As a result of the remarkably competitive environment for jobs in today's day and age, many job applicants have recently turned to trying to cheat the system to increase their chances of getting a job. For example, some job applicants place white typing on white background paper. This trick allows a false (but highly valued) characteristic to enter the rating system of automated resume sorters. In addition, some applicants type information that isn't legitimate in such a small font that it appears as a horizontal line.

However, according to an article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, these techniques are no longer working due to improvements in technology. These technologies have come closer to perfecting the automated resume-reading process by only ascribing a rating to job experiences appearing under the job experiences category of the resume (rather than hidden throughout the page). Some of these new technologies are even able to penalize applicants who place hidden words and phrases on their resume, rightfully so!

While I had been aware of some of the cheating techniques used by job applicants, I was unaware as to the depth of sophistication behind these techniques. Thankfully, however, these technologies are making the job hunting process fairer for all by rewarding those with outstanding credentials and penalizing those who try to cheat their way to the top.