More and more employers are turning to online prescreening tools to weed out ho-hum job candidates from those worthy of an interview. And who could blame them? Electronic gatekeepers are saving companies millions of dollars and countless hours of staff time.

Consider companies like Citigroup and Neiman Marcus. Using an applicant tracking system, Citigroup is able to process the 25,000-plus resumes it receives weekly, out of which about 500 people are hired. Neiman Marcus incorporated web-based assessment tools in its hiring process, resulting in a substantial drop in turnover of new hires and a sizable increase in new-hire sales per hour.

Most jobseekers, however, don’t share employers’ enthusiasm when it comes to a machine determining their viability as a candidate for hire.
Merciless Machinery

Because of these electronic gatekeepers’ ability to store and sift through data quickly and efficiently, jobseekers can’t afford to botch their first application. In fact, after applying and being rejected, jobseekers often have to wait several months before the system will allow them to reapply.

Applicants can also expect to be asked any number of questions designed to eliminate them from consideration. Questions about a person’s salary requirements, how many workdays they missed in the last 12 months, and whether or not the jobseeker has ever been convicted of a crime are all fair game in the application process. Just one wrong answer could be the difference between landing an interview or not.

To prevent being digitally dismissed, jobseekers need a strong resume and a few insider tips to give them the upper hand, according to Susan Britton Whitcomb, author of Job Search Magic (JIST Publishing, 2006).

“Results of the assessments are typically evaluated with your resume. If you appear to be a good match, you’ll likely be considered for an interview,” says Whitcomb. Her tips for preparing for online prescreening tools include:

1. Know your basic requirements with respect to salary range and availability for relocation ahead of time.

2. Have a printed version of your resume nearby to help jog your memory about details, such as the number of years of experience you have in certain skill areas. This way, you’ll be sure that your information is consistent.

3. Answer as many questions as possible. Too many blanks look suspicious.

4. In general, offer as broad an answer as possible without lying. For example, Home Depot’s extensive online screening tool asks about knowledge of different home-improvement areas, from paint to plumbing. If the extent of your knowledge in those areas extends to painting a room in your house or running a snake through a drain, you may be able to make a case for truthfully having knowledge of those subjects.

5. Use discretion. Some screening tools require you to indicate a level of knowledge, such as minimal, general or advanced. Employers understand that it will be tempting to exaggerate your knowledge level. However, don’t overinflate your skills. You’ll likely be asked for more details in the interview and won’t want to compromise your candidacy by coming up short in person.

6. Buy time. If you encounter online screening questions that you’d like to give more thought to, sit down and take some time to think about intelligent answers to the questions being asked. Then go back to the website and complete the online screening process.

7. Don’t lie about your background or qualifications.

8. Want to do a second take? If you didn’t provide the best answers the first time, there may still be hope. Some people have had success using their maiden names or a variation of their name, like Bob instead of Robert. This revised, but still truthful response can give you a second chance to make a good impression. If you’ve already given a Social Security number, however, there is little you can do. Systems allow for only one entry per Social Security number.

9. Be discriminating when responding to requests for your Social Security number. It might be safe to provide it at a larger, well-established company that has installed security features on its web pages. Secure website addresses will begin with ‘https:’ instead of ‘http:’ and display a gold lock in the lower right portion of the screen.

10. Print pages as you go so that you can retain a copy of the information you submitted.

Excerpted from Job Search Magic by Susan Britton Whitcomb.

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