Resume Vs. Applicant Tracking Systems: The Tool that gets you through!
Did you know that 90 % of resumes are often screened out by applicant tracking systems? MicroTrain’s innovative solution gets your resume past the robotic ATS and seen by a human being.
Sending out resume after resume and never hearing from an employer is a complaint we heard way too often from our job seekers at MicroTrain. So, we asked ourselves, “Why are qualified candidates not being called for that first interview?” It is due in large part because 90 percent of companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to search for qualified candidates. “What is an ATS,” you might ask. An ATS is a type of software application that handles the recruitment process, namely by sorting through thousands of resumes, to determine which ones are the best fit for available positions.
If the job seeker’s resume doesn’t have the right keywords, the ATS will automatically reject that resume. MicroTrain has the solution! Our new, automated RESUME GAP ANALYSIS TOOL helps job seekers before they send out their resumes. It does this by taking a resume, comparing it to the job description and then giving an instant analysis of how well the resume emulates for that particular job. It even provides feedback of how that resume can optimize for an ATS.
MicroTrain’s Resume Gap Analysis Tool is easy to use. Simply paste your Resume, paste the job description and SUBMIT.
The Resume Gap Analysis will do a keyword occurrence analysis to your resume and tell you what skills and keywords appear in the job ad but not in your resume. If you have experience with any of the following skills and keywords, check the context they appear in the ad and, if appropriate, add them to the resume.
Our clients are already enjoying the benefits of this tool. Here are some of the comments from one of our PMP classes: “This is the tool I have been searching for! “ “I wish I had this tool a month ago; I probably would have had interviews by now!” “ Thank you, MicroTrain, for this tool, it is going to save me a lot of time!” “If 100 people are applying for the same job I am, I am hoping that no one has this tool but me! This is the advantage that I am looking for!”
You can find the resume gap analysis tool on TheProfessional.Me, where you can also upload your resume, get your resume graded as well as analyzed: https://theprofessional.me/resumes/. Every job seeker needs to check out the many features of TheProfessional.Me!
Early one morning on my way to work the booth for a Job Fair in Chicago, I stepped into a quiet, but crowded elevator with a bunch of suited-up-job seekers. We were on our way up to the 25th floor. Slowly creeping upward (stopping at every floor), the friendly Midwest girl in me soon decides to break the deafening silence, ‘What’s everyone’s elevator speech?’ All eyes hit the floor in the perfect she-couldn’t-be-talking-to-me synchronicity.
‘Seriously’, I continued, ‘let’s rehearse our elevator pitches; after all, we’ll be giving this 1,000 times today.’ I threw my pitch out to the crowd… still nothing but dead air. There were blank stares all around me, people couldn’t wait to get off the elevator; one minute felt like an eternity.
Everyone on the elevator was a job seeker with resumes in hand; yet, no one on the elevator would or could tell me what they were seeking and why I should be interested.
What is an Elevator Pitch? My explanation is that an elevator pitch/speech is a short statement which should be used quickly and simply to define a person, profession, product, service, organization or event and its value proposition. Your pitch should get people interested to learn more about you. Everyone needs an elevator pitch, whether you are employed or unemployed; it is something that can be used on a daily basis.
Your opening pitch should get people interested. It shouldn’t be delivered without value nor should you try to shove all your information into 30 seconds. The goal should be to get others as excited as you are about what you do and to start a conversation. You know if your elevator pitch is working if the person you are communicating with is asking you a question. If they don’t ask a question, you don’t have a good pitch.
Here are three things to shoot for when developing your elevator pitch:
Make it Concise An elevator pitch should be brief and to the point. You want to come out of the box with something clear and easy to comprehend that doesn’t sound like an advertisement.
Know your Audience Aim your pitch to the person you are talking to at the time. (Yes, not every pitch will be the same.) Gear your pitch to be all about them and how you can help them. Everything you say about your product or service should be directed around how it can help them. You will lose a listener if you start talking about the awards you received or your success – no one cares – it is all about what is in it for them!
Convey your Passion Be passionate and show people that you care. (How is someone going to care about what you do if you don’t care first?) Speak from your heart, not from a manual, as to why you believe in your product or service and why they should care about it. You will stand out from the crowd if you convey passion.
Examples:
Project Manager
Hi, my name is Johnny Torrio, Certified Project Manager and Operations Specialist. I’ve managed successful projects for companies like Kellog’s, IBM and CDW. I help companies in the IT and Management industries keep projects within budget, scope and lead cross functional teams in delivering superior results. I thrive in leadership positions where I can act as a liaison between different project teams, clients and executives to help bring projects to a successful completion.
Network Administrator
Hi, my name is Alisa Thompson and I’m a Network Administrator. I’ve worked with clients such as Google, Motorola and T-Mobile. I help organize IT service delivery, manage help desk associates, monitor systems, and have experience in Microsoft and Unix Server configuration. I have always been able to adapt to different situations and I find Information Technology to be a special challenge to this natural ability. With new technologies and different issues always emerging, the IT environment is both dynamic and exciting to someone like me.
Help Desk Associate
Hello, my name is Al Harrington and I’m an End User Support Specialist. I’ve worked with companies like McDonald's Corporate, Red Box and Schneider trucking, helping them with various IT needs. While providing superior customer service, I can help diagnose and cure various issues with software, routers, systems, and desktop, and ultimately increase your end user's availability. I’ve always been a great technical problem solver, and IT provides me with the ability to put this skill to use on a daily basis in a way that helps companies grow. I like that.
Need help creating your own Elevator Pitch? Here is a great tool to help you craft your own pitch-perfect Elevator Pitch: Elevator Pitch Generator.
Finally, always be prepared. You never know where you might need your pitch. Practice, Practice, Practice! Rehearse in front of a mirror, in front of friends and family. First impressions happen only ONCE! Don’t wing it; if you wing it, people will know. Arm yourself with answers to the toughest questions that might be thrown at you following your pitch. If you are prepared, you will be confident and ready to wow potential employers.