Career advice is all over social media, but beware one viral “hack” that could stop you from landing that dream job.
The “white wording” hack went Twitter viral in 2020, after a woman claimed the best way to ensure your resume will be seen is by copying and pasting the job description into the bottom of the resume and coloring it white.
This way, she explained in the tweet — which recently resurfaced — the applicant tracking software that scans resumes for keywords will pick yours up and make sure a recruiter reads it.
The theory has some Twitter users convinced — but one recruiter says it’s best to avoid that technique if you actually want your job application to be viewed by the right people.
Erica Rivera, a senior recruiter at Google, told BuzzFeed News recruiters often immediately disregard the resumes of people who do this.
“This hack has been circulating for years now,” she explained. “Many recruiters are aware of it. A quick ‘select all’ of the text on one’s resume could uncover this and get a person rejected.”
Rivera — who often posts advice for job applicants to her TikTok account — added that some applicant tracking systems have started picking up on resumes that have been white worded — though not in a good way.
“ATS technology has become much more sophisticated,” she warned. “You will get yourself rejected before you have even had the opportunity to get in front of a manager.”
According to HR professionals on social media, the best way to make sure your job application proceeds to the next round is to make an effort and have a solid resume and cover letter.
“As someone who works in HR and hiring, don’t do this!” one person wrote about the “white wording” hack.
“Tailor your resume, show that you have experience doing what the job description asks for, show concrete examples instead of key buzzwords!” the person continued. “Trained HR professionals will know that you did this!!”