Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 2)

In my never ending quest for transparency in the Recruitersphere, behold – my latest passion project –

Ask Me Anything Friday!

Every week I’ll pick a topic and address in a quick (5-7 minute) video. Let’s see how many people we can help and annoy. 😉

In today’s video, I break down the ATS!

Here’s the the deal – ATSs are a necessary evil and recruiters rarely have any influence over which ones we get to use / how they’re built. So we do our best. As a job seeker, here are the key things to keep in mind –

Resume Parsing
This is essentially the tool pulling out information from your resume/application/LinkedIn profile/whatever and putting it into the proper form fields in the ATS. Your name goes in the “name” spot. Current employer, skills, etc. That’s it. It’s not intended to shred your information, or delete your resume if it doesn’t like your font. I’ve NEVER known of an ATS that deletes resumes. I’ve seen profiles from 10+ years ago in databases I’ve worked in.

Key Word Matching/Ranking
Each ATS (and recruiter behind it) operates a little differently. Generally speaking, companies have certain compliance requirements and can only consider applicants for specific roles who meet the basic qualifications. Basic qualifications can usually be found in the job description. I pulled this example from a Recruiter posting at my previous employer –

• 3+ years of experience in technical talent acquisition (e.g., recruiting, sourcing), HR experience, or industry experience related to role

• LinkedIn Certification
• Preferred recruiting experience in full stack engineering disciplines; experience hiring for Devices/hardware is a plus.
• Cleared and Govt. hiring experience preferred but not required

The only thing I’m REQUIRED to have (and which should be clear from my resume) is 3 years or more of experience. That will likely ensure a live person looks at my application. However, those additional/preferred qualifications will put me higher on the shortlist.

How Do Recruiters Use Their ATS Anyway?
That can vary widely depending on the ATS itself and of course, the recruiter. Here’s how we SHOULD be using it – as our first step in sourcing / outreach. If someone has gone to the trouble of completing an application it probably means they’re really interested in our company. Why would we NOT start there? It’s not just about active applicants for specific roles (though that’s important too). It’s searching across the whole population for people who could be a GREAT fit for a given position, and for whatever reason they just haven’t applied to THAT role.

What say you fearless readers? How has your experience been on either side of the dreaded ATS? Share your successes, horror stories, and yes, any robot sightings in the comments!

Add this to the list of things I never thought I’d read today.

Recently a good friend and fellow recruiter shared this gem with me, thinking I’d 1) enjoy a giggle and 2) make a hell of a post out of it. She was right on both counts.

This one’s going to sting a bit.

One of the favorite games recruiters like to play is HOW MANY REQS ARE TOO MANY. Now this is probably more of an issue for my corporate brethren, but if my agency friends will indulge me, you’ll perhaps find something useful here too.

I won’t argue if you have 30, 40, 50, or even 100 reqs. Of course you do. What I will ask you – are all those reqs created equal? PROBABLY NOT.

There are so many variables at play here. Some things we need to consider –

• Which reqs overlap? Let’s say I have 10 openings for a call center representative. If the profile is EXACTLY the same (or damn close) and I’m working with a single hiring authority, that is a far cry from 10 reqs with wildly different requirements and hiring managers. There are lots of creative ways to do high volume hiring – treating each headcount as an individual hiring need may not be the best use of your time.
• Internal Only posts. Here’s the hard truth – some roles are just not yours to fill. AND THAT’S OK. If a hiring manager already has people in mind, or just isn’t that into external talent for whatever reason, LET THAT SHIT GO. You can follow along and/or keep track of the hiring process (depending on how your company does it, you might have internal transfer responsibilities) but you are NOT launching a full scale recruiting effort. So stop acting like it.
• It’s not a priority. One of my favorite lines to use following an intake with a new hiring manager – “I’ll give this as much priority as you do”. Here’s the simple truth – if the HM is not willing/able to play ball, why should you? This doesn’t mean you won’t put in ANY effort – but again, not all reqs / hiring needs are created equal, and it’s totally ok to have a different strategy for each.
• Pro-Tip – clear this with your boss / HM’s boss or someone who can cover your ass when the HM bitches that he/she never hears from you. Also, thorough notes/emails to prove your effort (and their lack of) can go a long way to CYA.