...may not smell so sweet to the applicant tracking system.
They want Red? Shoot, your entire career is Red! You're a perfect fit, right?
Frankly Scarlet, they may not give a damn.
Applicant tracking systems don't use a thesaurus to find qualified applicants. They use keywords to disqualify applicants. Red hot you may be, but the the tracking system could call a code blue if it could.
Cherry might be the bomb, but if the ATS thinks you're a dud, you won't be picked.
I'm sanguine here on the other side of the candidate-hiring manager equation. I'm not inflamed about it. I see the point of that software.
Back in the day, one Sunday classified ad would yield 200 resumes that people had to print, stamp, and mail. Fewer than 20% were remotely qualified.
Now anyone can hit a button and apply for anything. Lipstick or not.
Burgundy, the sober fact is the systems in place to filter the applicant pool can't discern that Magenta is Red cooled with a little blue. Good thing there are so many resources to help you write a resume to make it through the filters.
Vermilion is bright enough to know that in addition to working the keywords, Ruby will have to work her network ensure she's valued. So will you, Claret.
Through volunteering and participating, you'll understand what Red means in the marketplace and how your particular shade of Red can fill the bill in ways no tracking system could know.
Only an insider would know, Puce, that your depth is just right for a particular team. Can't let the beauty fool you--- Rose can bring the thorns if need be. A program can't discern that ability or that need.
Garnet may be a sharp competitor, scoring where others missed, but it takes a human to see that Garnet is a real gem.
Coral, don’t maroon yourself. Get involved and develop your unique Red potential.
Maybe you're red-faced that the position was filled before it was ever posted. Maybe Crimson was the no-brainer candidate, so there was no need to post the vacancy. You might blush realizing you hoped for something when Brick had already laid his path.
Pink is no pale wanna-be! You know what you want. You know what you have to offer. Like Russet, bake Red into every interaction. The plum role will ketchup with you.
Contribution to the blog of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the Healthcare Business Women's Association. Copyright Sherilyn George.