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While screening social feeds this week, I stumbled on a post that read less like career advice and more like a cabin full of nervous passengers second-guessing the crew. Here it is:
“Should I make my CV ATS friendly cuz the first one wasn’t but I still pass somehow haha I’m really confused”
I can relate to the confusion here. I’m totally scratching my head.
Let me repeat that question in simpler terms. Should I make my CV ATS-friendly? My first one wasn’t, but I still passed somehow.
In other words, the OP is asking should I tinker with a victory just to tick a box nobody asked for?
This is what happens when Old Wives’ tales start drowning out evidence of actual success.
Even when you’re already succeeding, the endless tide of online advice leans in and whispers: “No, no, no! you’re doing it all wrong!” Suddenly you’re panicking. Suddenly you’re tinkering and tweaking in a desperate attempt to avoid…what? Success?
Now, I want to point out the positives here. The poster is crosschecking and that’s great. The problem is, the chain of command is broken.
This post reads like a cabin safety drill gone wrong. It’s like asking your senior crew member to crosscheck your door, them giving you the thumbs up, then you go to the nervous sweating passenger in 32A and ask them, “Hey, can you crosscheck my door?” The answer is obvious: they’re going to panic. You’re going to panic. And the door’s still fine.
In airline recruitment, the applicant pool is full of sweating, nervous passengers, all gripping the armrests, eyes darting to the exits, convinced that the slightest mistake will send them tumbling from the cabin. They’re reading every “tip” and “rule” like its truth, panicking over checklists, all while the flight (your career) could take off perfectly fine without them ever touching the controls.
The truth is hiding in plain sight. Look at the post. Look at the results. Non-ATS-engineered CVs are passing with substance, relevance, and clarity. Substance beats buzzwords.
This over-engineering problem isn’t isolated to applications or ATS. It happens across the entire process — application photos, swimming regulations, grooming, group tasks, answering questions, scar declarations, teeth. (I’ll be writing about these, check my blog)
Everywhere you turn, there’s a myth masquerading as a rule, but tips and tricks are not rules. Myths destroy confidence and they kill dreams. Don’t fix yourself into failure.
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