Paper Resumes

Contents:

     Introduction
     What Do You Intend to Do With Your Resumes?
     What is a Scannable Resume?  or in diagram format
     Word Processing Resumes at the WorkForce Center

Introduction

The purpose of a resume is to get a job interview. Therefore, your resume should be an overview of your qualifications for the position you are applying for, not a history of your life.  Writing a resume can be difficult because it causes the job seeker to describe and focus on their job skills, employment history, and qualifications for the position they are seeking.

There are ample publications available on how to do "the perfect" resume.
The only "perfect" resume is the resume that got you an interview.  If the "perfect" resume isn't getting you any calls, change it! Also remember that a resume should be one page in length regardless of how much experience and education you have or how many job skills you possess. Finally, be sure to include as many keywords as possible to increase your employability. Keywords are especially important for electronic resumes as resumes sent by e-mail or over the internet are usually electronically scanned for keywords to be selected for human reading. See helpful hints on keywords.

Many WorkForce Centers offer an excellent workshop in Resumes and Cover Letters
Read about workshop on Resume Strategies.
Workshop dates can be found on monthly calendar.

What Do You Intend to Do With Your Resumes?

If you intend to give, mail, or fax your resume to employers, you need to word process a resume on Word  saving it on your hard drive (if you do it at home) or on a floppy disk (if you do it on a WorkForce Center computer). You will be able to print paper copies.

However, if you intend to use e-mail, an Internet resume service or the employer's web site to send a resume, you need to format your resume in plain text/ASCII format. (For more information, go to Internet Resumes & E-Mail Services.)

What is a Scannable Resume?

An increasing number of employers (especially larger companies) use scanners for hardcopy paper resumes, as well as for electronic resumes. An employer (or resume service) simply codes an electronic scanning device to identify words or phases. When the scanner picks up the same words and phases on the resume, the resume is identified for human reading.

Tips from Department of Employment and Economic Development's Creative Job Search:

1) Give priority to the skills on your resume. Employers want to know what you can do, not just where you have been.  This is why scannable resume systems are set up to read skills. Place the important skills at the beginning of the resume where employers can see them first.  Also, scannable database systems store a fixed number of skills so that those that come later may not be included in the database.  Insure that your skills and occupation-specific keywords match your objective.

2) Place your name, address, and phone number with area code in a block format below the top margin. This key information helps interested employers reach you and is the preferred format scannable systems. Put your name on each page.

3) Use generous margins and plenty of white space. One-inch margins enhance the readability of your resume. Balance the body of the resume so that the content is not compressed. For multiple pages, make sure information is balanced on the pages. The final resume should be a high-contrast image - dark ink on white or light-colored paper.

4) Use vertical and horizontal lines sparingly and include a quarter inch of space around them. (Scanning systems can confuse lines and characters.)

5) Avoid graphics and shading. Shading reduces the contrast making text hard to read. Graphics may catch the human eye but do not make sense to scanning systems.

6) Use a font size between 10 and 14 points. Don't use script, italic or underlining. Highlight information using bold or capital letters.

7) Stapling or folding diminishes the visual appearance of the resume and affects scannability. Avoid fasteners and consider sending your resume flat in a large white envelope.

8) Be sure your resume is high quality and professional. Laser print your final copy. Remember, this is your advertisement to employers.

9) Choose a typeface (font) that is easily readable rather than decorative. Times New Roman, System, Arial, Courier, New, or Century Schoolbook are readable.

Word Processing Resumes at the WorkForce Center

For your convenience, all 20 computers in the Resource Area are equipped with Microsoft Word 2000  for word processing of your resume and cover letters, plus access to a laser printer for high quality printing.

If you use Word at a Resource Area computer,

• bring an IBM formatted 3½ inch floppy disk to use;
• have your disk(s) scanned for viruses at the Resource Area Help Desk as you sign in for a computer. If any disk(s) have viruses, we will alert you to it before we de-bug your disk(s).
• Be sure to take your disk(s) with you when you leave.
• Any resumes or written material saved on the hard drive will be deleted for your confidentiality.