Category: Cover Letter

How to Make Your Resume Scanner-friendly


Resume meets scanner

In this era of technology-driven industries and speedy, high powered communication tools, most job applications are done electronically, and most employers – no matter the job level – request a resume from job applicants. That having been said, we must be mindful of the extremely time consuming task these employers have in reviewing so many resumes. However, when we learn that employers don’t actually review every resume they receive, it begins to make sense that they would want to review resumes from various candidates for their job offers.

In this day and age companies use various types of software to scan the resumes they receive for key words and content specific to their available positions, especially the first round of resume review. In other words, if you are a job applicant who submit a resume to one of these employers, your resume must first make it pass a computer-generated scan before it can into the hands of a hiring manager, or other decision-making department head. So the number of resumes submitted to that potential employer is less problematic than we think.

Now that we’ve settled that question, think about your own well-formatted, well-written resume to which you’ve devoted so much time in perfecting. There is one more question you have to answer about your awesome resume: Is it scan-friendly? The answer to this question may lie in the number (or lack) of calls you’ve received from from potential employers, despite your excellent qualifications for the job. Put another way, your resume might not be scan-friendly; so take a look at the following tips for making your resume scan-friendly:

Making the resume scanner-ready

Special Formatting – Any kind of formatting that is not standard could cause certain letters to touch and blend into one character. This is especially true if a word is bold or italicized; so make sure that you review your resume and revise any parts where letters are joined together, so that the words can be scanned.

Font Type and Size – Since the type and size of your fonts are very important for both your printed and electronic resume when being scanned, it is important that the font is recognizable by the software; so stick to basic fonts, such as Ariel and Times New Roman. Also use standard font sizes such as 10 or 12 point.

about resumes, cover letters and interviews

Underlined Words and Phrases – In an electronic format, underlined words/phrases implies links to other documents and/or a web sites. Another feature that must be avoided is lines in the resume that touch the text, as this will prevent your resume from being scanned properly.

Alignment – All the text in your resume should read from left to right so that your resume can be properly scanned. Your should also avoid special formatting such as tables and columns within your electronic resume document.

Fine tuning resume before submission

Special Characters – Special characters may not be recognized by scanning software and could therefore render your resume useless to the employer. Special formatting such as bullets, use of ampersands, percent signs, copyright signs, or any other characters that may not be easily recognizable by scanning software should be removed. If you are quantifying information on your resume, make sure to spell out the percentage instead of using “%” as you are indicating increase in sales, for example. Whenever possibly, avoid using signs or special characters in your resume.

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Numbered Pages – Even if you submit a printed resume, the document may still be scanned for key words to match your qualifications with available positions, so it is very important that your submission is on plain white paper and in basic font type and size. If you are submitting multiple pages, make sure that all the pages are numbered, and have your name in the top left corner. Do not staple multiple pages, because doing so will prevent all pages, except the top page, from being scanned.

Keywords and Power Words – The most important element of a scan-friendly resume is the selection of active keywords and power words. Do your research and make sure that you use the appropriate keywords which are relevant to the position you are seeking in your resume. Having appropriate keywords throughout your resume makes it easier for the software to find matches when scanning the document.

Research and review

Helpful tip: review the employer’s job requirements for keywords, and find out what the required qualifications for the job are, so you can make sure that your resume contains the same terminology as that on the job description, without direct copying from the text. When your functional resume is scanned the software will pick up these key words and you will be one step closer to landing your dream job.

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The Pros and Cons of Electronic Resumes


New era resume versions

The two most frequently used methods of resume submissions are:

  1. To upload them to employers’ websites and/or resume banks; and
  2. To e-mail them directly to employers who offer the jobs/positions that applicants have interest in.

In this era of “high speed” Internet connections, “instant” messaging, and “e” interactions of every other kind, faxing a resume or sending one via “snail mail” has been rendered virtually obsolete; especially since employers are relying heavily on software programs that scan resumes for key words related to the available positions at their organizations.

However, printed resumes are necessary for interviews; and therefore, as professionals, we essentially must have two different versions of our resume; and while there are numerous resources for composing a more traditionally formatted resume, many professionals are not sure how to create electronic resumes that will get noticed. In view of this practical and seemingly required skill – or lack thereof – we thought it would be helpful to provide a few of the pros and cons involved in creating and submitting electronic resumes.

Resume formatting and sending

Pro – Create a plain text file of your resume. While you want certain items on your resume to stand out, you should still have a plain text file (.txt file) of that resume, keeping in mind that most employers request a plain text file, because they can run the file through computer software that scans resume for key words related to the available jobs. When creating a text file however, make sure that you take the time to format the resume; and check spacing while adjusting any lines of text that seem out of place.

Pro – Follow the instructions of your potential employer. If a potential employer is asking that resumes be sent in the body of your e-mail, do not send them an attachment. Just copy and paste the plain text resume you have created into the body of the email; but take the time to check for potential formatting changes, and do not try to format the text by making portions of your resume bold, or change the font size or type. While you may have the email editor which allows for this formatting, your potential employer may only accept plain text messages. Stick to the basics for a successful transmission of your resume.

Testing and saving the resume

Pro – Test your electronic resume by sending it to a few friends via email. Because they may be using different e-mail providers, or have different software than you do, they can let you know how your resume appears to them. This will help you in uncovering and correcting potential formatting problems, thereby making sure that your resume is in great form by the time it reaches potential employers.

Con – Saving your resume in PDF format. Avoid using his file type for your resume, as it typically makes the fonts larger in size, and is not very common for an electronic resume. A resume sent in this format could be the reason that leads a potential employer to completely discard your email.

Emailing your resume

Con – To assume that your email body should include only the resume. Make the assumption that a resume in the body of an email is the only information you should include in your message to potential employers is not the way to go; because even if the resume is copied into an email, you still need to let a potential employer know a little bit more about yourself via a cover letter. However, since your address will be shown at top of the email, your resume could begin with a career objective instead of a name and address heading.