The bizarre claim that ATS is rejecting resumes is fuelled by an industry of dodgy resume optimisation services, ATS-friendly template sellers and keyword-stuffing shonks. The blog below is from The Interview Guys. I also put some comment from a recruiter at the bottom of the post.
There is no credible research supporting the 75% rejection claim. In fact, data from industry insiders and Harvard Business School researchers paints a dramatically different picture on how ATS systems actually work.
- Most resumes aren’t rejected by ATS software.
- The real issue is keyword alignment and clarity, not secret algorithms deleting your resume.
- If you don’t have experience in a key area the job requires, expect a poor result.
- Well-written, tailored resumes with clean formatting pass through ATS systems just fine and reach human eyes.
The widely cited “75% rejection rate” originated from a 2012 sales pitch by a company called Preptel, which was selling resume optimisation services. The company went out of business in 2013, and no research was ever published to verify this claim.
Countless job seekers have spent hours obsessing over ATS optimisation while neglecting the fundamentals of their resume content. It’s like worrying about the font on your restaurant menu when your food isn’t very good.
Contrary to popular belief, ATS systems are primarily organisational tools, not ruthless gatekeepers. None of the major ATS systems automatically reject resumes or hide them from recruiters.
ATS systems primarily help organise applications, not filter them out.
The vast majority of applications are actually reviewed by human eyes. When rejections do happen automatically, they’re typically based on explicit “knockout questions” configured by recruiters (like work visa status), not mysterious algorithms.
Technology may screen out some qualified applicants but this is because they don’t match the specific search terms – not because they’re automatically rejected.
The biggest factor causing candidates to be screened out was employment gaps of 6+ months – which is a human-configured criterion, not an AI decision.
There are no “bots” in modern ATS that automatically reject or rate your resume.
Healthcare organisations often configure their ATS to verify specific certifications and credentials. Financial firms frequently set their systems to screen for regulatory requirements and retail and service industries typically use simpler ATS configurations focused on availability and location.
Despite these variations, the constant across industries is human involvement in the decision-making process.
WHAT TO DO?
- Rather than keyword stuffing, focus on clearly communicating relevant experience that maps to job requirements.
- Ensure your resume is well-organised and easy to read for both humans and machines. Modern ATS systems can handle various formats, including PDFs and double-column layouts.
- Since most applications actually get human eyes, it’s better to submit fewer, higher-quality, targeted applications than to blast out dozens of poorly matched ones.
- Pay special attention to screening questions during the application process, as these can lead to actual automatic rejections if not answered correctly.
- Be prepared to address employment gaps proactively, as this is one of the most common reasons applications get screened out.
The myth of the “ATS black hole” has caused countless job seekers to focus on technical tricks rather than the substance of their applications. Armed with accurate information about how these systems actually work, you can develop a more effective job search strategy based on reality, not fear-inducing fiction.
This is from a recruiter on Linkedin:
“Very few, if any ATS are “auto rejecting” applications.
“Some ATS are configurable to auto reject candidates for “knockout questions” that have simple binary and quantified responses. “Are you legally eligible to work in Australia?” “Are you at least 18 years of age?” Etc.
“The frenzy around “keywords” is misguided. No ATS is rejecting applicants because of missing keywords. That would be a stupid feature, and no one is even asking for that. People who believe that, lack a fundamental understanding of how hiring processes work and what the typical resume looks like.
“I recruit people in skilled trades for example. If my ATS was booting out every HVAC tech because “HVAC” wasn’t in their resume, I’d be in trouble. I know enough about the market for HVAC techs in my area to know what companies employ them and what other words I should be looking for on a resume if the applicant just puts “Technician” or “Repairer”.
“Keywords are still important. Putting keywords in your resume helps you out because most recruiters are using some sort of sourcing tool, whether its the Indeed resume database, LinkedIn resume database or others, to locate candidates with certain skills. Even directly in the ATS you can usually search for keywords, which recruiters do sometimes to help narrow down a long list of candidates quicker.”