Applicant tracking software is software for managing applicant sourcing, storing applicant documents, evaluating, messaging, and managing the hiring process from start to finish. The program can be located on a company’s server or cloud-based. Back in the very late 1990s, the first programs came out that could hold the applications and resumes; and reports could be run to pull out qualified applicants information.

Prior to the late 1990s, the closest thing there was to an applicant tracking system was a file cabinet with applications/resumes sorted by job category in box bottom hanging files. By the mid-2000s, it became clear that the written content of resumes had to change to work with ATS programs. Because what went i might not come out on a report/appear on a computer screen for a recruiter to review for interview consideration.

Fast forward to now, modern applicant systems can automatically import candidate resumes from the company career sites, social media sites, job boards, and resumes posted on the Internet. They store the resume and auto-populate various candidate fields to create an applicant profile.

Upcoming advancements include voice commands. The busy recruiter can expect to be able to operate their ATS entirely by voice, including writing job ads, creating emails and text messages to applicants, writing recruiting notes, searching for candidates and more.

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is something that we’ve been reading about for a number of years and dreaming about for decades! The next place that we will see AI play an increasingly important role is in talent acquisition. Resume parsing and candidate filtering are how systems work now. AI will help to improve the way that these functions work. Instead of the ATS solely screening for keywords (semantic search) that must be contained in each résumé to qualify for consideration, AI helps the system to understand the concept that the recruiter is looking for so that candidates who have simply used different wording aren’t overlooked. We are not there yet, but it is coming.

Robots read resumes. They determine if human eyes will get to review a résumé for that 30-second read. The robots are getting smarter. The robot will scan your resume and look for expected sections, like Experience, Education, Skills, etc. Having said to make your résumé ATS-worthy, don’t forget that the big goal is for a human to look at it at some point, so a modern résumé must be created for both machines and humans!

Career Advice Simplified is an experienced and full-service career services coaching company providing clients with strategic career planning, career coaching, résumé reviewing, résumé writing, cover letter creating, biography constructing, interview preparing, social media profiling, and personal branding. If you have the desire for a stepped-up career, we have solutions. Win the game of job hunting with our specialists. We provide resume and career services in Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Venice and all along the Suncoast!