Preptel Moves to FREE Model to Proactively Match Job Seekers with Qualified Positions

Preptel Corporation, provider of job-seeker optimization services which improve a candidate’s chances of getting an interview and securing an offer, today announced the launch of Preptel 2.0 which proactively seeks out and intelligently identifies job opportunities using proprietary algorithms, advanced semantic search, computational linguistics, statistical inference and patented skillset matching technology…for FREE, forgoing their previous monthly subscription fees.

Leveraging these proprietary matching tools, Preptel 2.0 is no longer simply a reactive tool that helps with candidate résumé optimization; it now also actively searches and presents positions that a job seeker has the best chance of getting, all while ranking the probability of them getting the job.

Preptel Resumeter: Helping Job Seekers and Talent Acquisition Managers Meet

Much of the R&D and investment in the recruiting industry is focused on the needs of the corporate recruiter. Tools, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), search and recruitment outsourcing firms1, assessments, and employment-branding services are all designed to help corporate talent acquisition teams (which generally have lots of money) find the right people.

What about job seekers? What tools do they have to find just the right positions and make sure that they present the best-possible value proposition to the employers which they believe have the best fit?

How to Beat the Automated Resume Screening System and Get Hired

Job-hunters are frustrated by the automated screening systems being used by many employers. Their resumes are not getting through and not being reviewed by a human screener. Job hunters are being warned in the media and by countless job search experts about the low probability of success from relying on applying online through job boards or through employer web sites. According to an expert on applicant tracking systems (ATS), Jonathan Ciampi, President and Founder of Preptel Corporation, the average job applicant has a 4 to 5 percent chance of getting a "hit" from a computer selection process.

With these low odds what is a job seeker to do?

New Job Search Service Helps Job Seekers Penetrate Applicant Tracking Systems

Recruiters like applicant tracking systems because they offer a fast, easy way to identify the top 10 candidates in a pool that frequently consists of 100 applicants for professional positions, according to Bersin.

But most job seekers despise them because they believe these applicant tracking systems unfairly screen them out. If a job seeker's resume doesn't contain any or enough of the right keywords and phrases, the system won't rank the job seeker as a good match for the job, regardless of how qualified they may be. (A study conducted by Bersin & Associates confirms this.) Thus, applicant tracking systems can immediately quash job seekers' chances of getting called for interviews. That's why job seekers refer to applicant tracking systems as "black holes." Their resumes enter them, but they never come out.

A new service for job seekers, launched last September, aims to prevent your resume from getting sucked into the black hole. Preptel's "ResumeterPro" service claims to increase job seekers' chances of landing job interviews and offers, first by helping job seekers get through applicant tracking systems, then by providing job seekers with job interview advice and intelligence on other candidates competing for the same job. Preptel was founded by a former general manager with SumTotal, a maker of applicant tracking systems.

5 insider secrets for beating applicant tracking systems

The problems with applicant tracking systems beg the question: If they're so flawed and if they filter out good candidates, why do employers bother to use them? The answer is simple: Bersin says they still make recruiters' lives easier. Applicant tracking systems save recruiters days' worth of time by performing the initial evaluation and by narrowing down the candidate pool to the top 10 candidates whose resumes the system ranks as the most relevant. Even if some good candidates get filtered out, recruiters still have a place to start.

As long as employers rely on applicant tracking systems to screen resumes, qualified job seekers' only hope for passing through them successfully is to understand exactly how these systems work. Jon Ciampi, CEO of Preptel, has intimate knowledge of applicant tracking systems. He previously served as a general manager with SumTotal Systems, a maker of applicant tracking systems, and his new company aims to help job seekers penetrate these systems. (Read a CIO.com review of Preptel's services.) Ciampi shared his insider secrets that explain how applicant tracking systems work--and how job seekers should best format their resumes to get through them.

New Job Search Service Helps Job Seekers Penetrate Applicant Tracking Systems

The biggest hurdle job seekers face today is attracting recruiters' and hiring managers' attention. This challenge has grown more difficult over the last three years, as the recession forced millions of people onto the job market and as employers increasingly turned to applicant tracking systems to manage all of their job openings and the sea of candidates applying for them.

Applicant tracking systems are in widespread use across midsize and large enterprises. "I don't think you'll find a Fortune 1000 company that doesn't use them," says Josh Bersin, CEO and president of Bersin & Associates, an Oakland, Calif.-based research and advisory services firm specializing in enterprise learning and talent management.

One of the primary features of applicant tracking systems is the ability to evaluate which candidates may be best suited to a particular job, based solely on their resumes. Bersin says applicant tracking systems rely primarily on parsing software to make this determination. They identify specific keywords and phrases that are unique to a given job description and try to find those same keywords and phrases in candidates' resumes to evaluate which ones are most relevant.

5 Insider Secrets for Beating Applicant Tracking Systems

Applicant tracking systems are the bane of legions of job seekers. These systems, which employers use to manage job openings across their enterprises and screen incoming resumes from job seekers, kill 75 percent of candidates' chances of landing an interview as soon as they submit their resumes, according to job search services provider Preptel.

The problem with applicant tracking systems, as many job seekers know, is that they are flawed. Very flawed. If a job seeker's resume isn't formatted the right way and doesn't contain the right keywords and phrases, the applicant tracking system will misread it and rank it as a bad match with the job opening, regardless of the candidate's qualifications.

Bersin & Associates, an Oakland, Calif.-based research and advisory services firm specializing in talent management, confirmed the weaknesses of applicant tracking systems. In a test conducted last year, Bersin & Associates created a perfect resume for an ideal candidate for a clinical scientist position. The research firm matched the resume to the job description and submitted the resume to an applicant tracking system from Taleo, arguably the leading maker of these systems.

Use Key Phrases in Resume to Catch Computer's Eye

If "proprietary algorithms," "advanced semantic search," "computational linguistics" and "statistical inference" sound like a foreign language to you, keep reading. Workers who haven't applied for jobs lately may not know how those terms affect one's ability to be tapped from the applicant pack. Technological advances, reliance on computers to scan resumes and staff cutbacks in human resource offices are causing most large companies to use computers for a first read of submitted resumes.

Hired: Avoid these top 5 resume mistakes

Marvin Walberg is a job-search coach based in Birmingham, Ala. For contact information, see marvin-walberg.com.

1. Don't get overly creative. Most large companies use software to filter resumes so your experience might be overlooked if you try to get fancy and list your "Work Experience" as "Career Highlights." Stay on point.

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Ask Sandi

One of the benefits I have in helping people with their job search is that I come from a recruiting background. Fifteen plus years of recruiting and hiring gives me a solid background of the industry that I am able to pass on to job seekers.

I recently interviewed Jonathan Ciampi, President of Preptel.com. His background prior to founding the company was working with applicant tracking systems, so he also has industry experience. He now concentrates on helping job seekers optimize their resumes for applicant tracking systems.