This Domain For Sale. Contact us for more information.

Make Your Resume Keyword Rich and Scanner Friendly

If you haven't looked for a job recently, there are new tactics that hiring professionals are using that you should be aware of before updating your resume.

Employers and recruiters increasingly rely on electronic resumes, resume posting boards and job banks to find job candidates. Resumes are either being scanned or input directly into keyword-searchable databases, and accessed when an employer inputs a keyword list of requirements that best describe the position they are seeking to fill.

The database searches for keywords describing job titles, responsibilities and descriptions, degree requirements, computer knowledge as well as personality traits. This software scans through thousands of resumes and identifies those that most closely match the imputed keywords. The more keywords or "hits" the software finds in a resume, the more likely it will be read by a HR professional. Keywords are the most important element of a scannable resume.

What exactly are keywords? Keywords are nouns or noun phrases that identify skills unique to a specific profession or industry. Although active verbs have long been essential for building a successful resume, now the noun or noun phrase that follows an active verb is equally important. For example:

- Self-motivated IT manager with a strong work ethic and problem solving abilities

- Talented Graphic Designer of 4-color direct mail catalogs and corporate web site design

- Accomplished in Microsoft Office software applications, Excel, Word and PowerPoint

- Nominated by the New York Times for the Pulitzer Prize in news photography

Keyword nouns are the experience and skills that are specific terminology used in your job and are still relevant to your job search. Other sources for identifying keywords are job descriptions, job titles, software requirements, educational degrees, college names, company names, professional organizations, awards you've won and personality traits. Words that are repeatedly used in trade journals and classified ads in association with the job title you are seeking are also keywords.

Whatever your final word choices are, your keywords should accurately describe your skills, talents, and experience. As a word only needs to be used once for it to be considered a "hit" in a keyword search, use synonyms wherever possible to broaden your number of hits.

The Summary area of your resume should consist of several short statements that highlight your most important qualities, achievements and abilities. By tailoring every word in the "Summary" to your targeted goal, you can make this area keyword rich.

The most common ingredients of a well-written Summary are listed below; use what best describe you:

- a sentence describing your profession

- followed by a comment stating your level of expertise

- followed by two to three statements related to any of the following:

- unique mix of skills

- range of environments in which you have experience

- a special or well-documented professional accomplishment

- a history of awards, promotions, or superior performance commendations

- one or more professional or personal characteristics

- a sentence describing your professional objectives or interests

It's important to list only the skills you would feel comfortable using if you were to be tested. Should the position you are seeking require knowledge of software you don't know, consider taking lessons before listing it on your resume.If you've submitted your resume online to sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com your resume has already been electronically imputed into their databases. But what happens if when it's scanned from a paper copy?

OCR software attempts to match characters scanned from your resume with standard letter shapes. This makes it imperative that your resume is formatted with a font that OCR can recognize, font choice the single most important factor in creating a scannable resume. Simple, conservative typefaces such as Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana and Courier are some of the best choices.

Other content and design guidelines are:

- keep it simple and conservative

- use high quality 8-1/2 x 11 inch, white or off-white paper, print on one side of the paper only

- format headings with either Bold text or ALL CAPITALS.

- use headings sparingly but consistently to support your information structure

- don't use italics - it skews characters and confuses OCR

- don't use underlined text - it confuses OCR

- use no more than two fonts in sizes between 10 and 12 points

- allow margins and line spacing (white space) to keep the document from looking crowded

- use horizontal lines to separate sections of your resume

- don't use vertical lines, graphics, shading or boxes

- your contact information with your name is printed at the top of each page

- a summary, where your best assets, whether education, experience, or skills are listed

- categories are clear and text is indented

- dates of employment are easy to find and consistently formatted

- each entry highlights a capability or accomplishment

- verb tense is consistent; current job is in present tense; past employment is in past tense

- use a minimal amount of punctuation, it can confuse OCR

- capitalization, punctuation, and date formats are consistent

- no typos or spelling errors

- don't fold or staple your resume, if you mail your resume use a large envelope

Your resume should be a quick and easy to read, containing no fluff and no unnecessary words. As hiring professionals look through hundreds or even thousands of job applications, they may spend only a few seconds reviewing each resume. To catch their attention, you must quickly convey that you standout from the competition. A successful resume is one that does not exclude you from consideration.

Your resume is a personal self-marketing tool; so make sure you get a powerful and accurate message across. By fine-tuning your keywords to meet the qualifications of each job, the more likely that you'll be asked to an interview where you can sell yourself.

