ATS application

Application MBB
New answer on Nov 14, 2021
4 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Nov 13, 2021

Does consulting firms applications like MBB & others goes through the ATS software & do the  applications has to be ATS friendly ?

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Pedro
Expert
replied on Nov 14, 2021
30% off in March 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

There is a lot of advice out there recommending you to change your CV format in order to make it stand out from the competition. This is usually bad advice. 

Yes, if you use a different format, your CV will stand out, but for the wrong reasons. Unless you are applying for some creative type of job, or where aesthetics are particularly relevant, what really matters is the content per se and also how it is communicated (i.e., is the written communication effective - concise, clear, to the point. 

When I go through 300 CVs in an afternoon I want them to have the similar format. This way it is easy for me to quickly find the key words I am looking for, and to read the 1-2 bullet points that I find more interesting, before deciding whether it makes sense to analyze deeper or not. A different format doesn't help in this regard. It's more difficult to process - and this is not only a matter of being annoying to the recruiter (it is) but also it increases the chances of missing something that can be relevant. 

Moreover, it tells me something about you - that instead of using a format that is proven in terms of helping with clear structure and communication and ultimately on content, you chose something unproven base on aeshetics (unless for some reason you were able to pull off a really superior format). Well, this is not positive. You won't fail solely because of this, but it is a negative point.

So, to answer your question, I don't think 99% of the candidates consider ATS when preparing their resumes, but they also don't get too creative on their formats. Focus on good communication and good contents - that is what ultimately matters.

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Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 14, 2021
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

  • Generally speaking, there seem to be slight differences regarding the companies and regions whether they use ATS or not.
  • Regardless of this, I would advise you to polish your resume both content- and format-wise as much as possible while still adhering to the good practice of style. As Pedro pointed out, your resume should stand out from the competition yet not due to an odd formatting (same thing accounts for business attire).

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your whole application files to get invited, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

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Agrim
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 14, 2021
BCG Dubai Project Leader | Learn to think like a Consultant | Free personalised prep plan | 6+ years in Consulting

I agree with Ian here - if you do your job well on making the CV in a proper manner - then it should be good for anything (ATS/Human). If you are worried, then I would recommend searching for ATS compliant templates online and base your CV on that. However, despite that, you will still need to focus on bring out the right qualities and right details.

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 14, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

Regardless as to whether they do or don't, why not just make your resume as good as possible?

If you do it right, it'll pass both the human eye test and the ATS!

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Pedro gave the best answer

Pedro

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