How to Build The Perfect ATS Compliant Resume and Cover Letter!

Photo by João Ferrão on Unsplash

This article is part of series of articles for helping fellow candidates crack abroad jobs, specifically European jobs, from their home country. Mostly, it is catered for us Indians wishing to know the right techniques to crack European jobs. However, individual steps can be used for anyone looking to get a new job in European market, so feel free to pick and chose the steps relevant for you!

All the information is completely free of cost, and DO NOT require you to visit consultancy and waste tons of money there. It is my own knowledge that I built while going through the complete process.

Please find the steps below:

a) Step 0: Introduction and how recruitment works.

b) Step 1: Tips on creating a killer profile.

c) Step 2: Building the right resume and cover letter.

d) Step 3: Strategy of applying and sponsorship ready job portal links.

e) Step 4: Insights on actual interview process and conclusion.

Hopefully, the above steps could help anyone land their dream European job, and that, would be the success of this post!

Introduction:

In this article, we explore how to make your resume ATS proof. ATS is the number one reason for your resumes not even reaching the recruiters. Having a perfect resume and cover letter is 50% battle done! There are many many candidates, who have endlessly applied to thousands of openings without getting any reply (myself included). This post hopefully puts an end to that, and gives you the industry secrets in making the right resume for Europe and in the correct format.

Step 2: Build the right resume and cover letter.

Remember in Step 0, we discussed that Velocity is the key for engineering firms. To add to that, most big MNCs employ a software suite normally called Applicant Tracking System (or ATS). The purpose of this tool is to float the resumes most likely to be compatible with the job openings at hand.

So for example, you, along with hundred other applicants, applied to an opening. The resume got picked up by ATS, and stored in a database. The HR would, on a monday morning, search for the keywords such as “java developer | telecom 4g/5g | aws | kubernetes” in the ATS software, and get a top 10 list. HR would then email/call these candidates, and take it from there.

Yup, unlike your expectation, your fancy resume won’t be considered for the role you applied. On the flip side, it could be considered for a completely different role you did not apply!

However, this is an honest feedback from HRs I talked to: 95% of the resumes would never make it pass the ATS.

It is like google search, your webpage would never make it to the top 10 unless you employ digital marketing service. So if you are wondering why even after applying to almost hundreds of openings, you are not getting a reply, there is a huge chance that your resume is not ATS compliant and never reached the recruiters’ eyes in the first place.

Hence, it is critical, almost required, to make your resume ATS compliant. You could hire any resume website services, or read articles on how to make your resume ATS compliant.

A few Dos and Donts of resume formatting from my side, specifically for Europe:

1. Do not format your resume with graphics and tables (and your photo): ATS has a hard time filling graphical data into their database, and chances are it could fill in the wrong keywords. Putting in your photo is a strict no no.
2. Unless specifically asked, do not upload .pdf, always use .txt or .doc format: For the simple reason, ATS works best with a editable document.
3. Do not use resume templates: Templates, mostly downloaded from the internet, have hidden formatting that could give ATS a tipsy. Just use a plain word document to begin with.
4. Do use simple fonts and headings: Sans sarif font such as Calibri is best as they are easily readable on screen. Use 11 font size as normal text, and 13 as heading, or any 2 point difference between the heading and text.
5. Do make one page resume: The single most important mistake most of the folks do is filling their resume with useless info and lots of projects. ATS would not care about your hobbies and your laundry list of projects! Try your very best to make one page resume by only including Experience, Education, and Certifications as headings, and name it that way only (ATS reads Experience, not “Places I have Worked”). My resume has only these three, and yet it got selected.
6. Do use keywords in the contextual text: I am sure everyone adds keywords in skillsets. But it is very important to add job opening keywords in contextual sentences while describing your work. Start with an action verb such as “described”, “spearheaded”, “developed” etc. An example for DevOps role: Strategized to create a GitOps based build management system using Jenkins and Ansible in AWS cloud, reducing deployment time by 50%.

TL;DR for resume: make a simple one page word document without graphics and tables, and fill the content with action words and keywords that you would expect your recruiters to search!

Finally, it is a great idea to get a scan of your resume from any of the free ATS resume scanners, or you could even use any paid versions for it.

Let’s talk about Cover letter now:

This is an addition for European firms specifically. Most American firms do not ask for them, but most European firms do. However, as a rule of thumb, wherever it is given as optional, it is a good idea to provide the cover letter.

You could search about making good cover letters in google. Most of the tips are pretty much handy.

I could not comment much on the cover letter, as your resume trumps everything. However, what I would advice here is to keep it short, crisp, and be related to the job opening.

You could also make a generic cover letter which vaguely touches all the points of your CV. This is what I did, as lately, the most important aspect is your resume. That being said, please find my personal tips on cover letter:

1. The formatting tips of Resume applies here: font 11, sans sarif font, no graphics, in .doc format.
2. Additionally, make sure to divide in 3 main paragraphs: first para introduces your interest to the company, and your summary. Second para digs in your expertise and skillsets. Third para finally shows why you are the best bet for the company.
3. Keywords are your best friends here again. Fill the cover letter with the keywords, however make sure not to overdo it.

That’s it for this post folks, check the other parts for more info!