Mary Carroll is a customer advocate for Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials, helping our customers to better understand Video Professor and how our tutorials can provide tools to learn various software programs to your desired level.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Careers & Employment Information:


Related Articles

Careers-Changing Jobs: The Fantasy of the Ideal Job
Most people would agree that the concept of a job today is vastly different from that of 20 years ago. Organisations are changing at speed, technology has changed the face and pace of work, and globalisation is pushing every business to examine it's operations in a totally different context.
Resume That Effectively Promotes You!
Imagine for a moment that you have created a wonderful product. You are excited at the possibilities of attaining name, fame and wealth marketing this product.
Work In Dubai
Dubai is home to an exciting, diverse, multi-cultural blend of young, dynamic and professional people all enjoying the unrivalled quality of life the Emirate has to offer. It is of absolutely no surprise therefore that Dubai has the fastest growing population in the world.
The Career Athlete: What It Takes to Manage Your Career
Managing your career, just like managing your life, requires preparation and ensuring that your time is directed meaningfully. Don't wait and see; make things happen.
Job Search Blurts
I coined this word to draw attention to the nervous and apprehensive way of saying something in the job search that makes you feel like a buffoon. A "blurt" is a catchy way of saing: Gaffe.
Your Interview Questions Are a Serious Matter
Of course interviews are mainly about you answering the questions they put to you, but at the end of your allotted interview time, the questions that really matter most are yours. You should hope to hear the interviewer ask you:"Have you any questions?"But even if they don't ask, you should grasp the opportunity and say:"Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions?" However you must be careful when planning what questions you're going to ask, and make sure that they are not ones that you should already know the answer to because it's been covered in the interview.
Shades of Grey
A paperweight sits on my desk, etched in silver the message: Life isn't always black and white. It serves as a reminder there are few absolutes at work (or in life).
Three Steps to Writing Your Own Resume
While most professionals hire a professional resume writer, some draft their own resume. People who write a lot for business usually have more success in putting together a sharp, focused presentation; still, anyone can learn the basic steps to prepare his or her own resume.
Job Interviews & the Magic of Music
Can music help you with your next job interview? It just might! Here's how. First, it can help you during your research, preparation and practice.
Searching for an Executive Job
A job search for executives is far less complicated today than it has been in the past. Anyone who is looking for an executive job can simply look to the Internet where there are hundreds of employment websites, with many specifically geared towards executives.
Writing Powerful Resumes - 10 Golden Rules
Your resume is your sales letter. It may not get you the job.
5 Proven Steps To Easily Master The Art Of The Interview And Get The Bartending Job Of Your Dreams!
Your mouth is dry, your palms are sweaty, your heart is beating so fast it feels like it is going to pop out of your chest!Sound familiar?For most people, interviews are uncomfortable. The mere thought of them causes anxiety and nervousness.
How To Get Promoted - Take Control Of Your Destiny!
It Is Up To YouSo, you want to get promoted. The possibility really lies in your own hands.
Now, Do You Have Any Questions?
"Who is that hot babe in the picture?" isn't the type of reply an interviewer expects to hear when he or she invites you to ask questions near the end of an interview. In fact, the way you approach the Q&A session will have a direct impact on the interviewer's perception of you.
Old Hiring Foxes vs. The Hedgehogs
You are about to compete for the best people again. The recovery is happening.
How To Get More Interviews In Your Job Search
Richard Bolles, job search guru and author of What Color Is Your Parachute? predicts that you can expect to search for work 1-2 months for every $10,000 you hope to earn. So, if you're looking for a $40,000 a year position, you may search for 4-8 months to land it.
Using Your Whine Factor
Brian's work was exceptional. Still, as his boss, I rarely offered him additional responsibilities, never thought of promoting him or selecting him for a critical project.
Does Your Resume Have What It Takes To Survive The First Cut?
Qualifications" or "Personal Profile") uses bullets and succinct wording to highlight what is likely to most intrigue the employer. Before writing this section, make a list of the 5 to 10 criteria that are most likely to guide the employer's choice - then summarize your qualifications in a way that speaks directly to the employer's interests.
How Well Do You Manage Your Boss?
Are you in this situation? You and your boss just don't seem to connect and work well together. It isn't that you are having knock down fights.
Goal Setting - Road Map To Achieving Your Career Goals
Goal Setting & ResearchYou can only set informed career goals if you acquire plenty of information about the career choices open to you. This will require research which can be conducted online or through a local library.



/html>