Scanners–tips for when your resume is computer scanned

What’s your strategy for a successfully scanned resume?
Your Rant: Recently I read that most companies use computers to do their first screening of resumes. I was shocked. What can I do to make sure I’ll look good to a computer

911 Repair
I once took a cooking class that was given by the owner of a popular Indian restaurant. The students looked like teachers’ pets on the first day of school, practically salaaming to the teacher as she explained the dishes she’d be teaching. Their obsequies faded, however, when instead of making ghee, Indian clarified butter, she brought out a giant tub of Crisco. “You use CRISCO!” the students protested, “but . . . it’s not authentic!” From behind her sizzling skillet the teacher smiled. “Believe me, if Indian women had a shortcut like Crisco, they’d use it.”

Well, HR departments in corporations have found their equivalent of Crisco and yes, it’s the computer. Today most companies make fast food of resumes by using computers to scan them. But that doesn’t mean you have to get deep-fried. Kim Marino’s book, “Just Resumes” (Wiley, 1997), is full of sample resumes and strategies that will help make your resume computer-friendly. I’ve adapted the following tips from it.

Is your resume on plain white paper? Computers prefer a bland diet when they’re trying to digest a stack of resumes. Colored paper, graphics and shading all increase the odds of a scanner error.

Is your name the first thing the computer sees? Most resume scanning programs assume that the first line of text on the resume is your name, so spoon-feed it exactly what it’s looking for.

Does your resume use the language of the classified ad? Computers look for candidates whose experience matches the skills the company has said it is seeking. So salt your resume with the same language the company uses.

Is your resume cluttered? Computers look for white space to recognize different sections of a resume, so be sure to include breaks between each section. (This will also make your resume more human-friendly, in the off-chance that a human actually stumbles across it.)

Is it long enough? Some job-hunt experts advise you to limit your resume to a page or two. But Marino suggests that when a computer is doing the screening, more is better. She recommends up to three or four pages for people who have a lot of relevant experience.

Do you maximize the use of key words and industry jargon? Computers are programmed to look for key words that can help distinguish candidates with industry experience. A computer that’s screening accountant candidates, for example, might look for “accountant,” “accounts receivable/payable” and “audit.” So serve up a resume chock full of industry jargon.

Hopefully, if you follow these tips from Ms. Marino, the computers that scan your resume won’t eat you alive, and your resume will become a satisfying entrée into a new job.

Workplace911 Pulse:

What’s your opinion of using computers to scan resumes?

• Makes no difference, 17.2%
• Makes sense, 34.4%
• Makes me uneasy, 48.3%

User generated

My office uses resume scanners to select job candidates. Faxing your resume is the best way to start the job search quickly, but faxed copies are too blurry and many words will get flagged as spelling errors (i.e., “r” blurs into “n,” etc.). Fax your resume to start the process but follow-up right away with a mailed hard copy. Even in an age of modern technology, scanners like old-fashioned mailed resumes the best