Scannable and Keyword Resumes

In August of 1998, at the National Résumé Writers" Association Convention, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar on Scannable Resumes, presented by the one of the country's foremost authorities. I am pleased to report, that contrary to popular belief, scannable resumes do not have to be plain and ugly. With almost the entire Fortune 1000, the majority of large companies and most recruiting organizations now using scanners and Optical Character Recognition software to read resumes, it is imperative that the resume you slaved over is readable by today's technology.

• To begin, let's talk about font size and type face. Headings should be no larger than 20 points with the optimal being between 10 and 14. Stay away from fancy fonts with feet. Use more traditional fonts like Arial or Helvetica.

• There has been much controversy regarding the need for a key word section. The overwhelming consensus is that if the resume is written properly, the keywords will already exist and regardless of where they appear in the resume, will be found.

• Make sure letters do not touch and use no less than .95 between lines, with 1.0 ideal.
  Now for the surprise, you can use lines. The lines should be long, not short, as the software may mistake short lines for letters. Use single lines, not double and not too thick.

• Put your name at the top of the resume, but the address and contact information can be bottom or the next line after your name.You may use bullets, but they should be solid and round. Bullet circles can be misconstrued as the letter o.

• +, &, % and mathematical symbols cause problems. Spell out the words.

• Avoid ........ leaders.

• Don't use newspaper-like columns.

• Electronic resumes can be as many pages as is appropriate.

• Submit original laser or good quality ink jet originals, not copies or faxed sheets, as they will have lost sharpness.

• Don't fold resumes. The creases can distort letters or even be read by the scanner as lines of text.

• No staples. The scanner may read the holes as letters.

• Use standard size paper, white or cream color.

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