With such a poor job market, it is important to pay particular attention to your job application. Many companies use application tracking software that act as screening systems. However, if you know what these systems are looking for, you can go a long way to help yourself get the job you have been looking for.
1. Don’t place contact info in the header of your application – many software programs are set to ignore this information so it often gets deleted completely
2. Do not create borders
3. Keep 1-inch margins at the top and bottom
4. Choose conservative fonts – try to find Verdana, Arial, or Calibri in order to write the application as Times New Roman can be rejected by the software
5. Smallest font size should be 11-point font
6. Do not format using tables
If you follow these rules, you can avoid hiccups at the beginning of the process that could cost you the job.
A Trick to Get Your Resume Past Applicant Tracking Systems [jobs.aol.com]
