What? You’re not on LinkedIn yet? What are you waiting for? These seven reasons outline why you should be on the social networking site.

1.      Because That’s Where The People Are. LinkedIn is the number one social network for professionals — and, arguably, the most important website for jobseekers — with more than 150 million members worldwide. Not only are people you know already on the site, but so are people you should get to know — recruiters, hiring managers, and your future co-workers.

2.     To “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty.” In his book of the same name, author Harvey Mackay advocates building your network before you need it — and joining LinkedIn now gives you time to build your network of connections.

3.      To Strengthen Your Offline Network. LinkedIn helps you keep track of people you know “in real life” — what they are doing, where they work now, and who they know.

4.       To Reconnect With Former Co-Workers. Sometimes it’s hard to stay in touch with the people you used to work with — making it difficult to find them when you need them (say, to use as a reference in your job search). LinkedIn allows you to search contacts by employer, so anyone who listed that company in their profile will be found in the search.

5.      Because You Can Establish Yourself as an Expert. One of the ways to be seen as a thought leader in your industry is to increase your visibility. One way to do this is to actively participate in Groups related to your job, and also to respond to questions on LinkedIn’s “Answers” forums. Anytime you post in Groups or answer questions, these updates will be available in your profile, so people looking for you can see that you are actively engaged in this online community.

6.      To Be Found as a Passive Candidate. Having a robust LinkedIn profile — filled with your accomplishments and strong keywords — will lead prospective employers to you, even if you are not actively looking for a job. Recruiters especially are always searching LinkedIn to find candidates to match their search assignments.

7.      Because Your Presence on LinkedIn Can Help You Be Found Elsewhere Online. It’s common practice for hiring managers and recruiters to “Google” job candidates, and your LinkedIn profile will likely appear high up in their Google search results. A strong LinkedIn profile can enhance your candidacy, especially if you have a solid network of contacts, at least a few Recommendations, and you’ve supplemented the basic profile information with things like lists of your certifications, languages you speak, SlideShare presentations, honors and awards, and/or your professional portfolio.

Prior to distributing, verify that your résumé meets the following criteria:

¨  Is saved in an approved format — résumé is submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .txt (PDF, RTF, and JPG formats are not ATS-friendly)

¨  Does not use fancy templates, borders, or shading.

¨  Is in a single column format (no tables, multiple columns, or text boxes)ss

¨  Uses simply formatted text of a reasonable size (10 point size or above)

¨  Includes standard fonts (Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, Trebuchet, and Verdana are all “safe” choices)

¨  Does not contain complex formatting (condensed or expanded text) — that is, don’t use extra spaces between letters, because the ATS can’t “read” it.

¨  Include a few, clearly defined sections: Summary, Work Experience, and Education.

¨  Does not contain images or graphics — or, if they do appear, they do not affect the single-column formatting (Be warned, however, that the simple inclusion of any graphics may be enough to “choke” some applicant tracking systems.)

¨  Does not include any information in the headers or footers of the document (if saved in Microsoft Word format)

¨  Has been thoroughly edited and spellchecked and there are no errors. (The ATS will not recognize misspelled words).

¨  Does not include any special characters or accented words.

¨  Contains proper capitalization and punctuation. Both of these can affect how information is parsed and assigned within the ATS database.

¨  Uses the full, spelled-out version of a term in addition to abbreviations and acronyms [i.e., Certified Public Accountant (CPA)]

¨  Incorporates relevant, targeted keywords and phrases for the type of position being sought (have you included specifics — i.e., “Photoshop” instead of “image-editing software”)

¨  Has been customized for the position being sought. “One-size-fits-all” does not work with applicant tracking systems.

Other Do’s and Don’ts for Applicant Tracking Systems:

•     When applying for a specific position, do use that job title on the résumé.

•     Do include the descriptor “phone:” and “email:” in front of the phone number and email address so the ATS can identify this information.

•     When listing dates for employment or education, do put the dates to the right of the information.

•     Do consider including section headers in ALL CAPS to make it easy for the applicant tracking system to categorize the information.

•     If you are working towards a degree or certification that is a requirement for the position, do include it on the résumé — but make sure you include a phrase such as “Pursuing (name of credential)” or “Degree anticipated (date).”

•     Do check your email after applying for a position online. Some applicant tracking systems acknowledge submissions, but because these are automated responses, it may be diverted to your spam folder.

•     Do be mindful of special characters and accents you use on your résumé. Some words and phrases can be misinterpreted by an applicant tracking system — for example, accented words. The word “résumé” itself is not ATS-friendly. The ATS does not recognize the accented letters. Instead, it reads it as “r?sum?.”

•     Do not list your credentials (MBA, CPA, etc.) next to your name. Include that information on a separate line.

•     Do not include skills you don’t possess on the résumé as an attempt to “trick” the applicant tracking system into selecting you. (Remember, the résumé will eventually be reviewed by a human.)

•     Do not mix different fonts and sizes in your résumé.

•     Do not submit multiple résumés to the same company. Applicant tracking systems have a memory — all those previous submissions remain in the system. You can apply to multiple, related positions, but make sure the résumé information is consistent (i.e., the number of years in a particular job, for example), because the hiring manager will have access to the other versions too.

