We all expect that after we hit send, our resume goes directly to a pile of other resumes in front of a human resources manager somewhere within the company who looks at it and sees that is, undoubtedly, the best resume he has ever seen and immediately calls you for a phone interview and offers you the job.

Well, dream on! Not only is there a very small chance that your resume is the only standout, we know for a fact that there are systems know as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that may be your worst enemy, or if you understand how they work, may be your friend. Applicant tracking systems are a type of software that almost all major employers use to screen hundreds of resumes and only send specific ones to the hiring manager.

95% of large organizations use ATS systems including almost all Fortune 500 companies. If that isn’t scary enough, more than 50% of mid-sized companies use them as well. If you do not understand the ATS system, you may have eliminated more than 50% of the companies that you might want to apply to.

While these systems help the employer’s screening process, they can help candidates by simplifying the online process to just a few quick clicks.

There are a few simple tricks that make the posting a robot friendly resume an easier task if you pay attention to the road signs.

Small things like using abbreviations and tables (ATS robots do n t like these) are just a couple of examples of what can cause you serious issues.

For a more detailed discussion of ATS systems, go to Business Insider

Go to www.TADPGS.com, click on the “Looking for People” tab, then view “Veterans Solutions” to see more for information on our Veterans Solutions for Employers. Please join our LinkedIn group, Veterans Hiring Solutions for Veterans at http://linkd.in/Sg346w. If you have specific questions about hiring veterans or the incentives for doing so, contact me at Ben.Marich@Adeccona.com.