A Robot Is Probably Reading Your Resume. Here's What to Do as a Job Applicant

If you're in the market for a new job, you may be in the process of updating your resume in the hopes of impressing a prospective employer. A new job could actually do a lot of great things for you. For one, it could result in higher pay, which may, in turn, result in an ability to boost your savings account. And if you have credit card debt, a higher wage could be your ticket to paying it off.

Now, you may be eager to fill your resume with details about your experience in the hopes that a recruiter or hiring manager will give it a read and immediately contact you for an interview. But actually, it may not be a person who reads your submitted resume, but rather, a robot.

Companies are becoming increasingly reliant on technology for hiring

Undercover Recruiter estimates the cost of hiring a new employee at $3,479. And on average, it says that 144 people apply for each entry-level position posted, while 89 apply for each professional-level position.

Not only that, but some large employers have been known to receive up to 75,000 applications for open jobs in a single week. So not surprisingly, many companies seek out help in the hiring process. But instead of outsourcing that work to recruiters, they use robots.

More specifically, it's become pretty common for companies -- especially larger ones -- to use applicant tracking systems, which are computer programs designed to filter through resumes and identify strong candidates. And because of this, you may want to tweak your resume to make it more machine-friendly.

How to get your resume past a robot

There are a few steps you can take to make your resume more robot-friendly so you get through that initial screening and move on to the interview process. For one thing, use the right keywords. In fact, try to make sure your resume matches a number of important keywords used in the actual job description.

Also, don't make your resume too fancy from a formatting perspective. Machines generally have an easier time reading your resume if it has a standard web font and is laid out cleanly with separate sections and bulleted points. Along these lines, avoid the use of graphics and logos, which could throw a robot off.

Additionally, do your best to use proper grammar on your resume, and make sure to run it through a spell check program before submitting it. You never know to what extent you'll be dinged -- or denied a job opportunity -- due to having misspelled words on your resume.

The fact that robots are reading your resume before an actual human may or may not work to your advantage when looking for a new job. But your best bet is to tweak your resume so a machine is less likely to reject it. Of course, an even more ideal situation when seeking out a new job is to find someone within the company who can submit a resume on your behalf. That way, your resume is more likely to land in the lap of an actual person who will read it.