Resume Solutions for Applicant Tracking Systems

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are a reality in today's world of the job search and resume posting. Regardless of your opinion of them or mine -- which is that the way companies set them up makes them ineffective and costs them lots of dollars -- they are here to stay and are increasing in number. A January 2012 Wall Street Journal article provides some good background and statistics on the topic. You can view it at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577178941034941330.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet&_nocache=1327506661957articleTabs=comments&user=welcome&mg=id-wsj#articleTabs%3Darticle.


The real question is: What do I do with my resume so that it works well with these resume screening ATS systems? Although most claim that a Word document will work fine, that's not really true. Resumes done in MS Word inherently have a good amount of formatting behind the scenes to make the resume look nice. That's great when you email it or print it out for someone to view. Its not so nice for the ATS. The technology is such that they have difficulty parsing the data in your resume properly. Which means that information doesn't always get placed in the right bucket. Oftentimes, this leads to the resume being "booted out" of the system.

The answer is to have multiple versions of your resume to handle the various submittal requirements. When submitting through an ATS, a text-only (ASCII) or e-version of the resume is the best way to go. The text-only version strips out all the fancy formatting and reorganizes the information into the proper order so that the ATS can load it successfully.

To develop a resume that helps to distinguish you from the rest of the competition and get you past those automated systems in this tough market, go to www.ittechexec.com or call us today at (866) 755-9800 to schedule an appointment.


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Tech Trends: Fastest Growing Cities

Forbes.com ranked the fastest growing US cities. As we begin 2012, these markets continue to hold their own and grow despite a sluggish national economy.

1. Austin, Texas
2. Raleigh, North Carolina (Research Triangle)
3. Phoenix, Arizona
4. Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
5. Houston, Texas

Rounding out the top 10 were Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville, Tennessee; Indianapolis, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; and the Washington, D.C. Metro area.

Interestingly, the lowest unemployment rate among the top 10 was in D.C., coming in at 5.8%. The major factor is the huge increase in federal government jobs, which is helpful to the local job market but not a favorable indicator for the national trend.

With three of the top 5 and four of the top 10, Texas is an attractive market for your next job search. It's business (and individual) friendly tax structure has brought new enterprises and new talent to the area, stimulating strong sustained growth.

If you are flexible on terms of geography, consider one of these markets in your upcoming job search.

6 Tech Jobs For 2012

According to a recent InfoWorld report, the six hottest jobs in the technology field as we enter 2012 include the following:

1. Technical Architect
2. Data Scientist
3. Social Media Architect
4. Mobile Application Development Director
5. Enterprise Mobile Application Developer
6. Cloud Solutions Architect

Keep your eyes open for opportunities in these specialties to continue to grow. Having a resume that highlights your expertise in these areas can position you effectively for garnering such a role.