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Resume Writing
Tips and Tools |
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Job Search Tools |
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Machine
Scannable Resumes
Why bother? -
Resume Wizard |
In the good
old days—the nineties—large
companies processed thousands of paper resumes
each week. In order to process these paper
resumes for storage, tracking, and retrieval,
these companies would scan paper resumes,
using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
system. Scanned resumes were then placed
in electronic databases. Smaller companies
did not use scanning systems because they
did not receive as many resumes and could
not justify the expense.
That was then. Nowadays, most large companies
still use optical scanning for paper resumes
but, almost without exception, they use
online forms and email to receive electronic
applicant resumes. Almost all employers
prefer electronic resumes because
they are easier to store, sort, process,
retrieve and distribute. Electronic resumes
do not require optical scanning because
they are already in a format that enables
easy insertion into electronic databases.
Machine scannable resumes are
ugly by design because machines
are not impressed by the same things that
impress humans—in fact some human
design elements will cause machine scanning
errors. Often, a resume that is optimized
for machine scannability, will fail a human
scan. You should use a machine scannable
resume only if the employer requests one
or if you are not sending your resume via
electronic means.
Unfortunately, some traditional resume writers
still insist that machine scannability is
always of paramount importance. If you apply
for work online, this is simply not true.
If their argument made sense, large companies
would operate Rube Goldberg
systems in which all electronic resumes
received would be printed on valuable paper,
then passed through error-prone OCR scanners
in order to extract and convert the information
contained back into an electronic format
suitable for storage in electronic databases.
No intelligent person would want to work
for such a corporation.
If you doubt that optical scanning is no
longer a big deal, take a look at Web sites
operated by major resume scanning/applicant
tracking software vendors. Resumix (renamed
HotJobs Software) and Restrac (now Webhire)
only mention machine scanning in passing.
Their systems are now geared toward electronic
resumes. For most positions advertised online,
scannability is passé.
Companies that receive hundreds and thousands
of resumes a week (like ThinkJobs.com)
can afford Web sites and computers, and
even email. Even small companies can afford
computers and email—if they cannot
afford computers, they certainly cannot
afford OCR scanners which are computer peripherals.
Corporate employers don't need to
optically scan your electronic resume.
Government agencies are another story. The
government can afford email and Web based
application forms but some agencies may
not have gotten around to implementing the
technology. So, if a government agency insists
on a paper scannable resume, please comply.
If you are reading this online, you are
probably comfortable using the Internet
to hunt for, and respond to, job ads. More
often than not, you apply for work online.
For this reason, your resume does not have
to be of the scannable variety. Unless you
insist on applying for the position via
snail mail, use a human scannable
resume. Send an online
resume unless snail mail is the
only option.
If you send your resume to a large organization
via snail mail (why would you?!) make sure
it can be scanned by OCR systems without
error. You should try to make your resume
machine scannable but it is more important
to strive for human scannability. After
all, a human will scan, and hopefully read,
your resume before any interview is scheduled.
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More job search tips... |
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| The following
links point to pages with further advice
on resume writing. |
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| Should
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not. |
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