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The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Doesn't Have to Be The Boogeyman

As the leaves change and the job market heats up post-summer, it's been a bustling period since our last update. At The Talent Co-op, LLC, we've been navigating the uptick with a keen eye on how technology impacts your job search—specifically, the much-misunderstood Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Far from the menacing figure some make it out to be, the ATS is a navigable aspect of job hunting, if you know the ropes. It's a tool designed to manage the flood of applications, not to arbitrarily discard them. Let's debunk the myths and offer you a lantern to guide you through this digital maze with ease. Tips and Tricks to Make the ATS Work for You: Tailor Your Resume: Customize your resume for each job application. Use keywords from the job description and mirror the language they use. Qualifications Are Key: Apply only if you meet the essential criteria. Stretching too far might just stretch your application thin. Keep It Simple: Use standard fonts and formatting to en
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AI Investment Momentum Holds Steady Amid Global Funding Dip in May 2023

Global venture funding in May 2023 experienced a marked reduction from the previous year, despite some significant raises in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. According to data from Crunchbase, the monthly funding total hovered near the $22 billion mark, consistent with the previous two months, but registered a drop of approximately 44% compared to the same period in 2022.

All the funding stages - seed, early-stage, and late-stage venture - felt the pinch, witnessing a decrease in funding amounts ranging from 41% to 48% year-over-year. While substantial funding was allotted to AI startups in May, it was not enough to alter the broader funding landscape significantly.

As for unicorn companies, May saw the emergence of 10 new entities. Although this figure doubled the April count, it lagged far behind the 34 new unicorns from May 2022, signifying a sluggish pace in unicorn creation since November 2022.

This funding slowdown marks a stark contrast to the fervor witnessed throughout 2021 and the first half of 2022. Present monthly funding levels align more closely with those recorded between 2018 and 2020, representing a stark drop from the preceding years.

Nevertheless, billion-dollar investments still punctuated the funding landscape in 2023. Singapore-based fast-fashion retailer Shein emerged as the largest beneficiary, raising $2 billion at a valuation of $66 billion. Despite this huge raise, the valuation marked a drop of one-third from its 2021 funding round.

Investment in AI companies presented a silver lining amid this general slowdown. Out of the 38 unicorns minted in 2023, AI-based ventures made up eight, with two making their debut in May. Canadian firm Cohere, which competes with ChatGPT in creating large language models, and Runway, a generative AI video automation platform based in New York, were among the notable AI entrants.

Other AI companies that attracted substantial investments in May 2023 included Anthropic, Builder.ai, CoreWeave, and Lightmatter. However, despite this promising trend, the allocation to AI-related companies constituted only 13% of total funding in May.

The month also saw tech giant Nvidia inch towards a trillion-dollar valuation for the first time, a testament to its market leadership in AI chip production. Meanwhile, tech juggernauts Apple and Microsoft enjoyed a surge in their stock prices, and other tech behemoths such as Amazon and Google experienced slight decreases from their 2021 peaks.

This fluctuating financial landscape raises the question: Are we experiencing a bubble or a downturn? This query echoes the sentiment of Joanna Glasner, a reporter at Crunchbase News, who draws attention to the 15-year recovery period following the 2000 dot-com bust and the two-year recovery post the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Despite the pandemic-fueled tech stock surge in 2021 and the subsequent pullback in 2022, the recent market performance suggests a prolonged recalibration with investors adopting a more cautious approach.

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The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Doesn't Have to Be The Boogeyman

As the leaves change and the job market heats up post-summer, it's been a bustling period since our last update. At The Talent Co-op, LLC, we've been navigating the uptick with a keen eye on how technology impacts your job search—specifically, the much-misunderstood Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Far from the menacing figure some make it out to be, the ATS is a navigable aspect of job hunting, if you know the ropes. It's a tool designed to manage the flood of applications, not to arbitrarily discard them. Let's debunk the myths and offer you a lantern to guide you through this digital maze with ease. Tips and Tricks to Make the ATS Work for You: Tailor Your Resume: Customize your resume for each job application. Use keywords from the job description and mirror the language they use. Qualifications Are Key: Apply only if you meet the essential criteria. Stretching too far might just stretch your application thin. Keep It Simple: Use standard fonts and formatting to en
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