As a new graduate, you have spent years studying and gaining experience in the various areas of marketing, such as understanding consumers’ behavior, implementing digital strategies, brand positioning, and analysis using various tools and software. The ultimate marketing campaign and the first for your career – promoting yourself to potential employers for your first role.
It can feel overwhelming at first, but sit down at your desk with a piece of paper and start listing out all of your information. It isn’t until you start actually writing out all of your information and organizing it that you actually start to get a feel for what a resume should look like.
Before a hiring manager can read your cover letter and review your portfolio, your resume must pass through the filters of an Applicant Tracking System, or “ATS” for short.
These systems often go unnoticed until they’re causing problems for recent graduates. It is not uncommon for qualified applicants to receive no response to their application, only to discover weeks later that another candidate has been selected for the position. What went wrong with their application? Understanding the role of applicant tracking systems in modern hiring practices and preparing their applications to pass through these systems successfully is crucial for recent graduates seeking their first full-time position in marketing.
The Role of Software in Modern Hiring
Why Can’t They Just Read It?! A Sucky ATS Ruins Your Application in Seconds!
An ATS is used as a database and filtering tool for companies hiring. Applications are uploaded into the system, where the text from each document is parsed and organized, and created into a profile for the applicant. Thereafter, hiring managers use these systems to search for resumes that contain certain words, credentials, and other qualifications that fit specific job descriptions.
An Applicant Tracking System can filter out applicants within seconds. As a candidate, there is no chance for error on your part. If your resume is not read correctly by the software, then you have been filtered out and will not be considered for the position.
Marketing is a very unique degree. It contains a lot of visual work and different ways of expressing yourself. For that reason, lots of students find it very hard to express themselves in a resume. They want it to look so great and be able to express themselves in such a creative way. However, most resumes that are received through online applications get scanned by a computer before they reach the human eye. This means that lots of graphics, custom-written fonts, and even skill bars get scanned as random characters. For that reason, when you are preparing a resume, it is best to keep it simple and use a standard layout in order to aid the computer in reading your resume before it reaches the human eye.
Understanding How Automated Parsing Works
This is a step-by-step guide that will explain you how to create a resume that will work for automated hiring software to read and filter applicants. We explain how automated hiring software reads resumes uploaded for jobs by companies looking for candidates to hire in the marketing and related fields.
Most resumes for recent graduates contain many complex design elements such as multi-column layouts, graphical icons, progress bars, and a wide array of custom fonts. Although these creative elements make for a beautiful and interesting resume, they create many problems when a resume is scanned by an ATS for an entry-level marketing job. For example, a resume that contains a multi-column layout may cause the ATS to read the Work Experience section and mistakenly merge it with the Education section. Graphic elements, such as an icon or a logo, are typically ignored by an ATS. Also, custom fonts and unusual section headings may cause the ATS to fail to properly categorize the skills listed in the Skills section of the resume.
By failing to read your resume correctly, the information in it will be left out of the recruiter’s database. So, if, for example, a company is only considering applications from people who have a degree in Marketing, then, even if you are the most suitable candidate for the job, your application will be discarded if the information in your resume was not picked up by the Applicant Tracking System.
Creating the Perfect Resume for Your Job Search
People who are very creative worry that their resume will not look as good as their portfolio or their work. However, there are ways to make a resume that is visually oriented and also readable by a computer program. There are templates that are available online that can help people do this. For example, ATS-friendly resume templates by Zety are easy for computer programs to read, but they also look great when printed or when viewed on a screen.
When preparing your document, keep these core principles in mind:
- Single-column layout. This type of layout is often most effective for applicants. The reason for this is that they enable software to read the information contained in applications in the order in which it was placed. Complex designs often cause information to be read in ‘incorrect’ order, often resulting in key work experience or other important information being merged with other, often unrelated information.
- Use of standard section headings. Rather than listing work experience in creative ways (Where I Have Been, My Work Experience etc), use standard section headings. These include Work Experience, Education, Skills, and Projects. This enables software to scan for specific terms and information contained within these standard sections of resumes.
As marketing graduates, the most important thing to consider in your resume is that of a typical resume for a ‘marketing graduate’ with a mix of both ‘creative’ and ‘analytical’ skills. This way, you would be able to use specific terminology from the job posting to your advantage. In other words, make sure you use the specific ‘language’ of the ‘industry’ in your resume. Use terms and phrases such as ‘search engine optimization’, ‘content strategy’, ‘campaign management’, ‘web analytics’, etc. to describe your experiences in class projects, in particular.
Third, the resume should use universal fonts and file formats. Typically, resumes are written in standard fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Georgia. Then, the applicant saves his/her resume as a PDF or Word document, depending on what the job application requires.
Tailoring Your Content for Marketing Roles
After you have created the correct structure for your resume, it is time to think about the content. Marketing jobs are typically filled by people with creative skills and also by people who have technical skills. This means that the work that you have done in the past and your skills should be listed in your resume. Make sure to use the right terminology when you describe your work and your skills, because the terms that are used in a job posting are the terms that are looked for in resumes that are submitted for that job.
Read the job description carefully for each job and note the terms and phrases used. Search for terms such as search engine optimization, content strategy, campaign management, and web analytics, and ensure that you use these terms naturally within your document. Remember, when applying for a marketing job, the terms and phrases used are often very specific, and the hiring team will be searching for these exact terms when scanning through applications for a suitable candidate.
The problem for a recent graduate, however, is that their lack of ‘traditional’ work experience will likely be a major point of concern for any employer. If, however, you have gained experience through your studies, as well as through internships, as well as through projects that you have completed on a freelance basis, as well as through campus organizations, then you can turn your lack of ‘traditional’ work experience to your advantage.
In place of listing the typical job responsibilities, for example those of a recent graduate in a marketing function, the recent graduate in marketing must instead state his or her achievements. Given that marketing is a results-oriented discipline, the reader of a resume wants to know about the achievements of the applicant. Thus, for example, the applicant must state the % increase in engagement on social media, the click-through rate on a campaign recently launched by the applicant in class for a project, and the budget managed by the applicant on an internship recently completed by the applicant.
Balancing Automation with Human Connection
It’s easy to think of hiring software as a barrier to get past in order to get your documents viewed by hiring managers. The reality is that hiring software is just another tool to help hiring managers manage hiring processes in the most efficient way possible. Once your documents have made it past the initial scan and you have made it past the initial cut of applicants, your documents will be viewed by real people (hiring managers and/or recruiters).
Once your application clears the software, a recruiter or hiring manager will review it. A document that’s easy for a computer to read is also easy for a human to skim quickly. Clean formatting, clear headings, and concise bullet points help a reviewer identify your strengths within seconds.
In the short time it takes for a human to read your application, they will look for the same clear layout and well-written headings and bullet points that were required for the computer to read your application in the first place. By making your application easy for a computer to read, you are also making it easy for a human to read.
Therefore, to stand out in a crowded applicant pool, combine strong fundamental design principles with quality, focused content that outlines your accomplishments to create an effective job application. Such applications will allow you to showcase your qualifications effectively to hiring software as well as produce a quality impression on humans who read your resume. Using your marketing degree to complete a quality resume to apply for marketing jobs will be a crucial first step to launching your successful career in this field.
