The Scannable Resume

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A scan of the paper version of your Resume, which is saved as a digital file on your computer, such as a PDF file, and can easily be opened. A majority of resumes submitted in response to an ad will eventually be screened and read by people, many initially may be scanned or placed into a computer database. To get your “font” in the door, you must ensure your resume is compatible with the company’s scanning process. Follow these tips to design a resume that improves your chances of passing the electronic scan:

• Describe yourself and qualifications using job-specific keywords that are common to the target industry, occupation, and organization.
• Use white or light-colored 8-1/2" x 11" paper, printed on one side only.
• Have laser-printed originals if possible, but a typewritten original or a quality photocopy will work. Avoid dot matrix printer originals and poor copies.
• Use standard typefaces such as Helvetica, Futura, Optima, Universe, Times New Roman, Palatino, New Century Schoolbook, or Courier.
• Use a font size of 10 to 14 points.
• Don’t condense spacing between letters or use compressed line of print.
• Left justify the entire document.
• Use boldface and/or all capital letters for section headings, as long as the letters don’t touch each other.
• Avoid italics and script, underlining, bold face, parentheses and brackets, black/white reversals, tabs, vertical and horizontal lines, graphics, and boxes.
• Avoid a two-column format or a resume that looks like newspapers or newsletters.
• Put your name at the top of the page on its own line. You also can put your name on a single line at the top of any pages that follow.  Use a standard address format below your name. List each phone number on a separate line.
• Do not fold or staple.
• Do not send your Resume as an attachment because many employers will not receive them due to the company’s virus protection software. Cut and paste to the body of your message or application.
• Avoid faxing. If you must, set the fax machine to “Fine Mode” to improve the image quality.
• Do a test drive. Send your resume to a friend, and review it before shooting it off to an employer.

Remember: Although computers scan, store, and receive resumes, recruiting and hiring is still a PEOPLE business, and a person ultimately will read your resume to decide whether you will be interviewed.

For examples of proven resumes written by professional writers visit http://www.dreamfedjob.com/

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