The Law of Unintended Consequences — Internet Job Search

When companies began posting job listings and resume submittal capabilities on their websites the intention was to streamline the process, save costly recruiting expenses, and directly access highly qualified candidates. But an unexpected consequential drawback quickly developed. As a result of internet user growth, the sheer volume of respondents became unmanageable. For every job listing, many companies received thousands of responses. It is said that some job listings are now generating up to 10,000 responses.

Enter the ATS systems. New companies emerged that develop applicant tracking systems that review and eliminate all applicants that don’t match the requirements and the responsibilities of the job. Shifting the work to the applicant who must manually revise each resume to ensure that it reaches human eyes for consideration.