What is an applicant tracking system, and how does it affect my job applications?

Answered by FlexJobs career experts

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software program used by employers to scan, review, rate, and organize job applications submitted for their open positions.

There are many different types of ATS, but most of them work in a similar way:

• They scan resumes looking for keywords, specific skills, and contextual experience that are important to the open role.
• Those keywords are usually mentioned in the job listing, often multiple times, so job seekers can guestimate which keywords will be important to include on their resumes in order to be well-rated by ATS.
• Applications are then scored or ranked by ATS and then passed to a hiring manager or HR professional for further review.

If you aren't carefully tailoring your resume to the position description and aligning your skills and experience with the desired qualifications, chances are good that you could be scored poorly and not be as visible to the people hiring for the role.

That's why it's so important to tailor and edit your resume to reflect the keywords and phrases found in the job description that match your experience and qualifications. This doesn't mean you should overload your resume with keywords, but rather, think about the contextually appropriate ways that you could include those keywords into your resume that will highlight your fit for that position - because, remember, a human hiring manager will eventually read the resume, too. 

This downloadable PDF sample shows you how to tailor your resume for one specific job listing.