Resume how-to should address online applications

Invariably, listening to a job-search video leased for my use as a student, I find that the producers have left out important details that correspond to job search in real-life. That trend held true in the case of “Resumes: A How-To Guide,” produced by Films on Demand.

The film does a comprehensive job of discussing the personal inventory that a job-seeker needs to compile before designing a resume. Its “COLORS” acronym refers to the communication skills, organization, leadership, originality, responsibility and scientific/technical skills that employers are looking for.

The film also explains the difference between chronological and functional resumes, including circumstances when each type of resume would be the best choice for a job candidate.

Unfortunately, the producers are silent about how to design a resume that won’t be entirely scrambled when application-tracking software (ATS) attempts to auto-populate the job seeker’s application online.

Most job seeking invariably takes place online and far from saving time, I have to re-input everything that the ATS has mangled from my resume.

As Lisa Vaas describes one sub-optimal online application process, “[H]alf an hour later, I’m still fiddling with the thing, tweaking and correcting improperly filled-in fields as my life slowly drains away. I’m not even given a chance to see how the ATS translated my resume to populate its fields.”