Applicant tracking systems…behind the scenes
By Sunrise Writing
You spent two hours perfecting your resumé. You tailored it to the job posting. You hit submit.
And then nothing. No interview. No rejection. Just silence.
It would be natural to blame the job market, your experience or the industry.
The real reason is often simpler and fixable. Your resumé never reached a real human being. It was filtered out by software before anyone saw it.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are software that employers use to manage incoming applications. ATS store every resumé ever submitted for a role, then help recruiters find candidates worth interviewing.
ATS are very common and companies of all sizes use these tools today. The odds of your application going through an ATS are almost guaranteed, regardless of where you are applying.
How ATS works
Step 1: Knockout questions
Most modern ATS include pre-screening layers before the resumé is even reviewed. These are called “knockout questions” (these exist on LinkedIn as well). Knockout questions are checkboxes and short-answer prompts that evaluate candidates against non-negotiable criteria. Common examples include: Do you have a valid driver’s license? Are you legally authorized to work in this country? Do you have a degree in this field?
If your answer disqualifies you at this stage, your resumé may never proceed further. This is why some applications feel like they disappear instantly, because they do.
Step 2: Parsing
This means the software will scan your resumé and extract information from it. (this includes: name, contact information, job titles, employers etc.)
This information gets stored in the ATS database. The problem is, ATS cannot always identify or read information in certain documents and formats. (Common issues include tables, columns, graphics, text boxes, unusual fonts). If the ATS cannot read it, the information can be lost entirely. If you resumé uses an unfamiliar font, the system may convert it incorrectly - this can affect how your keywords are read.
Step 3: Keyword matching and ranking
Once the ATS parses your resumé, it compares the information it has extracted against the job description. It looks for specific skills, job titles, certifications and any terminology the employer flagged as relevant when setting up the role. The ATS uses those keywords from the job descriptions to determine whether your resumé surfactes when recruiters start searching.
Here is the part most applicants don’t realize: recruiters rarely browse every resumé submitted. They search the ATS using keywords, exactly how you would search Google. Resumés that the ATS identified as having those keywords appear. (Most ATS systems have a “match scoring” system - a 75% or higher match is usually optimal for appearing in the recruiters review pile). For example, if a job description uses the term “Global Logistics” and your resumé says “Shipping” you will rank below candidates who used that exact phrase, even if your experience is identical.
What humans actually see
ATS software does not automatically reject resumés. Humans make the final decisions. What ATS does, is rank and organize. The recruiter open the ATS, searches for candidates and sees a ranked list. The resumés at the top get read. The ones at the bottom or the ones that did not surface in the search do not.
Getting past ATS doesn’t get you the job. It gets your resumé in front of a person. That person still needs to be impressed by what they read. Which means that a resumé only optimized for keyword matching with no coherent content, quantified results and no clear positioning can pass the filter and still not get to the interview pile.
The right goal is a resumé that works for both the software and the human.
Sunrise Writing Co. writes and edits resumes for professionals across North America. Every resumé we produce is built to pass ATS screening and land in front of the people making hiring decisions. Start with a free consultation.