Career DEVELOPMENT @ TCC

More and more mid-sized firms are using computers to scan resumes. Job hunters need to know that computers read differently than people do.

Job computers search for all the "key words" they have been programmed to find. The more key words, the better your chances of catching the employer's attention. The key words of an accountant might include "BS accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivables, IRS Amendments and CPA."

More experts suggest putting "Keyword Summary" where the career objective would customarily be.

If you are sending a resume which may be scanned by a job computer, here are a few tips from career author, Joyce Lain Kennedy:

• Focus on nouns, not verbs. Include those action verbs, of course, for sentence flow and the human eye.
• Use popular, not decorative type styles, and 10- to 14- point font size.
• Use white (preferred) or light-colored paper, printed on one side.
• Avoid italics, underlining, shading and graphics, horizontal and vertical lines. Capitalized words, bold face, and solid bullets are okay.
• Avoid staples and folds. If you must fold, do not fold on a line of text.
• Position your name as the first readable item on the page (one page is still preferred to two).

To learn more about resumes for the computer age, visit Job Hunting on the Internet.