Many qualified job seekers are rejected before being seen in person.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) screens résumés with software to collect, sort, scan, and rank prospective employees. An ATS filters for keywords and excludes résumés lacking the required items as well as ones that are poorly written or incorrectly formatted.

To avoid this career search concern, be sure to only apply for jobs for which you have the appropriate background and experience.

Target your résumé to the specific position; provide vital information in an easy-to-find format. Use keywords from the job title and job description to communicate your skills, qualifications, experience, and personal qualities.

For past positions, use clear job titles that conform to generally accepted industry standards. Do not use abbreviations that might not be recognized by the ATS. Submit an appropriate file type; a graphic file may not be read by the ATS. Avoid fancy formatting such as tables, text boxes, images, columns, headers, footers, and links.

Action items:

1. Locate a recent online article related to ATS. Using the information from the article, obtain opinions from three other people about the benefits and concerns associated with ATS.

2. Based on your research, create a visual presentation, podcast, or video summary to report mistakes one should avoid when preparing a résumé that will be screened by an ATS.