their website.

IMPACT Payments Recruiting

Marc Badalucco, Managing Partner

IMPACT Payments Recruiting has been around since 2000, focusing exclusively on the payment and cards industries worldwide. They specialize in working with senior to executive-level roles, both on a permanent and contract basis. They employ 15 in-house employees across the U.S., with more than 130 contract employees in Arizona.

IMPACT works within every area including product, sales, marketing, compliance, IT, and operations. Many benefits to working with IMPACT include the company working closely with you throughout the entire process including resume prep, interviewing, and salary negotiations.  IMPACT has many contacts in place with companies in the Valley, and those offering remote work.

Current openings include VP of Technology, Account Manager, Sr. Web Developer, Sr. Risk and Credit Specialist, Director of Underwriting, Sr. Director of Risk, Net Developer, Data Scientist, Sr. QA Automation Engineer, and Technical Architect.

For more information or to contact them, visit their website. Send your resume and one of their executive recruiters will contact you.

Allstate

Nate Smith, Senior LSP Recruiter

Allstate offers a variety of insurance products throughout the United States and appears #84 on the Fortune 500 list. The company has over 10,000 Alllstate Agency owners. The company always seeks employees in information technology, HR, product, claims and sales management, plus exclusive financial specialists, agency owners, and licensed sales producers.

Advantages to owning your own Allstate Agency include no franchise fee (though there is a startup investment) and the ability to leave the business to heirs. Because Allstate is a national brand, agency owners benefit from the big marketing plan which gives credibility to their individual offices. For anyone who has no insurance experience, Allstate will help prepare owners for their careers–including licensing.

Allstate also offers a Military Program for veterans. Click here for more information.

For more information on all other positions, or becoming an Allstate licensed sales professional, visit their website.

Resources

Woz U

John Bernard, Director of Business

Woz U was founded October 17, 2017 by one of Apple’s founders, Steve Wozniak. Woz U seeks to bring opportunities in the technology field to the masses, provide quality education to their students, launch students into a technology field, create a community of developers who help one another during the program and beyond, and offer lifetime support to each of their students.

The school teaches Java, JavaScript, .NET, Ruby on Rails, Data Science, and Cyber Security. Except for Cyber Security, all programs are entry level and required no background or experience.

John showed a video showing the success story of a Phoenix technology student who became homeless during his course of study, received assistance from the school, and went on to accept a great job as soon as he completed the Woz U program.

For more information, visit their website.

Closing

Executive Director of Career Connectors Jessica Pierce closed the formal part of the meeting and thanked the host, Highlands Church of Scottsdale; guests including keynote speaker and hiring companies; and volunteers. She then invited attendees to take advantage of the breakout sessions: meeting with hiring companies and training resources, getting advice from resume writers and LinkedIn coaches, and receiving free professional headshots from the professional photographer on site.

The next event for the Scottsdale location will be held Thursday, August 16, 2018, at 9 AM.

For a complete list of events along with times, locations, and speakers, see the information to the right of this blog. Or go to the events’ section of this website.

Avoiding the ATS Black Hole

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Written by Donna Tucker
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

What happens to your résumé when you submit it online? Are you afraid it goes into the Black Hole?

Beware the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)! Some ATSs screen out many well-qualified candidates since most candidates submit résumés that are not optimized for ATS. Let’s be sure your résumé is written and formatted to pass ATS criteria.

First of all, there are about 200 different ATSs today. Some more sophisticated than others. Unless you know what system you are working with and its capabilities, you must write to the common denominator.

Most ATSs use parsing software to place words and information in fields; many ATSs use section headers to categorize information; and many ATSs match résumé keywords or phrases from users entering them in, analyzing announcements, and/or mathematically evaluating many announcements and/or from the same career field.

Some ATSs ask questions to qualify and/or eliminate candidates; some ATSs use Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to assign context to keywords and phrases; and some ATSs score résumés based on algorithms on how well they match keywords and phrases ─ an ATS selects résumés which score high enough and/or meet other criteria.

Now, let’s make YOUR resume pass.  Use standard header names for each section.

  1. Contact Information: Do not use a formal header. Include Name, Address, City, State, ZIP, Phone Number, Email Address at the top of the résumé. (Some ATSs select candidates ONLY from the local area, and will eliminate candidates without ZIP codes at least).
  2. Summary: Include the headings Professional Profile or Summary. Include the title of the job from the announcement with keywords. Can include a skill list with keywords. No tables!
  3. Experience: Use Professional Work Experience heading – many ATSs look for these words. Use Reverse Chronological format. Consider entering Company after each company name. Enter dates, including month and year. Enter in each company’s city and state.  Write duties and accomplishments with keywords and phrases from the announcement. Repeat keywords and phrases from position to position to score higher and show depth of experience. Spell out acronyms at least the first time and put the acronym in parenthesis after full words.
  4. Education: Use Education heading. Type full name and abbreviation for the degree, major, school name, and location. Optional information may include degree date, GPA and course work. Enter any honors.
  5. Training: Use Training heading. Type in names for all related training courses.
  6. Certifications: Use Certification heading. Type in all certification information.

This is all basic information; there can be more items to consider. No one rule fits all for all ATSs.

Modify your résumé for each job to enhance your chances.

Ensure that the résumé is readable by humans and computers – you never know when a résumé will be read by an ATS even when you apply in person.

Final notes:

  • Most ATSs can read Word Files without tables, graphs, and boxes.
  • Avoid key information in headers or footers.
  • Avoid PDFs (they are not read correctly).
  • You can have one format that is both ATS and human readable.
  • You want a nicely formatted résumé uploaded since recruiters / managers may download the original.