Applicant Tracking System Uncovered: iCIMS

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This guide is for savvy job seekers who want insight into how an applicant tracking system
(ATS) works. If you know what to expect from an ATS, you can maximize your chances
of getting an interview. This guide specifically covers iCIMS, which is one of the biggest
ATS around.

iCIMS Background
iCIMS was founded in 1999 by Colin Day, and now has more than 2,000 clients glob-
ally, as well as offices in North America (including both Portland, Oregon and Portland,
Maine), the United Kingdom, and China. “iCIMS” stands for “Internet Collaborative
Information Management System.” iCIMS is used by numerous high-profile companies,
including Amazon, FedEx, the New York Stock Exchange, Rite Aid, and H&R Block.

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is an application that allows companies to store,

sort, and search through job candidates. Each one functions slightly differently. iCIMS is
one of the biggest ATS out there, by the numbers. Here is some insight into how it works.

A screen capture of the workflow for one job listing.

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Application Experience
Applying for jobs at companies that use iCIMS doesn’t mean identical experiences across
the board. The tool offers many customization options to employers. Flexibility in terms
of configuration includes the option to change the names of fields, the order in which
fields appear, the details of communication with candidates, and more. Companies can
also make the iCIMS application seamlessly match their existing corporate branding.

You can copy and paste your resume into a space provided, or you can upload the file
itself. Accepted formats are .doc, .docx, .htm, .html, .odt, .pdf, .rtf, .tif, .tiff, and .txt.
Hiring managers can see the filename. Don’t get cute; use your full name. Add a middle
initial if you have a common name.

Another good practice when applying for jobs is to include the job title you’re applying
for in your resume’s filename. You might even consider adding the company name, if
you’re applying for a number of jobs with similar titles. That can be helpful to the hiring
manager, and it can also help you keep your application materials organized during your
job search. (You’ll also be able to more easily determine which resumes led to interviews
and which didn’t, to learn where you can improve.)

JaneLDoeResume.pdf or Resume_JaneLDoe_Publicist_XCorp.pdf show different ways

to incorporate relevant information into your resume filename.

After uploading your resume, there is a space where you can fill out your desired salary
(per hour, day, week, month, or year). There is not space to provide a range. Words and
spaces entered into that field get stripped out, so if you try to enter “60,000 to 70,000,”
iCIMS changes that into “6000070000.” (Don’t enter a dollar sign into that field, either;
instead, there is a drop-down menu where you select the appropriate currency.)
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The Desired Salary field only accepts numbers. Letters entered get removed.

You can also fill out your availability—on a drop-down menu, you can choose anywhere
from immediately up to four weeks. There is also an option for “other.”

Once you’ve entered all your information, iCIMS generates a profile for you. Your re-
sume is displayed in a large text box rather than parsed and filled in to a standard field.
There are pros and cons to this, both for job seekers and for hiring managers.

Not all formats upload perfectly. Test resumes uploaded in .doc and .docx formats both
had large spaces appear in the uploaded version. If you have a .pdf version of your re-
sume file, that’s a safe bet. This seems to iCIMS-specific. Other applicant tracking sys-
tems we have tested have favored .doc and .docx rather than .pdf. Unfortunately, there is
no one-size-fits-all resume format that is ideal for every ATS out there. Each system has
different quirks and preferences.

Some file formats work better than others. iCIMS tolerated .pdf better than .doc or .docx,
which is different from many other applicant tracking systems.
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iCIMS does do some resume parsing; it scans each resume uploaded and tries to identify
the skill set presented on that resume. iCIMS then generates a skills section, which is
displayed next to each candidate’s resume. The process doesn’t work perfectly. One can-
didate, a fine arts graduate whose resume listed “silk screening” in the skills section, was
identified by the system as having the skill “silk performer.” That sounds more like some-
thing out of Cirque du Soleil. Great if you are aiming for a career as a circus performer;
less great if you’re applying for a job doing print production and graphic design, as this
candidate was.

