Note: Barbara M. Efird is the NC State Alumni Career Counselor and Coach and a 1987 alumna of the College of Education.

Getting through the Applicant Tracking Systems and the use of artificial intelligence in writing résumés and cover letters are two major challenges for job seekers today. Paying attention to these areas in your job search is critically important. Here are some ways to address these challenges.

An Applicant Tracking System is software that automates a company’s hiring process. It performs several hiring functions for the human resources department including reading or parsing a résumé to extract key information related to the job description that was posted. Your résumé is first screened by a system, not a person. It matches your key skills, experience, education and certifications from your résumé against the requirements of the position.

In most ATS systems, your résumé receives a percentage match and the hiring manager decides how many résumés to review in person and subsequently invite to interview.

It is imperative that the job seeker address the skills posted in the job description and tailor their résumé to match the skills and experience stated.

Jobscan is a website available to job seekers that will enable you to optimize your résumé and cover letter. It checks your résumé’s match percentage with the job posting using ATS. It will suggest ways to boost your chances of getting an interview.  If everyone is writing to match the job description, how can you stand out from the others? Beth Klatt ’01, owner of NEXTAFF-Raleigh, a professional employment agency, gave the following advice.

“Many HR teams are seeing résumés that check the keyword boxes but lack depth. What stands out is clear evidence of impact (results, metrics, outcomes): consistency between résumé, LinkedIn and interview storytelling with specific examples that show how the work was done, not just what tools were used,” said Klatt. 

Tips for Standing Out

“Candidates can also differentiate themselves with quantified accomplishments versus generic responses and by giving context of the scope, scale and complexity of the work, classes or projects,” she said. “Career progression is always great to show even if it is a small promotion at a part-time job while in school or a role with increased responsibilities in a club or volunteering role – progression often speaks volume and is indicative of a strong work ethic and performance.” 

Tailoring a résumé for each job posting, writing a cover letter and often also completing an online application is very time consuming. Some job seekers revert to AI to compose their documents and save time in the process but be careful with depending on AI for your résumé and cover letter writing. Your résumé can appear generic, just like other AI-generated documents.

AI Cautions

• Be sure AI doesn’t make your content feel generic and not like your own voice.
• Avoid overusing buzzwords without substantive examples to back them.
• Use AI as a drafting tool to tweak structure and phrasing.
• Make sure you can explain the content on your resume and cover letter.

Asking AI to write your résumé will not tell your personal story. AI does not know your accomplishments or your brand so it will not impress or sell you to the recruiter. Additionally, AI résumés often include overused words and phrases that can alert recruiters and make you less competitive.  

Klatt concurs and adds the following suggestions. “Use AI as a drafting tool to help with structure and tweaking certain phrases that you have created. Do not use it to invent experience or inflate skills. You should also edit for authenticity. Read it out loud and if it doesn’t sound how you speak, it may contradict your tone and vocabulary in an interview,” Klatt said. 

“Try to avoid over-polished, generic language – phrases like ‘results-driven professional with a passion for excellence’ can be a red flag. Use words that are specific to your background and industry. You also need to be prepared to defend and explain everything on your résumé,” she added. 

Klatt advises applicants to be ready to explain how they actually performed or accomplished a task. She said that human resources looks for red flags to include like severe use of contractions or a sophisticated résumé with little-to-no depth in the actual interview, overuse of buzz words without any substance and perfectly written documents with vague examples that do not have the same tone as the applicant’s presentation in an interview.

I emphasize quality over quantity. Tailor your résumé for each job description to match their requirements and customize your documents to reflect your strengths and accomplishments. This will increase your chances of being selected for an interview.