Translate Your Resume for Electronic Eyes




An important tool in your "job-search toolbox" is your resume. It is your ticket to a job interview. It should be clear, concise, objective-oriented, and easy to read.

A great looking resume, however, may be invisible to the "electronic eye" of a computer. Electronic selection eliminates an employer having to look through giant piles of paper to screen potential employees. Since employers receive hundreds of resumes for every job they post, a growing number use computers to sort resumes and choose those candidates most appropriate for the job.

If your resume isn't scannable and readable, the electronic eye will overlook it.

Buzzwords are the Key

As paper resumes are received, they are scanned into a computer data base. When a position becomes available, a manager searches the data base using keywords to describe the desirable job candidate. The computer returns the resumes that contain matches. The manager arranges for interviews with those candidates.

This means your resume needs something special: keywords.

The resume basics remain the same: your job objectives, work experience, education, and specialized training. A header on the first page contains your name, address, and phone number; subsequent pages should contain your name and phone number.

However, because the employer is going to enter a series of words that are "key" to describing the job, you want to make sure your descriptions of work experience, duties, abilities, and achievements use the same industry-specific terminology so your resume has a better chance of being a "hit."

Also, use industry jargon or buzzwords. Many employers use a "required buzzword" field when searching through their automated applicant tracking system. Inclusion of the proper buzzwords will show that you're industry-savvy—and will move your resume to center screen.


Make it Readable

Of course, simply having a resume with buzzwords isn't enough. Save the up-to-date text version of your resume on disk in an ASCII text so that you can send it to employers by e-mail or place it into online data bases.

To prepare an ASCII text version of you resume, create a resume and save it as a text document. (If you have a resume already, use the Save As function to save it as a text document.) Make sure all text lines up to the left-hand margin, with no use of centering or justification in the document. No graphics, artwork, or special character formatting (except bolding) should be used. This will guarantee that your resume will be readable in most formats—and that your experience and education will be clear to the computer—and the employer who is using it.