“Silk Performer” was listed among this candidate’s skills,

even though her resume actually said “silk screening.”

This process highlights the importance of matching skills exactly as listed in a job de-
scription. If you want to be sure you’ve done it right, use Jobscan’s resume analysis tool.
After pasting in your resume and the job description, you’ll get instant feedback high-
lighting any discrepancies.

A standalone skills section generated by iCIMS. Skills are alphabetized.

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Searching
iCIMS allows Boolean search operators to be used on its search function. Not every ATS
offers this. It’s a potentially great advantage for job seekers and hiring managers alike.
Boolean search terms include “and,” “or,” “not,” and “near.” What these terms do is
enable people to refine their searches by including related terms or excluding unrelated
ones. For example, a hiring manager could perform a search for “project manager” and
“project management” at once. The Boolean search feature makes it less likely that can-
didates will be overlooked.

Searching for “masters” and “master’s” generates different results.

With another ATS, if a hiring manager searched for “project manager,” you could get lost
in the shuffle if “project management” was mentioned throughout your resume, but the
title “project manager” never appeared. This is also helpful, for candidates and recruiters
alike, for fields that commonly use abbreviations. The Boolean search options means that
“UI” and “user interface,” or “RN” and “registered nurse,” for example, don’t have to be
searched separately.

One major thing to remember: iCIMS offers hiring managers the Boolean search option.
They aren’t required to use it. Using the search feature without choosing the Boolean
search option turns up different results for “masters” and “master’s,” and “database” and
“databases.” So again, remember to match the skills and keywords in your resume with
the skills and keywords listed in the job description.
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Keywords
One of the ways to appear closer to the top of the search results is to pay attention to your
keyword frequency. The more often a keyword appears on your resume, the higher you
rank when that keyword is searched for. It’s important to identify the keywords you want
to focus on when looking for places where you can add frequency.

But beware of “keyword stuffing,” the dubious SEO technique that cluttered the Inter-
net with a large volume of content that held little value. Appearing at or near the top of
the search results may get your resume noticed, but it’ll get passed over in an instant if it
looks like all you’ve tried to do is cram it full of keywords.

“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” is the grammatical
equivalent of a party trick, because it’s actually a proper and functional sentence. But if
you string keywords together like that on your resume, you’ll get passed over for obvi-
ously trying to game the system. Appearing at or near the top of search results will get
you noticed, but remember that it’s ultimately a person, and not an ATS, who will decide
whether to invite you in for an interview.

It will be readily apparent if you’ve used keyword stuffing on your resume, because
iCIMS highlights search results in yellow on a candidate’s resume. Tailoring your resume
for a specific job, along with following other resume best practices, will ensure that your
resume is scored well. Trying to trick the system will reflect poorly on you as a candidate.
And in iCIMS, it’s easy to spot.

iCIMS highlights resume keyword search results in yellow.

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Filtering
In addition to keyword searches, recruiters can use a variety of filters. There is a long list
of existing filters, and custom ones can also be created. Candidates can be filtered by lo-
cation; the source of their application; whether they are a referral; the age of their candi-
date profile; and numerous others. Many employers have a strong preference for referrals,
so scour your LinkedIn network for any connections you may have at a company before
applying.

Candidates can be asked one or more questions, with numerous variables in the questions
feature. Companies can require questions, make them optional, or skip them entirely.

Questions can be formatted as yes or no questions; as a drop-down menu with a variety

of options; or text fields where candidates manually fill in their own answers. iCIMS sup-
plies some stock questions and drop-down menu choices, but companies can customize
their questions for each listing. Each candidate applying to a job will face the same ques-
tions, weighted the same way (knockout or not; required or not).

Employers can use stock questions or create their own. It’s up to an employer whether each question
is merely informational, or whether there are answers that will disqualify a candidate.

