Electronic Resumes

Increasingly, resumes are being scanned and entered into databases. This allows Human Resource professionals to enter in keywords and search for people with required skills. Here are a few hints and tips you can use to make sure your resume can be read by a computer.

Format, not content, will help your resume stand out in the eyes of a computer. Follow these tips so that your resumecan first be scanned by the computer and then read by the HR personnal.

Increasing Scanner-Friendliness

• Electronic resumes depend heavily upon recognizing keywords. It is important to use black type setting on standard white paper (8 1/2 " x 11"). Use a font size between 10 to 12 points. If your resumeis approved by a computer, then it will be forwarded to a person to read, so you need to make sure that it is also legible by a human.

• If you need to print out your resume, use a laser printer. The quality of printing will make scanning more reliable. Do not use a dot matrix printer. The little dots produced by this printer result in a poor image quality.   

• Use words from the job description in your resume. Many of these words are the very same keywords that a computer is instructed to look for when scanning for qualified job seekers. For example, if the job description says "Bachelor of Science degree preferred," then make sure that your resume mentions that you have this degree. Also, if the job description uses the entire word instead of the acronym (B.Sc.), then use the full name. Conversely, if the job description uses the acronym, then include the acronym in your application. Use keywords from your profession or field in your resume. To determine these "buzzwords" talk to those already employed in your desired field and look at postings for similar jobs.

• Scanners are usually programmed to look for your name in the upper left corner of the resume, thus; it is a good idea to put the header information in the top left corner.

• Don’t fax your resume if you know it will be scanned. Faxing distorts the copy. If you must fax the resume, send a paper copy as well.

• Do not fold your resume when putting it in an envelope.   

• Do not underline, put in decorative lines, use shading, or italicize. Underlining strains the capabilities of scanners to effectively read a resume. Instead, if you want to emphasize something to the person who will hopefully read your resume, use capital letters or boldface type.

• Do not use graphics or unusual characters. Even bullets can sometimes baffle a computer.