©Give
priority to the skills on your resume. Employers want
to know what you can do, not just where you have been.
This is why scannable resume systems are set up to read
skills. Place the important skills at the beginning of
the resume where employers can see them first. Also,
scannable database systems store a fixed number of
skills so that those that come later may not be included
in the database. Insure that your skills and
occupation-specific keywords match your objective.
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©Avoid
graphics and shading. Shading reduces the contrast
making text hard to read. Graphics may catch the human
eye but do not make sense to scanning systems. |
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©Use
a font size between 10 and 14 points. Don’t use script,
italic or underlining. Highlight information
using bold or CAPITAL letters. |
|
© Place your name, address,
and phone number with area code in a block format below
the top margin. This key information helps interested
employers reach you and is the preferred format for
scannable systems. Put your name on each page.
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©Stapling
or folding diminishes the visual appearance of the
resume and affects scannability. Avoid fasteners and
consider sending your resume flat in a large white
envelope. |
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©
Use generous margins and plenty of white space.
One-inch margins enhance the readability of your resume.
Balance the body of the resume so that the content is
not compressed. For multiple pages, make sure
information is balanced on the pages. The final
resume should be a high-contrast image-dark ink on white
or light-colored paper. |
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© Be sure your
resume is high quality and professional. Laser print
your final copy. Remember, this is your advertisement
to employers.
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| ©Use
vertical and horizontal lines sparingly and include a
quarter inch of space around them. (Scanning systems
can confuse lines and characters.) |
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©Choose
a typeface (font) that is easily readable rather than
decorative. Times New Roman,
System, Arial,
Courier New,
or
Century Schoolbook
are readable. |
