How One Job Seekers Secret to Success Can Be Yours, Too

How One Job Seekers Secret to Success Can Be Yours, TooHow One Job Seekers Secret to Success Can Be Yours, TooThe rise of applicant tracking systems (ATS), the recruiting software used by 90 percent of businesses to filter and rankresumes, may be helping employers- but it isnt necessarily helping job seekers.The idea behind applicant tracking systems is to help hiring managers select the best applicants from the applicant pool by highlighting the best resumes- and even outright eliminating others. One way anATS works is by findingresume keywords (specific details related to a job, such as required degrees and technical knowledge) and using that information to gauge which candidates are most qualified.Mostjob seekers are unaware of applicant tracking systems. This can sometimes lead to qualified applicants being rejected, because their resumes arent written with an ATS in mind.As a result, online resume tools such as Jobscanhave emerged to help job seekers understand how to determine which resume keywords are important, and how to optimize their resumes for an ATS.Dwight GartmonDwight Gartmon, 31, a freelance music composer for film and TV moved with his family- his wife and three young boys- from California to Arizona six months ago. Moving isnt cheap, so though he had been doingfreelance work for mora than 15 years, his savings account welches dwindling. He had more than a decade of solid customer service experience on his resume, and though he enjoyed the field, he wasnt particularly excited about a tedious and grueling job search.After applying to more than 50 jobs and not receiving enough positive responses or interview opportunities from employers, Gartmon started to read blogs about resumes in search of things he could do to improve his chances. He noticed people mentioning and highly recommending Jobscan, and decided to give it a shot.He said he found Jobscans online resume tool, which directly compares a job seekers resume to a specific job and rates ho w well they match, to be extremely user-friendly and self-explanatory.To use Jobscan, all you need to do ispaste your resume and target job postinginto the appropriate sections on the Jobscan website, click Scan,and receive a Match Rate. Jobscan recommends aiming fora Match Rate of at least 80 percent.A Jobscan screen capture showing a Match Rate and Skills Comparison.Not only is Jobscan able to predict how successful a resume will be when submitted to an ATS, it highlights which aspects of a resume are working, and which arent.Which skills and keywords are already includedWhich skills and keywords should be emphasized or prioritizedWhich skills and keywords are missingJobscan makes it easy to see where your resume might be lacking.Jobscan provided me with the best advice I couldve received on how to properly tailor my resume for job applications, Gartmon said.After taking Jobscans recommendations into account and creating tailored resumes for each application, Gartmon immediately l anded two job interviews from two different companies. In both cases, he received the replies less than a week after applying. He had actually applied to one of those companies numerous times before using Jobscan, and had no luck. After using Jobscan and landing an interview, Gartmon washired by that company.He still continues to hear from companies wishing to set up interviews with him and has recommended Jobscan to all his friends and family.Not only did I save money and time using Jobscan, I gained pride on how I was being reflected in my resumes, Gartmon said.When asked what advantages he feels Jobscan provides to its users, Gartmon replied Jobscanis the advantage