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"&amp;quot;Is anyone actually reading this?&amp;quot; We always wonder who&amp;amp;mdash;if anyone&amp;amp;mdash;reads resumes submitted online. Answer: robots. (Really.) And with more and more employers using resume filtering technology as the first step to looking at applicants for open positions, it&amp;#x27;s worth knowing that some of the things you&amp;#x27;re doing to stand out might actually be hurting you. &amp;quot;Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are used by most companies to help automate and manage the hiring process. After managing the creation and approval process for new job openings, the ATS will then provide the ability to post job openings on third-party sites like Career Builder, Indeed, Facebook, etc.,&amp;quot; explains Tom Boyle, director of product strategy at Silk Road Technology, one of the companies creating this software. According to Boyle, tons of companies are using this software&amp;amp;mdash;SilkRoad alone has more than 1,100 customers. So if you see your dream job listed on Indeed or Career Builder, and you want to punch through the layer of software, what should be your next move? There are a few ways to tweak your resume to get it past the robots. &amp;quot;One of the most vital elements of your resume is the inclusion of proper key words for the position,&amp;quot; says Elana Konstant, career coach and consultant at Konstant Change Coaching. &amp;quot;This means using the common vernacular for a field along with language specific to the company and the job description.&amp;quot; What else can an eager job hunter do? Ditch the graphics, unless you&amp;#x27;re a designer. &amp;quot;In general, graphics are not much appreciated in the world of resumes,&amp;quot; says Konstant. &amp;quot;They tend to obscure the necessary information and often make it look as though a candidate is trying too hard to make up for a lack of content.&amp;quot; Finally, make it easy for the screening software to see how great you really are by describing your qualifications early, and often. Konstant says, &amp;quot;A summary with core skills listed at the top of the resume can be helpful to highlight key qualifications for the role. Make sure that your titles and job descriptions also convey the right information.&amp;quot; Of course, you shouldn&amp;#x27;t only rely on bots to get your resume through. A quick Google search or look at the company&amp;#x27;s website should be enough to find a real person you can email with your resume, whether he or she is in HR or (better yet) the department to which you&amp;#x27;re applying. Don&amp;#x27;t be shy about reaching out directly!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2013/11/how-to-get-past-the-resume-rob>