Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have become essential tools for recruiters and hiring managers, simplifying the process of scanning resumes for relevant candidates. However, these automated systems are not without flaws, especially when it comes to interpreting a candidate's career progression and lateral moves. In this blog post, we will explore whether ATS can misread these important aspects of your work history, how this affects your chances, and what you can do to ensure your resume is accurately interpreted by these systems.

Introduction

ATS are designed to scan resumes, identify key information, and rank candidates based on their relevance to the job opening. While these systems can be incredibly efficient, they often struggle with the nuanced interpretation of a candidate’s career progression. Lateral moves where a candidate moves to a similar role in a different department or company can sometimes be misinterpreted by ATS as a lack of career growth. Similarly, if a candidate has moved up in their career, ATS may not always capture this advancement correctly. These misinterpretations can lead to missed opportunities, even for qualified candidates. In this post, we’ll delve into how ATS handle career progression and lateral moves, and how job seekers can optimize their resumes to avoid these issues.

How ATS Work

ATS systems are designed to make the hiring process more efficient by scanning resumes for relevant keywords, job titles, skills, and experience. Once a resume is submitted, the ATS parses the content to extract relevant information, such as work history, qualifications, and educational background. It then compares the extracted data to the job description and ranks candidates based on how well their resumes align with the job's requirements.

Although ATS are highly effective at identifying keywords and matching job descriptions, they rely heavily on structure and formatting to interpret a candidate’s career history. This is where things can go wrong. If a candidate has a non-traditional career path or has moved laterally between similar roles, the ATS might not understand the context. The system may not always differentiate between a lateral move and career growth, leading to a misinterpretation of the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

Career Progression vs. Lateral Moves in ATS

Understanding how ATS view career progression and lateral moves is essential for job seekers. These systems scan resumes for job titles, years of experience, and skills. However, they don’t always account for the nuances of career development, such as job changes that may not involve an increase in title but still represent significant growth in skills and responsibilities. Below, we explore how ATS interpret career progression and lateral moves, and the challenges these systems face.

How ATS View Lateral Moves

Lateral moves when a candidate shifts from one role to another with a similar title or level of responsibility can be difficult for ATS to interpret. Since the job title and responsibilities may remain the same, the ATS might not register this change as a career advancement. The system might even see this as a lack of growth or assume that the candidate is stagnant in their career, which can hurt the candidate’s score.

For example, if a candidate moves from a “Marketing Coordinator” role at one company to a similar position at another company, the ATS might interpret this as a step backward, even though the candidate may have gained new skills, worked on different projects, or expanded their responsibilities. To avoid this misinterpretation, candidates should clarify the specific responsibilities and achievements from each role on their resume.

How ATS View Career Progression

Career progression advancing from one job title to a higher one with more responsibilities tends to be more straightforward for ATS to interpret. However, ATS systems are more focused on job titles and keywords than they are on the depth of experience. For example, if a candidate progresses from “Junior Software Developer” to “Senior Software Developer,” the ATS will likely recognize this as career advancement. But the system might not give enough weight to other factors that indicate growth, such as increased leadership responsibilities or advanced technical skills gained over time.

To optimize for this, candidates should make sure to not only list job titles but also provide a detailed account of their increasing responsibilities and achievements. This can help the ATS better understand the growth and development that occurred in each role.

Challenges ATS Face with Career History

ATS are efficient but still lack the ability to understand the subtle nuances of a candidate’s career history. They may struggle with interpreting gaps in employment, lateral moves, or job title changes. Additionally, if a candidate changes industries but retains a similar role (e.g., moving from marketing in retail to marketing in tech), the ATS might have difficulty understanding the transferability of skills. These challenges are compounded when resumes are poorly formatted or include non-traditional job titles that the ATS cannot recognize.

How to Optimize Your Resume for ATS

To ensure your resume is accurately interpreted by ATS, consider these tips:

Clarify Job Titles and Responsibilities

If you've had lateral moves, it’s important to clarify the differences in responsibilities. You can do this by adding brief explanations of how each role contributed to your overall growth, even if the job titles didn’t change. For example, if you moved from “Marketing Coordinator” to “Marketing Coordinator” at a different company, emphasize the new skills you acquired or the additional projects you managed.

Highlight Career Achievements

Focus on your accomplishments in each role, rather than just the title. Whether the move was lateral or upward, demonstrating how you grew in skills, responsibilities, and achievements will make it easier for ATS to understand your career progression.

Be Clear with Dates and Timeframes

Make sure your job history includes clear and consistent dates for each position. This will help ATS understand your career timeline. Avoid using ambiguous terms like “early 2010s” or “recently” stick to specific months and years to avoid any confusion.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Unclear job titles: Avoid using non-standard job titles that ATS may not recognize. Use conventional job titles when possible.
  • Overcomplicating career explanations: Keep your job descriptions clear and concise. ATS are designed to scan for keywords, so don’t overcomplicate the language.
  • Ignoring accomplishments: Always highlight key achievements and responsibilities, especially in lateral moves, to demonstrate your growth.

Conclusion

ATS can misread career progression and lateral moves, leading to potential misunderstandings of your work history. To ensure your qualifications are properly interpreted, it's crucial to clarify job titles, responsibilities, and accomplishments on your resume. By understanding how ATS work and optimizing your resume accordingly, you can improve your chances of passing through automated filters and getting noticed by recruiters.