Trace Educates
Clearing a Path for Your Mind
I am adding a page for folks who may be needing a bit of help clearing a path through ATS, Applicant Tracking System and AI services. I am reading posts from so many people out there who can't beat the system or are personally contacting me saying they are so sick of the AI BS. AIBS. Another acronym. Okay, I understand the sediment. It hits me hardest looking for work and knowing what I am up against too, the reason I created Trace Solutions. But I bet you don't realize, how long AI has been around and some of the programs you have been using are all part of an AI arsenal that work together called Agents. Let's break it down some more, then talk about Acentric AI. Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to act with a sense of agency. These systems are goal-oriented, adaptive, and capable of making autonomous decisions based on the environment and data inputs.
"The Toolkit for the 2026 Professional."
Don't Freak Out!!! Breathe!
Below is a forensic map of the machines you’re facing—and what they do. All these are used by most big companies to run their businesses. I would say looking for jobs that are based on these 9 Acronyms below, might get you thinking. Below the 9 acronyms I added a long list of just some of the tools, I added the AI Candy Store and the Not All Bots Are Created Equal and where to look for work if you have been out of the job market for some time. This is what you face when scrolling for that funny dog video you want to share with a friend but get hit with ads for all these AI tools to purchase and use to find jobs or build a business or just make you feel like giving up. I thought if you could see this all-in-one place, it would help you to take a breath, calm your heart, to face the landslide of AI systems and tools.
how to strategize your job search
If you choose the "Machine Fight" Traditional Boards
If you want to spend your time on the Big Boards, here is the forensic truth of what you’re up against:
- The Indeed Strategy: You are 1 of 5,000. To win, you must use their "Fair Chance" filter and apply within the first 24 hours. Anything older is a "Ghost Post."
- The LinkedIn Strategy: If you aren't networking, you're just a data point. Use it to find the people, not just the posts.
- The "Second Chance" specialized boards: (Honest Jobs, 70 Million Jobs). These are your best bet outside of Trace. They’ve already done the hard work of vetting the employer's "heart."
If you choose the "Bot Bouncer" (ATS Survival)
If you are applying through a portal like Workday or Greenhouse, you are speaking to a calculator.
- Forensic Tip: Keep your resume boring. No columns, no tables, no photos. The more "Human" it looks to a person, the more "Broken" it looks to a bot.
- The Goal: You aren't trying to "get a job" here; you're just trying to get a high enough "score" to trigger a human phone call.
If you choose the "AI Agent" Path (Superhuman & Grammarly)
There are 49+ agents out there designed to "automate" your career. I have listed a lot of them. They can write your emails, fix your tone, and schedule your life.
The Warning: These tools are excellent for Bot-Batter (the repetitive stuff). But they cannot create Authentic connection. Use them to polish your armor, but don't let them be your voice.
"Big Machines" that companies use - you should know them
ATS
HRIS
ATS
Applicant Tracking System
The digital "bouncer" that decides if your resume even gets seen.
CRM
HRIS
ATS
Customer Relationship Management
A digital Rolodex for keeping track of every customer a business has.
HRIS
HRIS
HRIS
HR Information System
The digital file where your payroll, vacation, and ID are kept.
ERP
ITSMS
HRIS
Enterprise Resource Planning
The "Master Brain" that runs the whole company's money and supplies.
ITSMS
ITSMS
ITSMS
IT Service Management System
The "Repair Shop" where tech issues get fixed and tracked.
CPQ
ITSMS
ITSMS
Configure, Price, Quote
A fancy calculator used by sales teams to give exact prices.
CMS
CMS
CMS
Content Management System
A filing cabinet for websites.
IAM
CMS
CMS
Identity & Access Management
The digital "Security Guard" that gives you a login and password.
PLM
CMS
PLM
Product Lifecycle Management
A tracker that follows a product from a drawing to a shelf.
The AI APP TOOL KIT CANDY STORE
The "Polishers"
Writing & Clarity Agents
- Proofreader: Fixes grammar and structure.
- Humanizer: Makes AI-sounding text sound like a person wrote it.
- Paraphraser: Changes the tone (e.g., from "angry" to "professional").
- Expert Review: Checks if your writing sounds like a pro in that field.
- Academic Agent: Tailors writing for school or research.
- Business Agent: Focuses on professional "Calls to Action."
- Legal Agent: Checks for formal terminology and structure.
- Technical Agent: Polishes manuals, code, or complex reports.
- Concise Agent: Cuts the "fluff" and gets to the point.
- Global Agent: Adjusts dialect and cultural phrasing.
- Creative Agent: Adds narrative flair and descriptive flow.
- Causal Agent: Keeps things relaxed for social messages.
