Many employers (especially larger companies) use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) to manage the huge amount of candidates that apply for roles online. An ATS is a system that scans resumes and matches them against criteria (mostly keywords) defined by the employer. Think of it as a Google search, but for CVs.

The ATS will look for things such as location, years of experience, etc. and may reject you if you don’t meet the basics. This is why it is extremely important that your CV is in a format these systems can understand and has all the basic information correct and the right keywords. It is one of the reasons we recommend only having one column in your CV and avoiding any complicated designs. Always submit your CV as a .pdf and if you are writing it in say Microsoft Word and exporting it as a PDF at the end remember to check that the exported version still has the correct formatting.

These systems must recognise your CV as strong to get it in front of a recruiter.

Practice tailoring your CV to be successful for each application rather than sending out the same CV to every company. As well as understanding the principles of ATS, there are some free tools you can use to practice and improve your CV.

Learn more here: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/ats-resume

• https://resumeworded.com/ - This gives you a score for your CV using an ATS and shows you where you can improve. You can re-upload your CV to see the impact of your changes.
• https://app.jobscan.co/ - This has a limited number of uses for free but allows you to compare a specific job description against your CV. Use this to help you understand how they compare the job description to your CV.