Quick Guide: Optimize Your Resume For Online Job Applications in 3 Easy Steps
When you do a search on google, google pulls keywords from every website to help show you the strongest results.
When you submit your resume to an online job posting, there’s a computer that goes through all the resumes that were submitted and pulls keywords to show a recruiter the strongest results for the job.
There’s are things you can do make it easier for robots to notice you — and this is known as “SEO”. We’re living in an age where many job applications start with an online form yet we don’t know how they work.
Here’s how to optimize your resume for the robots that read before any human does:
1. Copy/paste your resume from a .txt file.
PDF’s are fantastic for people because they’re clean and a commonly used file format. The problem is, many job applicants never get in the hands of the recruiter they thought were reading their resume because they never end up seeing it.
The problem with copy/pasting your resume onto job applications from a .doc or .PDF filetypes is that each has hidden formatting that you may not be able to see. This hidden formatting can easily trip up the robots that are reading it, depending on the type of ATS system they are using.
It’s important to make sure you’re optimizing for both humans and robots when it comes to trying to stand out.
Luckily, Nametag allows you to export your resume to both a PDF and .txt format with our “export” button to make sure you can impress both robots and people.
2.Words, Words, Words.
There is a fine line in overusing certain words that you might think a company might want to see. Yes, you definitely want to tailor your resume to the opportunity at hand but there the overuse of a singular phrase may trigger the systems reading your resume to mark your resume as bad.
Tailor your resume based on the job, but make sure you don’t start every single bullet point with the same exact verb. Everything should be in moderation, and everything should be in context.
3.”Fluffing” your job title is a quick way to destroy your credibility.
Chief Marketing Officer at the company you created when you were 18? That doesn’t accurately reflect what a Chief Marketing Officer at a lasting company actually does.
If you’re applying to be a marketing intern, then maybe list it as a “Marketer” on an independent project instead. Make sure your past experience aligns with the position you’re aligning for.
Otherwise, it raises eyebrows for both humans and computers.
