Hey, hey. Dina the Copywriter here. I’m going to throw out a term for all of you job seekers getting frustrated at how fast your resume bounces back a rejection email after applying for roles. Try reverse engineering your keywords.
Stay with me here, I’m about to give you a whole thing on how to do this.
ATS and job rejections
In case we’re still not caught up, ATS, otherwise known as applicant tracking software, has made it really difficult to match up with jobs that would be suitable for our skills.
The problem is basically a keyword mismatch.
Your goal is to make note of the words that a company uses in their job listing, then add them to your resume to get it past ATS.
If you were one of the brave folks who ventured into online business in the early 2000s then you probably remember the obsession with keywords to help your biz show up in search engine results.
Now, you’ll notice that the web is no longer driven by logic, which is very sad to me.
(These days, it’s actually more difficult for a business to be found through keywords alone. Instead, search engines spit back names of players who pony up bucks for top placement.)
ATS actually does use keywords the way search engines once did
Since ATS is now the chosen technology for screening job candidates, the keyword match method DOES actually work if you’d like to get hired.
A high-ranking dude in HR threw me these tips
This tip came to me from an old friend who holds a high-ranking position in HR in the tech industry.
(The photo at the top of this blog post is me just after talking with him while doing my daily walk. I texted this to him as a thank-you for his valuable time, I think it made him smile based on his return reply. I think we can all use some gratitude and a smile in these trying times.)
My friend in HR reminded me that with ATS, it really is all about the keyword match.
He also mentioned that bigger corporations are more likely to turn on the auto-reject feature when they use ATS trackers to screen candidates.
So if you’re looking to get signed on by the big brands, then you really want to reflect back at them the same keywords that they’re publishing in their job postings.
Mid- to smaller-sized companies may still handpick candidates by having the humans who work for them actually read the cover letters and resumes. (Which I’d say is somewhat encouraging, but you really won’t be sure which method the company that you’d like to work for is using.)
Don’t try to be original, just strategize your keywords.
If you were hoping that by choosing exciting and creative verbiage your resume would get selected out of the pile, I just want to remind you that it’s not about that.
It’s actually about reflecting exact words that they’re using right back at them, and I do mean exact.
My guy gave me a tip, and it’s not the first time I’m hearing it. He said that in your job search on Indeed and other aggregate sites, if you come upon a specific job listing that looks like it’d be a good fit and you want to NOT be rejected by ATS, then modify your resume before you submit it.
Reverse keyword engineering
I’m calling this reverse keyword engineering, but I don’t think there’s an official term for it. I just made that up now. (So if you hear people slinging these words later, tell them Dina the Copywriter said it first. 😂)
My friend emphasized that yes, editing your resume for each job application is definitely kind of a pain. But it’ll put you ahead of other candidates who don’t keyword-engineer.
Where to put the keywords in your resume
Sprinkle keywords into the money spots of your ATS-friendly resume as follows:
- The title that you use just after your name, right at the top
- The Career Objective at the top, and you don’t have to literally say the word “objective” anymore. Just add a descriptive line in smaller type directly after your name and title
- The job descriptions, which should be listed out in your Career History section
If you’re including skills or proficiencies in your resume, include the targeted keywords in there as well
How to not hate versioning your resume for every role
Like anything, doing a thing consistently will help you to make it into a habit (and hate it less).
If you’re not in the practice of versioning your resume, change your mindset. Start thinking about each application as being unique, or categorized as a certain type of job.
Then save your resume with edits that apply to that job or that category of role, only.
Save and store your resume files for easy access later
You’ll reduce the amount of time spent editing your resume if you save versions of it.
Keep a folder on your computer or on your remote storage so that you can pick and choose different drafts of your resume as needed, when opportunities come up.
Also version the file names to make your resume easily found when you need to grab a particular draft in a hurry.
An example of this: I have a copywriting-focused resume, and then I have another resume tooled for customer service. Those are two roles I could prove useful for.
For you, think of all the different titles that you could wear which reflect your skills and strengths. Then create a resume for each.
Keyword reverse engineering works on Upwork, too
A bonus tip, my HR guy also suggested using the reverse engineering keyword technique when applying for gigs on Upwork.
I personally have not used Upwork in a while, because I got tired of bidding on jobs. But if anybody has had luck with them recently, feel free to share your experience in the comments of wherever I end up sharing this post.
It was nice to speak with a human who had some inside knowledge of the current job market and gave me tips that could potentially have some leverage.
God bless all the job seekers
In conclusion, a lot of workers are being laid off… and if you’re one of them, my heart goes out to you.
I for one have not been in a permanent role for many years, though my face has been around the freelance copywriting game and I’ve also sold content as a digital product online and will continue to do so.
But even that has proved challenging in this shifting economic climate. So I’m suggesting that we all just continue to keep our eyes and ears peeled for leads, tips and such, and share with each other.
And if you do find a role, I would just keep my finger on the pulse of the job market, because we really don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Not to mention, you might be able to hook up a friend with a decent gig. What comes around goes around, as they say.
Sending you good job vibes
Whether you’re permanent, fractional, freelance, juggling multiple gigs, contract, or whatever you want to call yourself…
I’m sending you positive vibes for work that lights you up, income to pay the bills with some left over, and a meaningful role that brings purpose to your life and makes the best use of your strengths and skills.
Peace out from Dina the Copywriter.
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