Kim Komando Daily Tech Update

Outsmart resume bots

8 min
Apr 2, 202616 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This episode focuses on how job seekers can outsmart AI-powered resume screening systems (ATS) that now filter applications before humans see them. Kim Komando provides three practical strategies: mirroring job posting keywords, avoiding fancy formatting, and optimizing the resume summary section. The episode also addresses job board scams and emphasizes the importance of applying directly through company websites.

Insights
  • AI-powered Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) now screen resumes before human recruiters, making keyword matching critical for getting past the first filter
  • Fancy resume formatting (columns, tables, graphics) is visually appealing but invisible to ATS bots, making plain text more effective despite appearing less polished
  • Job boards lack employer verification, making fake job listings and scams prevalent; applicants should verify positions on official company career pages before applying
  • Personalization and direct application through company websites significantly increases chances of human review compared to mass applications through job boards
  • Resume summary sections are high-value real estate for ATS optimization and should be loaded with job titles and skills directly from job descriptions
Trends
Increasing prevalence of AI-driven resume screening creating barriers for job seekers and driving demand for ATS optimization strategiesRise of job board scams and fake listings exploiting desperate job seekers, with minimal platform verification of employersGrowing sophistication of ATS systems using word-matching algorithms, making keyword optimization essential for job search successJob seekers resorting to paid services (up to $15,000) for 'reverse recruiter' help to game ATS algorithmsShift toward direct company application channels as more reliable alternative to third-party job boardsPlain text resume preference over formatted documents due to ATS compatibility requirements
Companies
LinkedIn
Job board platform mentioned by caller Jenna as one of three sites used for administrative position applications
ZipRecruiter
Job board where caller reports receiving suspicious immediate responses claiming she's a great candidate with intervi...
Indeed
Job board platform mentioned by caller Jenna as one of three sites used for administrative position applications
People
Kim Komando
Host providing job search advice and ATS optimization strategies to caller Jenna from Baltimore
Jenna
Caller from Baltimore asking about fake job listings and ATS screening after six months of unsuccessful job applications
Quotes
"AI screens you first, a real person sees you second, if at all."
Kim KomandoEarly in episode
"The AI is literally running a word match and no match, no shot."
Kim KomandoResume optimization section
"Looks gorgeous, but bots can't read it. Plain text is ugly, but it works."
Kim KomandoFormatting advice
"A human is not going to look at your application or resume first. It's just not happening anymore on any size, any major size company."
Kim KomandoATS discussion
"Go to the company's official website, go to their career page, see if that job is listed there, and then apply directly with the company."
Kim KomandoScam prevention advice
Full Transcript
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Here's the brutal truth about job hunting right now. AI screens you first, a real person sees you second, if at all. Some desperate job seekers are paying up to $15,000 for so-called reverse recruiters, people who game the algorithm for you. You don't need to do that. Try three things. One, mirror the job posting, pull the exact keywords from the listing and drop them right into your resume. The AI is literally running a word match and no match, no shot. Next, kill the fancy formatting. Columns, tables, graphics. Looks gorgeous, but bots can't read it. Plain text is ugly, but it works. And finally, load your summary section with job titles and skills straight from the description. That top section is prime real estate. Treat it like that. And get my AI newsletter at splashofai.com. Next up, a call from my weekend show, the Kim Kumando show. Enjoy. Every business is asking the same question. How do we make AI work for us? The possibilities are endless and guessing is way too risky. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option. Your competitors are already making their move. This is exactly the solution I turn to. With NetSuite by Oracle, you can put AI to work today. As the number one AI cloud ERP, trusted by over 43,000 businesses, it brings your financials, inventory, commerce, HR and CRM together into one single source of truth. Making your AI smarter. It doesn't guess. It knows. It automates routine tasks, delivers insights, cuts costs, and powers fast AI decisions. Now with NetSuite's AI connector, you can take the AI you already trust and connect it straight to your business. This is not another add-on tool. It's built into the system that runs your business. NetSuite helps you stay ahead. If your revenues are at least seven figures, get their free business guide, demystifying AI at netsuite.com slash Kim. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash Kim. That's netsuite.com slash Kim. Jenna in Baltimore. Hi there, Jenna. Hi, Kim. Thank you for taking my question. You're back, Shiv. So I have been applying for administrative positions for about six months now. I use Indie, LinkedIn, and Zip Recruiter. And most of the jobs, when I go back to the feedback, I see that they have tens, even hundreds of applicants, and more often than not the application isn't even viewed. But my experience with Zip Recruiter is that when I apply for a position on that particular website, usually within sometimes even minutes or hours, I receive email or text message saying how what a great candidate I am and what great offer they have for me, and to follow this link, to schedule an interview, and do this and this and that. I don't do that because I am suspicious immediately. And I am just wondering if these websites have no verification for the employers to post their job, or is there any way to spot a fake listing other than if it's a direct prompt saying, okay, you submit the resume to this Gmail address. Is there anything I can do? It just needs to be everywhere. Yeah, it's very difficult. It's very difficult. I can tell you that we were a victim of such a fake listing. Somebody had put up a podcast editor position, and then posed as the show, then got people to send them audio recordings, and then actually had virtual interviews with some of these people, and then they're reaching out to me saying, how come we're not getting paid? If you want us to buy a computer in order for us to work for you, and what's that about? Yeah. Okay, so I'm just totally scared. So unfortunately, the job boards, much like Facebook or any other big tech company, they don't vet every single thing that gets posted. So it's up to you to use your common sense, to use your common sense, and it's important to be skeptical, because as you find out is that there's a lot of scams out there. So what you want to do is if you see a listing on a job board site that really piques your interest, is go to the company's official website, go to their career page, see if that job is listed there, and then apply directly with the company, if you can, then rather going through these job sites. The other thing too is to make sure that you personalize each and every one of your applications, because if people know you're just going to submit it to anything and anything, not really interested in you, but if you can put yourself above the fray and say, this is what I'm good at, this is what you had in the application itself, or pardon me, this is what you had in the job posting itself, because a lot of these are now called ATS, Applicant Tracking Systems. And so when you apply for a job, is that that computer is first looking to see how many words are in your resume or in your application as it matches that job description. And if the words are too far apart, then you're not even going to get selected, but you're right. If you get selected within 10 seconds, it's like, maybe not so much. I'm a great person, but go. Yes. The other thing too is that if you're having trouble with these ATSs, there is an insider secret that if you have to submit a resume to any company, is that it probably is going to go through an ATS, is that you take certain words that are in the job description itself. And whatever those words might be that make it unique, and then you take a few of those words, and you actually put them in your resume. But here's where the tricky part is, is when you put those words in your resume, you want to make sure that it's white text, so that somebody seeing it doesn't, they don't see those words, but the ATS system well. So just a little tip for you, if you're having trouble getting through the ATS systems, because again, a human is not going to look at your application or resume first. It's just not happening anymore on any size, any major size company. It's a small company like ours. Yeah, somebody actually is going to read every single one, but it's still going to have to go through some ATS. So just a little secret for you. Janna, thank you for your call today. Hey, want to stay in the tech now without wasting your time? Join nearly a million folks who get my free newsletter, The Current, where you'll see the latest in tech in just five minutes every single day. You're just going to love it. It has a five out of five star rating over on Trustpilot. Sign up right now at GetKim.com. That's GetKim.com.