Verification Agents
The "Forensic" Crew
13. AI Detector: Flags if a text was written by a bot.
14. Plagiarism Checker: Scans the web to ensure work is original.
15. Citation Finder: Finds real sources to back up your claims.
16. AI Grader: Predicts a grade based on a specific rubric.
17. Reader Reactions: Predicts how a boss or teacher will feel about your email.
18. Latimer: Detects bias and encourages inclusive language.
19. Saifr: (Coming Soon) Compliance checker for financial/legal rules.
Productivity & Workflow Agents
The "Organizers"
20.Google Calendar: Manages your schedule inside your email.
21. Outlook Calendar: Syncs and schedules via Microsoft.
22. Gmail / Outlook Mail: Quick access and drafting for your inbox.
23. Google Drive: Retrieves files without you leaving your doc.
24. Confluence: Brings your company's "knowledge hub" to you.
25. Jira / Asana / Linear: Updates projects and tracks tasks.
26. Slack: Communicates with your team instantly.
27. Fireflies.ai: Summarizes your meetings and lists "next steps."
28. Zoom: Summarizes recordings and answers questions about meetings.
29. Notion Q&A: Answers questions based on your saved notes.
Niche & Special Skill Agents
The "Specialists"
30. Stripe: Tracks your sales and transactions.
31. QuickBooks / Airtable: Manages your data and accounting.
32. Shopify: (Coming Soon) Manages online store orders.
33. HubSpot: Connects your sales leads to your writing.
34. Google Translate: Swaps languages instantly.
35. Speechify: Reads your text out loud so you can listen.
36. Quizlet: Turns your notes into flashcards for learning.
37. Bitly: Shortens and tracks your web links.
38. Common Room: Helps you find the right contact in a community.
39. Radical Candor: Gives advice on how to handle tough work talks.
40. Parallel Web Intelligence: Fact-checks and gathers info from the web.
41. Mermaid: Turns your text into a visual diagram.
42. Spotify: Plays/organizes music for your "flow state."
43. Weather: Quick city updates.
44. FedEx / UPS: Tracks packages and logistics.
45. Barcode: Generates QR codes.
46. Cryptography: Secures and verifies info.
47. GitHub: Answers coding questions anywhere.
48. Axios HQ: (Coming Soon) Simplifies internal company news.
49. Napkin AI: (Coming Soon) Visualizes ideas into charts.
HOW TO SPOT EACH AI TYPE
The "Bouncers"
The "AI Assistants"
The "Town Squares"
These are the systems that "eat" resumes, nom nom nom! If you see these logos on an application page, you are dealing with a bot.
- Workday (Used by Fortune 500 giants)
- Greenhouse (The tech-industry favorite)
- iCIMS (High-volume enterprise hiring)
- Lever (Startups and mid-market)
- BambooHR (Small to medium businesses)
- SAP SuccessFactors (Global c
These are the systems that "eat" resumes, nom nom nom! If you see these logos on an application page, you are dealing with a bot.
- Workday (Used by Fortune 500 giants)
- Greenhouse (The tech-industry favorite)
- iCIMS (High-volume enterprise hiring)
- Lever (Startups and mid-market)
- BambooHR (Small to medium businesses)
- SAP SuccessFactors (Global corporations)
- Oracle Taleo (The "old guard" of enterprise)
- SmartRecruiters (Global recruiting)
- Jobvite (Social and high-volume recruiting)
- Zoho Recruit (Staffing agencies and small teams)
- Breezy HR (Simple, visual pipelines)
- JazzHR (Budget-friendly for small biz)
- Workable (Mobile-first and fast-growing)
- Ashby (Hyper-growth tech teams)
- Bullhorn (The standard for staffing firms)
- Recruitee (Collaborative hiring)
- Teamtailor (Focused on employer branding)
- Pinpoint (User-centric, fast setup)
- Manatal (AI-driven candidate scoring)
- Applicantz (Newer, AI-heavy competitor)
The "Town Squares"
The "AI Assistants"
The "Town Squares"
This is where you get lost. Listing these shows you the sheer scale of where you are expected to look. The Noise!
- Indeed (The biggest general aggregator)
- LinkedIn Jobs (Networking + Job Board)
- Glassdoor (Jobs + Company Reviews)
- ZipRecruiter (AI distribution to 100+ boards)
- Monster (The original job board)
- CareerBuilder (Long-standing industry
This is where you get lost. Listing these shows you the sheer scale of where you are expected to look. The Noise!
