By now, many of you heard about Jobscan whether it be from your friends here, our countless webinars, or perhaps from one of us at Career Services during an appointment. If you are not familiar, Jobscan is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for the consumer. An Application Tracking System is a software application that matches the job description to the resume that is being submitted.
Many eligible candidates are very familiar with the disappointment that comes from automatic rejections. 99% of Fortune 500 companies utilize ATS’s (Research and Markets, 2023) to help with the job prospects. However, it was found that 70% of candidates do not pass the ATS check, resulting in immediate rejections and not moving onto the next phase(Johnivan, 2024). We have all heard of, or experienced, the horror stories of applying to 500 jobs and not receiving any feedback. So why do big companies utilize this flawed system? It makes sense when we consider the influx of applications that one company gets. Google, as an example, has a 0.2% acceptance rate(Popomaronis, 2022), which is difficult to think about when seeing that thousands of folks apply to any individual job at this company. The graph below highlights how impactful the ATS web is for many big companies, especially when it comes to finding the “best candidate,” for the jobs. These candidates are those who are highly attuned to the prospects of what the job wants, which is why at SEAS Careers, we EMPHASIZE matching the verbiage of your resume to the words utilized in the job description.
So how does Jobscan work? Jobscan is an ATS for the consumer, showing you the backend of why your resume might be rejected. You will be given two sections: a resume section and a job description section. You input your resume in its current state, and copy/paste the contents of the specific job you were applying for. These job descriptions can be found on any job board, such as Handshake, LinkedIn, Indeed, or better yet, the company website directly. From there, you will be able to see what exactly is bringing down your “match rate,” which is how closely your resume matches with the job description. Often times when we receive the cookie cutter rejections right after we apply, it is the ATS at work. It is disheartening, to say the least, when you think that you are a perfect fit for the job and get the rejection letter. Jobscan hopes to shine some light on that, showing what specific terms (and soft skills) are necessary for optimization.
Jobscan is an ATS that matches the job you are applying for with the ATS that the company utilizes. An ATS is not a one size fits all, instead, many companies utilize different types of systems. Jobscan allows you to match not just your resume to the job, but also the resume to the specific applicant tracking system the job entails. By doing so, Jobscan optimizes the manner in which the program is utilized for the purpose of landing a Fortune 500 company.
Many students at GW utilize Jobscan, with us currently having over 40 clients with a total of 5000 total scans utilized as of the publication of this blog. Students noted having great success with Jobscan, seeing how to optimize their resumes, and even utilizing the cover letter and LinkedIn optimization as well. One student noted that “In today’s competitive job market, applying for numerous positions was a daunting task, but Jobscan made it manageable and significantly improved my application strategy. It truly made a difference in helping me align my skills with job requirements and stay confident during my job search.” We have students applying to Astrazeneca, Meta, Google, Tesla, Deloitte, and NVIDIA to name a few. All of these companies are dream jobs, often paying extraordinarily well and have the option to work from home, which is preferable in today’s era. These positions are definitely using some sort of ATS to sift through countless resumes that all look almost identical. Many positions are being applied to by individuals with similar experiences, walks of life, and sometimes from the same institutions. While it leaves many people out, once you get the hang of how to maneuver the ATS, you will find it easier to apply. You are not the only one who fell victim to the “optimization,” of the job hunt, but now there are resources, like Jobscan, that are available to you for free with a Jobscan consultation appointment with one of our fellows.
For more information on Jobscan, join us for our tabling event at the Science and Engineering 1st floor lobby this Thursday, December 12th, at 12PM! Keep an eye out next semester for more webinars and information sessions on Jobscan and how to tackle Applicant Tracking Systems.
References:
Hu, J. (2018). Over 98% of Fortune 500 Companies Use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – Jobscan Blog. Jobscan Blog. https://www.jobscan.co/blog/fortune-500-use-applicant-tracking-systems/
Johnivan, J. (2024). Applicant Tracking System Statistics (Updated for Q1 2024) – SSR. Www.selectsoftwarereviews.com. https://www.selectsoftwarereviews.com/blog/applicant-tracking-system-statistics
Popomaronis, T. (2022). Google’s Hiring Process Was Designed To Rule Out Toxic Hires – Here’s How. Www.linkedin.com.
Research and Markets. (2023). Application Tracking Systems Global Market Report 2022: Rising Requirements for Efficient Workforce Management and Growing Usage of Social Media Platforms for Job Searches Boosts Demand. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/application-tracking-systems-global-market-104300666.html?utm_source=Organic&utm_medium=SEO&utm_campaign=SERP&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Frecruitcrm.io%2Fblogs%2Fapplicant-tracking-system-statistics%2F