Getting instantly rejected from jobs? AI might be scanning your resume. Here’s how to fix it up

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — As artificial intelligence becomes accessible, more employers are using it to speed up the hiring process.

If you’ve found yourself getting an automated rejection email after applying to a job, it might not be because you’re not qualified — but your resume might not match what AI algorithms are looking for.

Christina O’Connell is the executive director of the Williamson College of Business Administration’s Center for Career Management at Youngstown State University. She says employers use applicant tracking systems, or ATS, to streamline the hiring process — and many incorporate AI to scan through resumes.

“If they have 400 applicants, maybe to streamline it down to 200 or 100, because then a recruiter is actually looking at those resumes with their own eyes so they can read what a person is saying and what they have to offer,” O’Connell said.

Indeed explains ATS can review resumes based on a set of criteria, but with the added use of AI, those systems use machine learning to adapt and improve their algorithms to be more precise and efficient over time.

According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 88% of companies use some form of AI for initial candidate screening — and that number is only increasing. O’Connell says there are ways applicants can tailor their resumes to these systems.

“[With ATS] that has to be more of a streamlined resume — no fancy fonts, no special bullets. It has to be very plain so they are accepted through the applicant tracking system,” O’Connell said. “If you want to use images or different fonts or bold, not bold — that type of thing, AI does pick that up a little bit more, but what we tell students is don’t make it too fancy.”

Resumes are also more likely to perform well through AI systems when they reflect the job posting’s description and show measurable accomplishments. O’Connnell recommends printing out the posting, highlighting keywords and experiences and trying to include those in the resume.

“What are the keywords? What do you see? What is this employer saying over and over and over again, and do you have that, and can we translate that onto your resume and cover letter?” O’Connell said. “Did you help improve something by a certain percentage? That’s more important than just giving a job description of everything you’ve done. You have to show, here’s what I did, here’s how I did it, and this is the result based on my efforts with everything.”

Indeed also recommends including hard and soft skills on your resume, adding a summary at the top and listing contact details within the main body of the document.

O’Connell says applicants can also use AI resources to ensure their resumes are readable by AI systems. While those resources can help generate ideas, O’Connell says it’s also important for applicants to keep a personal touch.

“They can help you come up with ideas on how you can better word a bullet point, but it’s really important not to just copy and paste those bullet points. You want to make sure it has your perspective on it,” O’Connell said. “If you get called for an interview and an employer asks you a question that’s based on something on your resume, and you can’t answer it because you just copied and pasted it, you’re not going to move forward in the interview process.”

If applicants do get immediately rejected from jobs, O’Connell recommends following up with the employer.

“You have to be more than just a piece of paper in a system. Maybe there was something that kicked you out that the employer didn’t know, there’s something that you can actually talk and make your case, whether it’s to one of the recruiters or to a manager of that area,” O’Connell said. “Call and make a connection so you’re not just an application in a system.”

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