Optical Character Recognition (OCR) was developed in the 70’s by Ray Kurzweil, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Although Mr. Kurzweil’s intent was to develop a machine (known as the Kurzweil Reading Machine) to help visually impaired individuals read printed materials, OCR technology has since become indispensable in modern business.

Generally speaking, what OCR means to the modern job hunter is that initially a computer, not a human being, will be scanning the resume for appropriate content. Since machines are not impressed by font styles and other formatting enhancements, content is all-important, as is the presentation of your document in a scanner-friendly manner. With computer technology changing daily, “scanner-friendly” may mean a document stripped of all formatting and enhancements, or one that bears some formatting that can be read by the more modern software.
However, regardless of which format is used, content is still essential, beginning with keywords.

Keywords are nouns or noun phrases indicating a candidate’s skill set or qualifications as they pertain to the current job search.
Examples of keywords for an Administrative Assistant might be:

* Typing 90 wpm
*
* Dictation Microsoft Word
* Microsoft Excel
* Microsoft PowerPoint
* Reception
* Phone Support

For an Accountant keywords might be:

* Tax Accounting
* Reconciliations
* General Ledger
* Profit and Loss Statements

Where to Find Keywords

1. Current and Previous Job Descriptions.

In most positions, employees are given job descriptions. Using these, pull out nouns or noun phrases of what you do on a daily basis, so long as those tasks are still relevant to your current job search.

2. Resumes.

Cull data from the Professional Experience and Skill sections of your current or old resumes. These daily duties will provide relevant and significant keywords for your scannable resume.

3. Job Postings.

These are perhaps the most significant resource a candidate can use. By dovetailing past experience with required qualifications and skills, a candidate is effectively targeting the new job, while enhancing candidacy.
How to Use Them

Here, you have two options:

1. Create a keyword list for inclusion at the very beginning of your resume.
2. Sprinkle keywords throughout your resume.

A keyword list at the beginning of your resume would read like this (for a Senior Product Manager):

Pharmaceutical Marketing. Territory Growth. Market Share. Opportunity Mining. Physician Rapport. Marketing Strategies. Budget Oversight. Targeted Goals. Sales Force Leadership. Problem Resolution. Market Data Analysis. Sales Forecasting. Productivity Monitoring. Performance Enhancement. Sales Representative Training. Product Launches. Microsoft Office. Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft Excel. Master of Arts in Marketing. Medical Doctor. Emergency Room Experience. Zithromax. Diflucan. M.D. Bilingual. Spanish Fluency. English Fluency.

Keywords in a Qualifications Summary would read like this (for a Senior Product Manager):

Dynamic, effective Physician and Pharmaceutical Marketing Professional with a strong background in maintaining standards of honesty and integrity while mining new opportunities for territory growth and market share. Easily establishes rapport with physicians based on a background that includes a Master’s Degree in Marketing, a Medical Degree, and emergency room experience. Creative problem solver experienced in devising new strategies for Zithromax and Diflucan to eliminate lost sales to generic brands. Client-oriented with superb communication and organizational skills in preparing successful marketing strategies, overseeing budgets, and leading a sales force towards targeted goals. Fluent in Spanish and English. Technically proficient in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Remember, the more closely your background matches the qualifications of the new job, the more likely it is that you’ll be invited to interview.

It’s always wise to put your name on each page of your scannable resume. Why? If one of the pages of your three-page resume gets separated from the others, it will be nearly impossible for the administrative assistant handling it to know where it might belong. It’s best to avoid this situation by putting your name at the top of each page, along with a page number.

Physical/Email Address

In addition to your street address, including your city, state and zip, it’s important to include an email address. With today’s technology, a hiring manager most often contacts successful candidates by phone or by email.

Because of the importance of email correspondence in a job search, it’s wise to choose an email address that is businesslike in tone, rather that one that reflects a special interest or a nickname.

For example, the following would be considered inappropriate:

sexylady@net.net

savethewhales@net.net

pinballchamp@net.net

overthehillgal@net.net

Another important piece of advice is to avoid using work-related email addresses. Hiring managers are rarely interested in interviewing someone who is using their current employer’s time or email system to look for another job.

The key is: Always be professional

Phone Numbers

It’s sometimes wise to include a cell phone number along with your home phone number, especially if that’s your easiest point of contact. However, be certain of the quality of your cell phone and service provider before offering the number. Nothing is more frustrating to a hiring manager than to conduct a cell phone conversation through static and breaks in conversation due to poor technology.

In modern resumes, fax numbers are rarely provided. Most hiring managers will not fax an interview request to prospective candidates.
Never include current work phone numbers in your scannable resume. Hiring managers think poorly of candidates who use a current employer’s time to search for new opportunities.

Since scanning equipment may differ from company to company, it’s best to err on the conservative side when choosing fonts that will be easily read by the software.

Therefore, avoid all “designer” fonts that are difficult for a human being to read. If anything, the scanning software will have even more difficulty.

It’s best to stick with classic fonts like Arial, which is san serif, or Times New Roman, a popular serif font. Other good choices are Garamond, Bookman, Courier New, and Century Schoolbook.
Font size

Don’t make the software work extra hard to read all the characters in your resume, as this may lead to mistakes and missed keywords. It’s best to use a font size between 9 and 12, depending upon the font.