Scannable Resumes, Career Center, Ball State University

Scannable Résumés

Increasingly, employers are using computers to scan and store applicants' résumés. An employer can then search a database for certain key words. You should prepare a scannable version of your résumé in addition to the printed version you normally would send to employers. Keep the following points in mind to make sure that your résumé is "computer friendly."

Use a simple, easily read typeface, like Courier.
Avoid italic and boldface type as well as rules (lines) and columns.
Use white, 8.5 x 11 inch paper.
Print on only one side of each sheet.
Put your name at the top on a line by itself.

For more information, see State Farm Insurance's "Preparing an Ideal Resume for Scanning," Wayne M. Gonyea's "Keyword Résumés--Your New Hi-Tech Way to Get a Job!" and Joyce Lain Kennedy's book Electronic Résumé Revolution (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995).