“Knockout” questions are called that because, should you provide an answer that doesn’t
fit into the company’s requirements, you are knocked out of the running immediately.
Companies most commonly reserve knockout questions for things such as years of expe-
rience, education level, or experience with a particular skill or tool.
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If you’ve ever applied for a job and gotten an immediate rejection email, it’s almost cer-
tainly because your answer to a knockout question fell outside of the parameters the com-
pany set. Not having the right keywords might mean your resume doesn’t rank highly in
the system, but it’s not grounds for immediate rejection. The wrong answer to a knockout
question, though, can disqualify you instantly.

Communication
As for those rejection emails, iCIMS has templates for them. The system is packed with
form responses recruiters can send to candidates at any point in the application or on-
boarding processes. All templates can be modified, and recruiters can also create custom
email templates, or send one-offs of original emails from scratch.

It may sting to not hear anything back when you’ve applied for a job, but remember that
most posted positions receive a couple hundred applications. If you’ve applied to a job
at a company that has staff whose focus is hiring, they’ll be handling multiple openings.
That can quickly turn into thousands of applicants. If you’ve applied at a company with-
out staff devoted to hiring, then hiring is a task that has been added to someone’s every-
day job. Email templates do streamline the process, but communicating with every appli-
cant is often just not possible because of time constraints.

To communicate with candidates, employers can use

one of the provided email templates, or create their own.
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Candidates can also be filtered by whether they opted to connect their social media
profile(s) to their iCIMS candidate profile (social media platforms used by iCIMS here
are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+). If you apply for a job through iCIMS and opt to
connect your application to your LinkedIn profile, the hiring manager has the option to
contact you directly through LinkedIn.

You can even apply directly from these three social media sites, meaning you won’t have
to create a separate username and password for iCIMS. (Your potential employer will not
receive your social media login info, or the ability to search your profile or timeline be-
yond the information that is already public.) More and more companies are giving candi-
dates options like this one to cut down on the number of people who begin, but do not
complete, online applications.

When applying for a job, if you do decide to include information about your social media
profiles, make sure it is a positive reflection that will help your candidacy. Also remem-
ber that, even if you opt not to connect your profiles directly, a recruiter might search
for your social media presence. Don’t just depend on your privacy settings—social me-
dia companies can and do fiddle with privacy offerings with little or no notice, meaning
your profiles might not always be as locked down as you think they are. Focus instead on
being careful about what you publish, like, link to, and comment on (remember, screen
shots can capture anything and be shared with anyone).

iCIMS Notes
If you have applied for other jobs using iCIMS, the recruiter will be able to see that in
your profile—including which jobs you applied for, and how far you got in the process—
whether you were rejected initially, rejected after an interview, offered a job, or a range
of other statuses.

iCIMS shows employers each candidate’s application history.

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Keep this in mind if you reach the interview stage, because candidates are almost always
asked during interviews whether they are pursuing any other opportunities. Hedging or
fudging your answer to that question could easily come back to bite you. You don’t have
to share every detail with the interviewer, but do give an honest answer.

iCIMS publishes a blog, which they call the “Hire Expectations Institute Blog.” (I give
them a point for cleverness.) They publish an average of two to four posts per month on
topics ranging from social recruiting to background checks to workplace mentoring pro-
grams. Many of their posts, understandably, focus on the role of technology in relation to
the topic.

The blog is definitely worth a read to get a sense of what recruiters and hiring managers
think is important, and to get a new perspective on the recruiting and hiring processes.
The stated goal of iCIMS’ Hire Expectations Institute is “to bridge the gap between em-
ployers and job seekers by helping job seekers with their professional development and
career goals, while helping hiring professionals stay well-informed on the latest recruit-
ment trends, job seeker and candidate behavior, and technology advancements.”

If you as a candidate stay informed about technologies such as applicant tracking sys-
tems, you’re ahead of the game. And if you can discover which ATS is used by the com-
pany you’re interested in before you apply, you can tailor your application to dramati-
cally increase your chances of landing an interview—and ultimately, a job.

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