Scannable résumés Résumé scanning is becoming a common practice for large businesses

Scannable résumés

Résumé scanning is becoming a common practice for large businesses. Companies that receive a large number of résumés scan the text into a giant database. When they are looking to fill a position, rather than page through hundreds of résumés, they go to the database and search for key words or job titles.

Here are some hints for creating a scannable résumé:

Include a "keyword summary" at the top of the résumé. The summary should list job titles, degrees, job descriptions and other relevant nouns for which an employer might search. The words should correspond to your experience and appear within your résumé.
Make sure your name and address appear clearly at the top of the page, above all other information.
Use simple, easy-to-read fonts and no graphics. This eliminates any technical problems in scanning your résumé.
Make certain the spacing between words and letters is adequate for garble-free scanning. And use a high-quality printer, so the résumé will reproduce well.