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