龙龙 2007-3-19 14:20
Scannable Resumes
Scannable Resumes
What is a scannable resume?
A scannable resume can be scanned into a computer using the latest document imaging technology, allowing employers to search for applicants. It is a personal summary of your professional history and qualifications. It includes information about your goals, education, work experience, activities, honors, and any special skills you might have. To view a sample in a browser, click here. We also have a PDF (Portable Document Format) version available.
You are probably thinking that a scannable resume sounds just like a traditional resume. You are right! You still want to include all the same information but with a few adjustments that should be made to enhance the quality of your document. Using keywords, proper format, and font/typestyle are very important because computer software is highly sensitive and a database search is generally conducted with nouns and keywords most often used by that particular employer's industry. To avoid having your resume overlooked, make sure to follow these guidelines.
Format
* Left justify the entire document.
* Avoid punctuation as much as possible.
If the computer is conducting a word search, it might not recognize a word with a comma or period after it. For example if you type "leader, team player" the computer will read the comma as a letter in the word and reject or scramble the word leaving that part of your resume unreadable. If you must have punctuation, be sure it doesn't touch the word.
* Avoid vertical and horizontal lines, graphics, and boxes.
* Use white or light-colored 8 x 11 paper.
* Provide a laser-printed original if possible.
* Do not fold or staple.
* Place your name at the top on the page on its own line.
* Use standard address format below your name.
* If you have more than one address, one should be placed on top of the other.
Cornel West
2222 Ivy League Blvd
Harvard, MA 99999
Cornel West 4444
Scholarship Lane
Harvard, MA 77777
* List each phone number on its own line.
* Use only those abbreviations that are familiar with your field of study.
* Use more nouns than action verbs. For exmaple, instead of writing "designed promotional materials" use a noun such as "promotions designer" or "designer of promotions."
Keywords
Keywords are the most important part of the scannable resume. They can be incorporated in two ways. You can either use them in your experience section or you can create a keyword summary that is placed at the end of your resume. Note: It is acceptable to have one and half to two page resume.
Keywords are words that are commonly used in a particular industry. For example, a mechanical engineer might use words like "manufacturing," "design," and "injection molding" in the experience section. But don't forget to turn those words into useful nouns like "manufacturing supervisor," and "injection molding operator."
Several experts suggest using a keyword summary at the end of the scannable resume.* Here's an example:
Systems engineering Bachelor of Science degree Experience with power engineering consulting firm and municipal utility Research in human machine interface of maintenance subsystem designs and procedures Staff budget and inventory manager for small business
Font / Typestyle
* Use standard type faces such as Times New Roman, New Century
Schoolbook, Courier, and Palatino or sans-serif fonts such as Futura, Geneva, and Univers.
* Use a font size of 10 to 12 points.
* Avoid fancy font styles such as italics, underline, and shadows.
* Boldface and CAPITAL letters are acceptable as long as the letters don’t touch each
other.
* Provide white space between words.
For example: separate an area code from its phone number with a space rather than parentheses: 765 123 - 4567 (also notice the space before and after the hyphen).
* Avoid condensing the space between letters because they may touch.
* Avoid using special characters such as bullets.
Mailing Tips
* Do not fold or staple the scannable resume.
* Mail in a 9 1/2 x 12 envelope.
* Never send your traditional resume along with your scannable! The employer might scan the wrong one. If you are concerned about the status of your application (unless explicitly stated otherwise) contact the human resources department of your potential employer.