OCR software attempts to match characters scanned from your resume with standard letter shapes. This makes it imperative that your resume is formatted with a font that OCR can recognize, font choice single most important factor in creating a scannable resume. Simple, conservative typefaces such as Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana and Courier are some of best choices.

Other content and design guidelines are: - keep it simple and conservative - use high quality 8-1/2 x 11 inch, white or off-white paper, print on one side of paper only - format headings with either Bold text or ALL CAPITALS. - use headings sparingly but consistently to support your information structure - don’t use italics - it skews characters and confuses OCR - don’t use underlined text - it confuses OCR - use no more than two fonts in sizes between 10 and 12 points - allow margins and line spacing (white space) to keep document from looking crowded - use horizontal lines to separate sections of your resume - don’t use vertical lines, graphics, shading or boxes - your contact information with your name is printed at top of each page - a summary, where your best assets, whether education, experience, or skills are listed - categories are clear and text is indented - dates of employment are easy to find and consistently formatted - each entry highlights a capability or accomplishment - verb tense is consistent; current job is in present tense; past employment is in past tense - use a minimal amount of punctuation, it can confuse OCR - capitalization, punctuation, and date formats are consistent - no typos or spelling errors - don’t fold or staple your resume, if you mail your resume use a large envelope

Your resume should be a quick and easy to read, containing no fluff and no unnecessary words. As hiring professionals look through hundreds or even thousands of job applications, they may spend only a few seconds reviewing each resume. To catch their attention, you must quickly convey that you standout from competition. A successful resume is one that does not exclude you from consideration. Your resume is a personal self-marketing tool; so make sure you get a powerful and accurate message across. By fine-tuning your keywords to meet qualifications of each job, more likely that you'll be asked to an interview where you can sell yourself.

You can also take information you gathered from these informational interviews and apply them to a regular one-on-one job interview. For example, you’ll be able to negotiate your salary better because you found out beforehand what salary range was for job you’re seeking.

The informational interview is almost like a hidden secret for job hunting success, since so few people use this technique. Get advantage over other job seekers by adding this powerful tool to your job search.

Michelle Roebuck provides job interview tips and resume writing advice at her website http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com