Why Does My Resume Keep Getting Rejected?

Ready for some big statistics? If you Google the words ‘why is my resume getting rejected’ you’ll see 1.78 million results in less than a second. Try it on Bing, and you’ll see just over a million. Go ahead, test it for yourself, then come back to find out why so many people are asking the same question: ‘Why is my resume getting rejected?!’

Most applicants don’t understand why their resume keeps getting kicked back as rejected. In most cases, applicants have tried their best to create a thoughtful and informative resume. Their educational and career accomplishments are carefully listed, yet it seems like no one cares!

Here’s the truth – hard and strong. 

No one cares.

If that seems like a harsh reality to you, then you need to understand why we say that with confidence. You see, today’s resumes aren’t being seen by human eyes – at least not at first. Your resume will first be scanned by computer software, and if it doesn’t like what it sees, a human eye will never even have the chance to review it!

Recruiting and Automation

Here’s what we are currently dealing with in the recruiting and hiring field. Every single industry  is transitioning to some degree of automation. Each sector is looking for it’s way to speed up processes by implementing different technology to take care of typically mundane and tedious tasks. The recruiting and hiring field has implemented computer technology in some of their initial work flow processes, one of them being initial resume review. Computers will receive the resume you upload with your application and will systematically filter out the resumes that do not meet or exceed particular criteria set in place by the hiring manager.

These computer software systems are called Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATS. They have the ability to narrow down large sums of applications into a handful of the top choices for the job! For companies looking for employees, it speeds up the hiring process tenfold. For you as the applicant it means being lost in a huge sea of resumes, computer algorithms and things that seem outside of your control.

If you have read this far and are thinking, ‘OK, but I did list all the qualifications they called for on the job posting, so why is my resume still being trashed?’ In all honesty, the ATS that companies use are looking for more than just the educational and career accomplishments you have to offer. They are looking just as much as how your resume is formatted as they are what information it contains.

How To Fly By the ATS

There are some fundamental things you need to understand in order to successfully write a resume that passes the ATS. First, the ATS cannot read images. If it comes across images or finds something it can’t read and process, the resume is marked invalid and rejected. Leave the photos, charts, graphs and any other imagery off your resume so you don’t run into that issue.

Secondly, you should think about which font types you use for your resume. ATS systems simply cannot read certain fonts, and if the system can’t read the text, you’re sure to be rejected. It’s a minor change to a resume document that skeptics will argue over, but should such a simple change really be the only thing between you and your next career? Don’t rely on a font type to make your resume stand out, utilize Arial, Impact, Tahoma, Courier, or Calibri to be safe.

Lastly, spelling and grammar mistakes are an absolute way to have your resume rejected. A recruiter or hiring manager may look past or not even recognize a grammatical or spelling error, but a computer with perfect spelling and grammar skills will not! Think of how many times systems like Microsoft Word point out errors to you that you didn’t know you made? Computers know their stuff, and they don’t miss those types of errors. 

Hire a Professional Resume Writing Service

Does all of this sound like too much for you? The recognition of things like the ATS can be intimidating to many, which is why we created USA Resume, the largest, most trusted professional resume writing service in Houston TX. Our industry specific resume writers know what your particular industry’s ATS is looking for! Let our writers work on your behalf, and craft a personal resume that is sure to land you interviews, not rejections!

www.usaresume.smartwebsitedesign.com