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Make Your Resume Keyword Rich and Scanner Friendly
If you haven't looked for a job recently, there are new tactics that hiring professionals are using that you should be aware of before updating your resume. Employers and recruiters increasingly rely on electronic resumes, resume posting boards and job banks to find job candidates. Resumes are either being scanned or input directly into keyword-searchable databases, and accessed when an employer inputs a keyword list of requirements that best describe the position they are seeking to fill. The database searches for keywords describing job titles, responsibilities and descriptions, degree requirements, computer knowledge as well as personality traits. This software scans through thousands of resumes and identifies those that most closely match the imputed keywords. The more keywords or "hits" the software finds in a resume, the more likely it will be read by a HR professional. Keywords are the most important element of a scannable resume. What exactly are keywords? Keywords are nouns or noun phrases that identify skills unique to a specific profession or industry. Although active verbs have long been essential for building a successful resume, now the noun or noun phrase that follows an active verb is equally important. For example: - Self-motivated IT manager with a strong work ethic and problem solving abilities - Talented Graphic Designer of 4-color direct mail catalogs and corporate web site design - Accomplished in Microsoft Office software applications, Excel, Word and PowerPoint - Nominated by the New York Times for the Pulitzer Prize in news photography Keyword nouns are the experience and skills that are specific terminology used in your job and are still relevant to your job search. Other sources for identifying keywords are job descriptions, job titles, software requirements, educational degrees, college names, company names, professional organizations, awards you've won and personality traits. Words that are repeatedly used in trade journals and classified ads in association with the job title you are seeking are also keywords. Whatever your final word choices are, your keywords should accurately describe your skills, talents, and experience. As a word only needs to be used once for it to be considered a "hit" in a keyword search, use synonyms wherever possible to broaden your number of hits. The Summary area of your resume should consist of several short statements that highlight your most important qualities, achievements and abilities. By tailoring every word in the "Summary" to your targeted goal, you can make this area keyword rich. The most common ingredients of a well-written Summary are listed below; use what best describe you: - a sentence describing your profession - followed by a comment stating your level of expertise - followed by two to three statements related to any of the following: - unique mix of skills - range of environments in which you have experience - a special or well-documented professional accomplishment - a history of awards, promotions, or superior performance commendations - one or more professional or personal characteristics - a sentence describing your professional objectives or interests It's important to list only the skills you would feel comfortable using if you were to be tested. Should the position you are seeking require knowledge of software you don't know, consider taking lessons before listing it on your resume.If you've submitted your resume online to sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com your resume has already been electronically imputed into their databases. But what happens if when it's scanned from a paper copy? OCR software attempts to match characters scanned from your resume with standard letter shapes. This makes it imperative that your resume is formatted with a font that OCR can recognize, font choice the single most important factor in creating a scannable resume. Simple, conservative typefaces such as Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana and Courier are some of the best choices. Other content and design guidelines are: - keep it simple and conservative - use high quality 8-1/2 x 11 inch, white or off-white paper, print on one side of the paper only - format headings with either Bold text or ALL CAPITALS. - use headings sparingly but consistently to support your information structure - don't use italics - it skews characters and confuses OCR - don't use underlined text - it confuses OCR - use no more than two fonts in sizes between 10 and 12 points - allow margins and line spacing (white space) to keep the document from looking crowded - use horizontal lines to separate sections of your resume - don't use vertical lines, graphics, shading or boxes - your contact information with your name is printed at the top of each page - a summary, where your best assets, whether education, experience, or skills are listed - categories are clear and text is indented - dates of employment are easy to find and consistently formatted - each entry highlights a capability or accomplishment - verb tense is consistent; current job is in present tense; past employment is in past tense - use a minimal amount of punctuation, it can confuse OCR - capitalization, punctuation, and date formats are consistent - no typos or spelling errors - don't fold or staple your resume, if you mail your resume use a large envelope Your resume should be a quick and easy to read, containing no fluff and no unnecessary words. As hiring professionals look through hundreds or even thousands of job applications, they may spend only a few seconds reviewing each resume. To catch their attention, you must quickly convey that you standout from the competition. A successful resume is one that does not exclude you from consideration. Your resume is a personal self-marketing tool; so make sure you get a powerful and accurate message across. By fine-tuning your keywords to meet the qualifications of each job, the more likely that you'll be asked to an interview where you can sell yourself. Mary Carroll is a customer advocate for Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials, helping our customers to better understand Video Professor and how our tutorials can provide tools to learn various software programs to your desired level.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers at VA VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers BASF Careers Fred Hutch News Service Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Jobs at BCA Minnesota Department of Public Safety Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers Washington State University Employment Services American Mathematical Society Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom DWR careers: Come work with us! Utah Division of Wildlife Resources October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers S&P Global Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA Job Opportunities Bellevue School District How to Apply FEMA Careers Micron Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Join our team FHI 360 Careers KPMG Careers The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider IT and Tech - Education Forbes Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase How to Become a Raleigh Firefighter RaleighNC.gov Career Paths FEMA Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota Mental health at work World Health Organization Benefits for the whole you Accenture Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily JobFeed NSW Department of Education Who Says Teen Jobs Don’t Come with Benefits? ADDitude magazine Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Current opportunities Turner & Townsend Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond HBR.org Daily The Top 40 Jobs for Women Looking to Change Careers at 40+ Parade Magazine 8 global issues shaping and driving job creation World Economic Forum Jobs Energy.gov Careers at King County King County Which Jobs Have a Future? Statista More and more jobs can be done from anywhere. What does that mean for workers? World Economic Forum Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto Careers City of Somerville Jobs Dublin City University |
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