Removing Victimology From the Job Search
By: Kurtis Tompkins
Learn How to Play the Game
Don’t get confused by the word “victimology” in the title; it belongs there. What does this word actually mean? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, Victimology (in this context) means “the claim that the problems of a person or group are the result of victimization”. What does victimization mean? The same dictionary simplifies this definition; “to make a victim of.” During the job search, millions of job seekers feel like they are victims of the system; the Applicant Tracking System specifically. “A machine is discriminating against me because I am missing a few words. Why can’t a human read my resume?”, many complain.
Realistically, it is impossible for a human to read every resume. Let’s look at the unemployment rate for June 2020 in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17.8 Million people were unemployed in June. If just 1% of those job seekers were to apply for open roles at only 1 company, employers could not keep up without help. Going through thousands of resumes by hand cannot and will not happen. Because Applicant Tracking Systems lack human emotion and the ability to see a capable candidate beyond a piece of paper, they are looked at as an enemy.
I’m here to let you know that I don’t discount how you feel. Applying to hundreds of positions and receiving rejection notices stink! Submitting an application for a job you know you are qualified for and hearing nothing back hurts! However, painting yourself as the victim and wishing for the demise of all Applicant Tracking Systems won’t help. Truthfully, the “ATS” isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to reassess your strategy and attack from a different angle. Recently, I published a book titled – Resume Writing Simplified: Removing the Guesswork to Achieve Optimal results and in this book, I teach job seekers strategies that help get their resume past Applicant Tracking Systems.
What does an Applicant Tracking System do? In short, these systems are programmed with search criteria specific to the position you are applying for. When your resume is submitted, the system will search your resume for keywords that the employer programmed in to the system. If your resume comes up as a good match, a call for an interview may follow. A more in-depth explanation of Applicant Tracking Systems can be found in Resume Writing Simplified.
Look at Applicant Tracking Systems as the opposing team in a football game. If team John (you) faced team ATS and they had a quarterback that couldn’t be stopped, does team John cower in the corner and give in to defeat? No! The team will devise a strategy to stop that quarterback and overtake the team! So, what’s the play here? To get past team ATS, your resume must be tailored for each position you apply for! No way around it. Even if it takes you hours to tailor each resume (at first), you must do it. Keywords from each job description must be present on your resume in the right places to meet ATS requirements.
Bottom line? You are not a victim of the system if things are not going your way. Applicant Tracking Systems are not rigged to spit your resume out. Employers are not trying to be lazy and send you to a system so they don’t have to talk to you. There are many myths out there and I want you to put them away. Put your “game face” on. Roll up your sleeves, jump in with me, and learn how to play the game. My goal is to remove victimology from the job search and I am starting with you today! You are a winner and you WILL devise a strategy to get your resumes past Applicant Tracking Systems! Notice that I said resumes, as you should not be submitting 1 generic resume for every position.
Don’t get upset and think you have to do it alone! The link to purchase Resume Writing Simplified can be found in the references section below! The book is so cheap that you will have change left over from a 10-dollar bill! It seems that myself and many others in the career space talk about this topic often. However, many job seekers still aren’t getting it. I will continue to teach this until there is no longer a need. No more victimology! Time to get in the game!
Note: This article covers “victimology” as it pertains to job seekers and Applicant Tracking Systems. Other issues in the job search process are not covered. Please do not misinterpret this article’s tone as beating job seekers down. In fact, it is written to bring job seekers back from a place of perceived defeat!
Sources:
https://jobready2dey.weebly.com/book-library.html - Purchase Resume Writing Simplified
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf - June 2020 Unemployment Numbers
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victimology - Victimology Definition
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victimization - Victimization Definition
***Originally published on LinkedIn***
Don’t get confused by the word “victimology” in the title; it belongs there. What does this word actually mean? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, Victimology (in this context) means “the claim that the problems of a person or group are the result of victimization”. What does victimization mean? The same dictionary simplifies this definition; “to make a victim of.” During the job search, millions of job seekers feel like they are victims of the system; the Applicant Tracking System specifically. “A machine is discriminating against me because I am missing a few words. Why can’t a human read my resume?”, many complain.
Realistically, it is impossible for a human to read every resume. Let’s look at the unemployment rate for June 2020 in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17.8 Million people were unemployed in June. If just 1% of those job seekers were to apply for open roles at only 1 company, employers could not keep up without help. Going through thousands of resumes by hand cannot and will not happen. Because Applicant Tracking Systems lack human emotion and the ability to see a capable candidate beyond a piece of paper, they are looked at as an enemy.
I’m here to let you know that I don’t discount how you feel. Applying to hundreds of positions and receiving rejection notices stink! Submitting an application for a job you know you are qualified for and hearing nothing back hurts! However, painting yourself as the victim and wishing for the demise of all Applicant Tracking Systems won’t help. Truthfully, the “ATS” isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to reassess your strategy and attack from a different angle. Recently, I published a book titled – Resume Writing Simplified: Removing the Guesswork to Achieve Optimal results and in this book, I teach job seekers strategies that help get their resume past Applicant Tracking Systems.
What does an Applicant Tracking System do? In short, these systems are programmed with search criteria specific to the position you are applying for. When your resume is submitted, the system will search your resume for keywords that the employer programmed in to the system. If your resume comes up as a good match, a call for an interview may follow. A more in-depth explanation of Applicant Tracking Systems can be found in Resume Writing Simplified.
Look at Applicant Tracking Systems as the opposing team in a football game. If team John (you) faced team ATS and they had a quarterback that couldn’t be stopped, does team John cower in the corner and give in to defeat? No! The team will devise a strategy to stop that quarterback and overtake the team! So, what’s the play here? To get past team ATS, your resume must be tailored for each position you apply for! No way around it. Even if it takes you hours to tailor each resume (at first), you must do it. Keywords from each job description must be present on your resume in the right places to meet ATS requirements.
Bottom line? You are not a victim of the system if things are not going your way. Applicant Tracking Systems are not rigged to spit your resume out. Employers are not trying to be lazy and send you to a system so they don’t have to talk to you. There are many myths out there and I want you to put them away. Put your “game face” on. Roll up your sleeves, jump in with me, and learn how to play the game. My goal is to remove victimology from the job search and I am starting with you today! You are a winner and you WILL devise a strategy to get your resumes past Applicant Tracking Systems! Notice that I said resumes, as you should not be submitting 1 generic resume for every position.
Don’t get upset and think you have to do it alone! The link to purchase Resume Writing Simplified can be found in the references section below! The book is so cheap that you will have change left over from a 10-dollar bill! It seems that myself and many others in the career space talk about this topic often. However, many job seekers still aren’t getting it. I will continue to teach this until there is no longer a need. No more victimology! Time to get in the game!
Note: This article covers “victimology” as it pertains to job seekers and Applicant Tracking Systems. Other issues in the job search process are not covered. Please do not misinterpret this article’s tone as beating job seekers down. In fact, it is written to bring job seekers back from a place of perceived defeat!
Sources:
https://jobready2dey.weebly.com/book-library.html - Purchase Resume Writing Simplified
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf - June 2020 Unemployment Numbers
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victimology - Victimology Definition
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victimization - Victimization Definition
***Originally published on LinkedIn***
