|
|
Return To Careers4U Home Page
No matter how close your
qualifications are to the requirements listed in an employment
classified, you may still not get the interview. Many companies
are now relying on scanning technology to read your resume
or are requiring that you e-mail your resume to them. Not
knowing how to make your resume compatible with these technologies
may be a deciding factor in whether or not you get an interview.
How does it work? A company receives your resume and it
is scanned into their database. When the company has positions
that need to be filled, a list of keywords are entered
into the database. These words include the main characteristics,
experience, and/or education desired for the job. The resumes
that match these keywords are then made available to the
employer in order of the most matches. Obviously, the more
keywords your resume contains, the better.
What can you
do to meet the need of all this technology? Here is an overview
of what you should and should not do to have a scanner or
e-mail friendly resume.
- The size and style
of your text is important. Many scanners cannot read fancy,
tiny, or overly large text. It is best to utilize a San
Serif
font or such as in Arial a size of 10-14 points.
- Avoid putting anything
on the top line of your resume besides your name. Many
scanners are programmed to look for the name on the first
line, and will record whatever you put there as such.
- Watch your paper color
and the copy quality. Are you using a clean and easily
readable paper ? Its a good idea not to fold resumes copied
with copy toner as the toner can fleck off and make the
page difficult to read. Also, faded copies, dot matrix
print and poor quality faxes are almost impossible to
scan. Avoid dark colored papers or papers with fiber or
designs on them as they will interfere with the scanner's
ability to read your text. Finally, never print on the
back side of your paper.
- Be sure to include keywords
in your resume. This means AVOIDING Generalizations such
as "computer literate", replacing them with
specifics such as "Microsoft Office", "Lotus
Notes", and "Visual Basic". Careful review
of a job description or employment classified for the
position you are applying for will help reveal many of
the keywords the employer is looking for.
- Consider adding a keyword
section to your resume. If your resume does not have the
keywords the employer is specifically looking for throughout
the body of your resume, then this will allow you to improve
your chances of getting scanner hits. This takes the place
of a Qualifications section under the Objective, and is
a list of words: Project Management, Contract Programmer,
BS CS, etc.,. I stress, however, that if these keywords
are within the body of your resume or your Qualifications
section, do not create this section. Should your resume
be read by a person rather than a computer, this lengthy
paragraph of words can become very difficult to navigate
and may defeat the purpose of showing an employer what
you have to offer.
- When responding to a
company that asks you to e-mail your resume, take extra
care in ensuring that the recipient will be able to read
your resume. Frequently resumes are received in a format
that is incompatible with the company’s software
and will get thrown out. Take the resume that you usually
use and remove all bolding, centering or any other special
characteristics. You want a straight text, left justified
document, again in a San Serif font. Save the document
in MS Word format and send it as an attachment. Finally,
be sure to use your e-mail cover page to address the recipient,
the position available and how you heard about the position.
Return To Careers4U Home Page
|
| |
|
