John BalchunasWorkforce Development Director

N O R T H C A R O L I N A B I O T E C H N O L O G Y C E N T E R

The Résumé Black Hole

SMALL ORGANIZATIONS

What happens when you submit your application?

MEDIUM/LARGE/GLOBAL COMPANIES

What happens when you submit your application?

An enterprise-level software system used to efficiently automate and manage:– Job Posting– Applicant Screening– Tracking & Reporting

What happens when you submit your application?

WHAT IS AN APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM (ATS)?

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORKFLOW?

What happens when you submit your application?

1. A job opening triggers a requisition request

2. HR reviews the requisition and posts the job to the web.

3. You apply for the job.

4. Applications are reviewed, rejected, or forwarded to hiring manager based on qualifications.

5. HR and Hiring Managers interview candidates.

5. Someone gets a job offer.

The Résumé Black Hole

3. You apply for the job.

4. Applications are reviewed, rejected, or forwarded to hiring manager based on qualifications.

WHAT GOES ON IN THE BLACK HOLE?1. ATS categorizes chunks of information.2. The system compares your résumé with others.3. Résumés are filtered and/or ranked based on set

priorities, including:– Screening Questions– Geographic– Referral source– Contextual use of keywords

4. Recruiters review and identify candidates.

5. Contact initiated or résumé “kept on file.”

The Résumé Black Hole

A FEW COMMON ATS MISCONCEPTIONS• Algorithms just search for “keywords.”• Real people don’t even read the

résumés anymore.• One wrong answer on an application

form will ruin your chances.• Knowing someone at the

company doesn’t matter anymore.

The Résumé Black Hole

BEFORE APPLYING FOR A JOB

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

• Create your foundational résumé.• Save your résumé in several formats

and know when to use them:–Microsoft Word/RTF– PDF– Plain Text

CREATING A PLAIN TEXT RÉSUMÉ

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

1. Use the “Save As…” feature to save your document as a .TXT file.

2. Open the document in Notepad.3. Disable “Word Wrap.”4. Use spacing, capitalization, and

plain text lines to restore formatting.

CREATING A PLAIN TEXT RÉSUMÉ(1)

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

In Word/PDF, everything looks good

CREATING A PLAIN TEXT RÉSUMÉ (2)

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

Everything gets garbled when converting to plain text by:

– You– Cut/Paste– ATS

CREATING A PLAIN TEXT RÉSUMÉ (3/4)

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

Use Notepad to reintroduce formatting that is safe for cutting and pasting

WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB ONLINE

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

• Customize your résumé based on the job posting.

• Upload the .DOC or cut/paste information from the .TXT version.– PDFs can be problematic for ATS systems

• Fill out all fields, including salary information.• Take your time with open-ended

screening questions.• Use your professional network to let

people at the target company know you applied

WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB ONLINE

How can you better navigate the résumé black hole?

• Prioritize your job targets at a potential employer. – DON’T apply to every job you feel qualified to fill.– Applying to many unrelated positions can come

across as indecisiveness or desperation

• DO apply online, whether you sent your résumé to a person or not.

• DO respond promptly to any correspondence from the company.

N O R T H C A R O L I N A B I O T E C H N O L O G Y C E N T E R

John BalchunasNorth Carolina Biotechnology

CenterJohn_balchunas@ncbiotech.org

www.ncbiotech.org

Thoughts and Questions?