An applicant tracking system can be a real barrier when pursuing a position. Even if you are qualified, if your résumé is not “read” right by the ATS, you won’t be considered unless you can reach the hiring manager directly.

Although applicant tracking systems are being used more and more in the hiring process, ultimately, people hire people. The computer might be used to conduct the initial screening, but the résumé ultimately needs to be written to appeal to human beings. That means you can’t just stuff in keywords (to appeal to the applicant tracking system) and have it make sense to human readers.

Another important factor to consider is that applicant tracking systems — although gaining in popularity — are not yet pervasive. The simple fact is that most résumés are read by people, not machines. So appealing to human readers remains priority number one — especially if you are targeting a company with fewer than 100 employees. When you email your résumé to one of these “small” employers, it’s likely to end up on a computer all right, but in someone’s email inbox, not in an applicant tracking system.

Which leads to the next important point: Instead of spending a lot of time trying to make yourself more attractive to an applicant tracking system, you would be better served by making real-world, in-person connections (i.e., building your network) — or, at least, taking that time to develop a 100% complete LinkedIn profile and making virtual networking connections.

Either of those techniques will yield you a much higher likelihood of job search success than spending an equivalent amount of time cracking the ATS code.

According to Preptel, 75 percent of résumés are not compliant with applicant tracking systems. If you can’t bring your résumé into compliance, you need to find another way to get yourself in front of the hiring manager.

This is also true if you are considering changing careers. Applicant tracking systems are not kind to career changers.

However, keep in mind that some companies do not allow hiring managers to accept a résumé unless it is submitted through an applicant tracking system — and that policy applies even if the candidate networks his or her way to the hiring authority or connects through social media.

If your résumé has keywords naturally woven throughout it, the process of preparing it for submission to an applicant tracking system is quite simple — simply ensure the resulting document is cleanly formatted for compliance with the ATS.

The easiest way to ensure your résumé will be accepted by an ATS is to submit a résumé that is both ATS-friendly and human-reader ready. The two are not mutually exclusive; however, ATS-friendly résumés are formatted much more simply, while human-reader résumés may contain graphic elements that make the document easier to read and more attractive to the reader.

Because the ultimate goal is to have the résumé reviewed by a human, even an ATS-friendly résumé needs to be readable — and attractive — to human eyes. If you are given the choice to copy-and-paste the résumé or upload a file, choose the upload option. This will ensure the human-read résumé retains the formatting you originally intended.

Some applicant tracking systems can manage graphics (or simply ignore them), but since many systems can’t handle graphics of any type, it is best to omit them if you suspect an applicant tracking system may be used to handle the application.

One way to ensure a match with a posted job is to “mirror” the job posting in the résumé submitted online. Some ATS experts once recommended copying-and-pasting the targeted job posting at the end of the résumé, listing it as a job. However, this technique is no longer recommended. A résumé that matches too closely (that is, a 95% or higher match) may actually be flagged by the ATS. Instead, work to incorporate the job posting information into the résumé naturally.

Even if hiring managers aren’t using a formal applicant tracking system, they often file documents on their hard drive. Use your name and a keyword or two in the file name (i.e., JohnJonesSalesManager.doc) instead of the generic “Resume.doc.”

Hiring managers may use Windows Search or Spotlight (on a Macintosh) to help find a document on their hard drive. You can include search terms in the Keyword field in Microsoft Word. Under the “File” menu, choose “Summary Info” and put the information in the keyword file. Separate the keywords and terms with semicolons.

Résumé effectiveness goes beyond the ATS. Once your résumé pops up in the ATS search results, it needs to reflect what the recruiter or hiring manager expects from a candidate with the qualifications they desire.

Think about when you’re conducting a search on Google. You type in your search criteria, and a list of results appears. You begin clicking on results and can tell within a matter of seconds if the item fits what you were looking for. If it does, you’ll read further. If it doesn’t, you’ll click onto the next result. The same is true with the ATS.

For résumés analyzed by an ATS, it is important to include as much relevant information as possible. Inadvertent omission of key data can be the difference between having your résumé appear in a list of candidates meeting search criteria — and not making the cut.

For example, if you are pursuing a degree or certification, it should be included in your résumé (labeling it as “in progress” or “pending completion”), because a hiring manager may search for a specific type of degree or keywords contained in an area of study.

If the missing information is keyword-rich (i.e., a relevant job, educational credential, or certification), that can negatively impact the résumé’s rating — and, therefore, the likelihood of being selected for an interview.

Keywords can be nouns, adjectives, or short phrases — and describe unique skills, abilities, knowledge/education/training, and/or experience.

How can you find the keywords or search terms that are likely going to be used to query the ATS?

-          Review job postings for the type of position you’re seeking

-          Analyze your current job descriptions (and job descriptions of positions similar to the one you have, and the one you want)

-          MyNextMove (http://www.mynextmove.org/)

-          Occupational Outlook Handbook

-          Dictionary of Occupational Titles (www.occupationalinfo.org)

-          Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://bls.gov/ooh/)

Also look for synonyms to the keywords you identify.