However, if the advertisement mentions certain technical requirements, such as certain technologies and programming languages for IT positions, then these must definitely be included in the application, in the exact wording of the job advertisement. Further information on technically relevant topics and keywords to which the algorithm may also respond can be found on the company’s website.
Make sure that both local and global terms may be used for the position you are aiming for and try to take all options into account. When you create a skill list, ideally add your skill level to each skill. To do this, you should use terms that you can almost certainly assume that the algorithm can interpret – such as “expert”, “advanced”, etc.
However, pure skill lists only make sense when it comes to tasks with a variety of technical requirements, such as in software development. Then make sure that the list is also appealing and comprehensible to human eyes. However, if only a few core skills are relevant to you, then it may make more sense to list the skills based on practical experience. Since many algorithms now scan profiles semantically for content, this should generally not harm the assessment of your skills.
Linguistic design
In recent years, so-called management summaries or “short profiles” have become more common in applications. These are sometimes not as short as the name suggests. However, caution is advised here. Excessive wording and irrelevant information may result in a less accurate or even incorrect classification by the algorithm. At the same time, you should make sure to speak the “language of the company”. Here too, the job advertisement already offers you important clues. If there are several different wordings for an issue in your work, always use the one that is used in the company where you are applying.
By the way, please refrain from emphasizing your ability to work in a team, flexibility, creativity, resilience, etc. in your application. On the one hand, no HR algorithm in the world searches for these terms and, on the other hand, without concrete practical examples for your application, these empty phrases are also useless for the human observer in the company.
Meticulous correctness
The tip to avoid spelling mistakes in the application has certainly not only been valid and important since the use of algorithms. But while the human eye ignores some spelling mistakes just as quickly as they were made, or the human reader tolerates them meekly, in most cases an algorithm will sort them out in an unforgivable way. The term that you actually mean simply does not appear in the document for the algorithm. For example, if your resume says you have experience in “credit accounting” instead of “accounts payable,” then the algorithm simply won’t recognize you as having that skill.
