What happens when you create a beautiful paper résumé and
mail or fax it to a company that scans résumés 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 résumé scanner
friendly, which is what this section addresses.
According
to U.S. News & World Report, more than 1,000 unsolicited résumés
arrive every week at most Fortune 500 companies, and before
the days of applicant tracking systems and résumé 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 résumés 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 résumés
because of the volume of résumés they receive every day. If
you are sending your résumé to one of these companies and
your paper résumé 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 résumé.
This
section is devoted to helping you avoid the pitfalls that
commonly cause a résumé to scan poorly. This includes
choosing the right fonts, laying out the text of your résumé
in such a way that it is scanner friendly, selecting the right
paper color, etc. With these guidelines, your résumé will be
ready for a hiring manager's computerized keyword search.
If
you would rather not worry about whether your résumé is
scannable, then simply send your formatted résumé (styled
any way you like) along with an unformatted (ASCII text) résumé.
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.