- Indeed (The biggest general aggregator)
- LinkedIn Jobs (Networking + Job Board)
- Glassdoor (Jobs + Company Reviews)
- ZipRecruiter (AI distribution to 100+ boards)
- Monster (The original job board)
- CareerBuilder (Long-standing industry site)
- FlexJobs (Remote/Flexible - Subscription)
- Wellfound (Formerly AngelList - Startups)
- Remote.co (Purely remote roles)
- Dice (Technology and IT focus)
- SimplyHired (Large-scale job aggregator)
- Snagajob (Hourly and shift work)
- USAJobs (Federal government roles)
- Ladders ($100k+ executive roles)
- Idealist (Non-profit and social impact)
- Stack Overflow (Developers and engineers)
- HiringCafe (Newer, data-driven aggregator)
- Joblist (Clean interface aggregator)
- Getwork (Directly from employer sites)
- Craigslist (Local and manual postings)
The "AI Assistants"
The "AI Assistants"
The "AI Assistants"
These are the tools meant to help but often add to the confusion.
- Teal (Job tracking and resume building)
- Jobscan (ATS keyword matching)
- Rezi (AI resume builder for ATS)
- Kickresume (Visual AI resume designs)
- Enhancv (Tailored resume content)
- AiApply (Auto-apply and cover letters)
- Sonara.ai (Virtual search assistant)
- Resume.io (Template-driven
These are the tools meant to help but often add to the confusion.
- Teal (Job tracking and resume building)
- Jobscan (ATS keyword matching)
- Rezi (AI resume builder for ATS)
- Kickresume (Visual AI resume designs)
- Enhancv (Tailored resume content)
- AiApply (Auto-apply and cover letters)
- Sonara.ai (Virtual search assistant)
- Resume.io (Template-driven builder)
- Google Interview Warmup (AI practice)
- Yoodli (Communication/Speech AI coaching)
Not all bots are created equal.
Heads Up!
Knowing which one you’re looking at tells you how to better play the game.
Meet the "Bouncers": Which ATS are you facing
Workday
Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Fortune 500 Walmart, Target, Big Banks
Trace Forensic Tip
The Persistence Test. It often forces you to create an account for every company. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Use a standard Word Doc; it hates fancy PDFs.
Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Tech Companies & Startups
Trace Forensic Tip
The "Social" Bot. It scans your LinkedIn profile and social footprint more than others. It values "Structured Hiring"—it wants to see specific skills, not just a story.
iCIMS
Greenhouse
iCIMS
High-volume Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing
Trace Forensic Tip
The Keyword King. It is built to handle thousands of resumes. If you don't have the exact job title keywords, you are invisible.
Taleo
Greenhouse
iCIMS
Government & "Old Guard" Corporations
Trace Forensic Tip
The Dinosaur. It’s clunky and often breaks if you use images or columns. Keep your resume as "Plain Text" as possible to get through.
The "Safe Harbors": Job Boards for Second Chances
Honest Jobs
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
70 Million Jobs
The gold standard for second-chance hiring. They map job compatibility based on specific past convictions, so you don't waste time applying where you'll be blocked.
70 Million Jobs
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
70 Million Jobs
Focused entirely on the 1-in-3 Americans with a criminal record. They work directly with companies committed to hiring from this pool.
Indeed "Fair Chance" Filter
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
On Indeed, type your job + "Fair Chance" in the search bar. This pulls up employers who have explicitly checked the box saying they are open to your history.
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Specifically for those recently released, providing immediate work and long-term placement.
Have Fun with AI
Start Your Conversation
Make the Best of Your Time
Start Your Conversation
Give it a Job Description, not a Prompt: Don’t just ask a question. Tell your Bot Buddy who it is "You are my Lead Researcher" and what the goal is "Summarize these 10 trends for a human CEO". Or "You are the best graphic artist I know. Please make me a picture of a Bot wearing a fireman's hat. Glossy, High Definition, plain white background. AI learns by how you treat it.
Take Advantage
Make the Best of Your Time
Start Your Conversation
The 80/20 Rule: Let the AI do the 80%—the heavy lifting, the data sorting, and the first drafts. You provide the final 20%—the Authentic "seasoning," the grit, and the final sign-off. I check the data with a second opinion.
Check AIs Work
Make the Best of Your Time
Make the Best of Your Time
DeBot the Hallucinations: Always assume AI might try to "people-please" with fake facts. Your job as Captain is to audit the output for Raw Truth. AI is designed to people please. It can get a little too happy about every idea you have. Be careful how you word what you need. It does exactly what it thinks you want. It takes things very literally.
Make the Best of Your Time
Make the Best of Your Time
Make the Best of Your Time
Respect the "Humanity First" Boundary: If your Bot Buddy saves you an hour, spend that hour off the screen. Quit scrolling the noise and build something. Find something interesting, grab a free month download of some software and learn something new. Take up a new sport. But get off the noise and breathe.