Designing
a Scannable Resume
by
ResumeEdge
What happens when you create
a beautiful paper resume and mail or
fax it to a company that scans resumes
into a computerized database instead
of forwarding it to a hiring manager
for review? It ends up in cyberspace
instead of on someone's desk. This automated
process requires some special design
considerations in order to make your
resume scanner friendly, which is what
this section addresses.
According to U.S. News
& World Report, more than 1,000
unsolicited resumes arrive every week
at most Fortune 500 companies, and before
the days of applicant tracking systems
and resume scanning, 80 percent were
thrown out after a quick review. It
was simply impossible to keep track
of that much paper. As companies downsize
and human resource departments become
smaller, it is even more important to
manage the job application and screening
processes in an efficient manner.
Today, nearly half of all
mid-sized companies and almost all large
companies are scanning resumes and using
computerized applicant tracking systems
(still just 30 percent of all job openings,
though). Some smaller companies turn
to service bureaus to manage their scanning
or to recruiters who scan resumes because
of the volume of resumes they receive
every day. If you are sending your resume
to one of these companies and your paper
resume is not formatted in such a way
that a scanner can read it, the words
won't be spelled right. And, if the
words aren't spelled right, a keyword
search will never turn up your resume.
This section is devoted
to helping you avoid the pitfalls that
commonly cause a resume to scan poorly.
This includes choosing the right fonts,
laying out the text of your resume in
such a way that it is scanner friendly,
selecting the right paper color, etc.
With these guidelines, your resume will
be ready for a hiring manager's computerized
keyword search.
If you would rather not
worry about whether your resume is scannable,
then simply send your formatted resume
(styled any way you like) along with
an unformatted (ASCII text) resume.
Your recipient will then have a choice
whether to scan the "ugly"
one or to send the formatted one to
the hiring manager for review. You can
never go wrong when you send both styles.
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