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When authoring your resume you have to take into consideration the fact that your potential employer needs to do an initial screening from a plethora of resumes. The question then is how do you guarantee that your resume passes the initial screening?
Employers do a keyword search on resumes for potential job opening matches using databases such as the O*NET System which is one of the free resume databases used as a repository of occupational requirements and work attributes (http://www.doleta.gov/programs/onet/). F
or a particular occupation, O*NET has an online center for specific job titles; typical tasks; tools and technology; expected knowledge; skills; and wage trends are listed. An IT professional for instance might need to have the key phrase ‘Source code editor software’ somewhere in the resume for it to even get short listed by the hiring manager. By looking at the summary report available at the O*NET website (http://online.onetcenter.org) for your desired profession for you can tailor your resume using the priceless information provided.
Now you have a paper version of your resume which you submitted at a career fair taking into consideration the keyword screening that is initially done. The question now is how do you ensure your resume gets properly scanned into the company’s database? Here are some tips to help ensure this –
-Use popular fonts such as Helvetica or Courier
-Use fonts 12 points or larger because scanners have a difficult time reading small fonts
-Do not include graphics in your resume
-Use the typical white/gray or other professional resume paper- stay away from pink!
-If you can, try to incorporate your keywords into the summary paragraph in your resume
(Remember that the keywords must still convey a coherent message. If your resume
passes the scan test it should still convey a message to your HUMAN employer)
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