Anyone who keeps horses knows how annoying bots can be. Trying to get rid of the eggs these disease-infested pests glue onto your horse’s hair can be the devil and all. But there are other bots, and they can be just as annoying – unless you know a good workaround.
Yes, we’re talking about AI bots. And they are everywhere, whether you know it or not. One place AI has become increasingly common – and increasingly annoying for job seekers – is in the HR process for reviewing employment applications.
The online ubiquity of job postings and the ease with which applications can be submitted has created a situation in which hiring managers are inundated with resumes. To create order out of this chaos, they are increasingly turning to AI.
That means it’s you versus the bots. But what can you do if you don’t want a bot to reject you out of hand?
Here are some suggestions from the recruitment site, Muse.
- Only apply for jobs you’re qualified for
- Don’t apply for several jobs at the same company
- Include the right keywords (check Wordle and TagCrowd)
- Put the keywords in context
- Choose the right file type
- Make your resume easy to scan
- Forgo any fancy formatting
What these recommendations boil down to is the old KISS advice: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Streamline both your cover letter and resume. Stay focused and cut out the bull.
And remember to proofread your material — repeatedly — before sending it off. Even bots hate typos.
Or, you could send your resume to us. We can guarantee that a real human being will read it.