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As more and more companies are using the "scannable" route, you need to ensure your Resume meets this challenge - even when you DON'T know your Resume might be scanned.
Many companies are now employing scanning devices to scan all Resumes for pertinent words within that Resume. The problem for you is that you are not always told to submit a scannable Resume, with results that are disastrous to your chance of an interview. This week in Career Advice we look at how to create a Resume that not only looks good but is scannable with the desired results. Keep in mind that you need to find a compromise between that lovely formatted and enhanced Resume and a clean, scannable Resume. Scanned Resumes are checked against a list the employer provides which asks the computer/scanner to find certain phrases or words. If enough of these phrases/words are found (whatever the employer deems is the criteria) then your Resume has passed TEST 1 and you are in the running for an interview rather than a date with the circular filing cabinet. First - graphics do not scan well at all. And yep, this includes coloured lines (um, yes, I am guilty of this in my own Resume, and I really hate to get rid of it, so I do keep it in and hope for the best - but I do take it out IF I know up front my Resume will be scanned). Second - font and size are EXTREMELY important. DO NOT use a fancy font, and this includes any serif font such as Times New Roman. Keep it plain and simple - use Arial or another clean sans serif font. Reason? Many letters are interpreted incorrectly especially in the fancy (or fancier) fonts - which means even if you have that magic phrase in your Resume, the scanner will skip it as the letters do not match. DO NOT use a tiny font - which you shouldn't use for ANY Resume anyway. Use at least a 12 size. Yes, you can use a 14 IF your Resume still fits nicely on two pages. Remember, it is probably an older person reading your Resume or scanned Resume - and those eyes start to hurt with smaller font sizes. Lastly - tabs do not scan well, which means your columns will not be spaced appropriately. Don't sweat this one too much, as trying to space your columns with the space bar gives even weirder (yes, that is the word I want) results. Most people understand about this one - and they will take a quick glance at your printed version to ensure it IS just the scanner and not your submission. So check over your Resume and ensure you have a scannable version, ready for you to submit at any time. __________________________________________________________________ Copyright October 31, 2006. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.
The copyright of the article Scannable Resumes in Career Advice is owned by Paym Bergson. Permission to republish Scannable Resumes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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