Scannable Resumes

Many employers request a resume from all candidates applying for a job. In many cases, they do not actually perform a detailed review on each of these resumes (which would be far too time-consuming), but instead use scanning technology to look for resources that contain keywords matching their requirements. Only those resumes which pass this initial filter are given further review, and it is therefore critical for your success that you maximize your chances of passing this scanning stage.
The first thing to understand is what scanning software does: it searches for certain keywords or phrases within the resume and finds matches. If none of the keywords are found (which could be for a variety of reasons - including the relevant item is not present, an unusual phraseology is used by the candidate, or the keyword has been misspelled). then the resume is discarded. The scanning process can be used regardless of what format a resume arrives in:

- If the resume arrives in electronic form, this scanning process works directly on the electronic file.

- If the resume arrives on paper, an image scanner is used to convert the document into an electronic image file, and that in turn is converted into electronic text using OCR software. You should be aware however that this process works much better for some types of documents than others, and you need to carefully design your resume with this mind, or otherwise you won't show up in keyword searches.

So what can you do to maximize the scannability of your resume? Here are some tips:

- Whenever there is a choice, submit your resume in electronic form rather than on paper. This removes the possibility of scanning/OCR errors causing you not to be listed on keyword searches.

- If submitting on paper, print your resume on plain white paper, one side only. If your resume runs to multiple pages, make sure the pages are numbered and your name is in the top left corner of each page. Do not staple the pages as otherwise a busy scanner operator using the hardware's sheet-feeder may inadvertently only scan the top page.

- Avoid using fancy layouts: Do not use tables. stick to left-to-right writing, and avoid bold, italics and underline. Use only common fonts such as Times Roman or Arial (preferably the same font throughout) and with all the text at 10 or 12 points size.

- Avoid using special symbols such as the copyright symbol, percentage symbol, etc. Many OCR packages do not cope well with such characters.

- Use power words to describe your experience and qualifications. Many recruiters search on such words.

- Try to use the same terminology as the employer. For example, if they have used particular words to describe the qualifications that they seek in their job advert, make sure similar words appear in your resume and cover letter.

- Avoid abbreviations and alternative spellings which may not match keyword searches.

- Carefully check all your spelling; a keyword search won't find your resume if you misspelled the word!

About the Author
By S. Tanna. First published at http://www.jobpixie.com/