The Electronic/Scannable Resume

Electronic Resume

To prepare your resume as a text file:

• Change margins to allow for only 80 characters per line.
• Change font to Courier.
• Name, address, phone, e-mail should all be on one line.
• Job title and dates should be on separate lines.
• Remove all bolded text, underlining, tables, pictures etc.
• Replace all bullets with dashes.
• Spell out symbols such as $, %, &, #, @ etc.
• Do not use any tabs, indents etc.
• Save as a .txt file.

Scannable Resume

To prepare your scannable resume:

• Use employer’s guidelines for scannable resumes.
• Use strong terms and phrases that are important in the industry in which you are applying.
• Use a standard font, such as Times or Arial, in a 10-12 point size.
• Avoid using italics, bold, and underlining.
• For bullets, use either hyphens or solid bullet characters.
• Include an extra paragraph break between sections.
• Don’t use symbols ($, %, &, @, #).
• Use high quality white laser paper.
• Allow for plenty of white space.

(See PREPARING YOUR RESUME Card)