Before you write your resume in a word processor, print it, and hand out copies to prospective employers, you should consider formatting it for easy scanning and retrieval from a computer database.

As you can imagine, dozens, maybe hundreds of resumes bombard employers for a position they would like filled. To sift through each of these manually would probably be too time consuming even for largest of organizations.

To make search for ideal candidates more efficient, some employers scan and store resumes into a computer database. From there, employers can search database to retrieve name of individuals whose resumes contains keywords or terms they are looking for in a candidate.

How to Get Employer's to Read Your Electronic Resume

The element of your resume that makes it easy to find in a computer database is keywords written on it. The particular keywords that should be on your resume are ones that your prospective employer will use to find you in their database.

A little research will help you determine right keywords. Scan a few of your targeted job descriptions from online job sites. These online postings are loaded with keywords that should be on your resume.

The hiring manager probably wrote those job descriptions and he will probably be same person who searches his database of scanned resumes.

Some general examples of keywords most employers will search on are "education," "skill-set," "experience," "talents and abilities."

Successful Electronic Resumes Includes These Elements

Beyond importance of having "right" keywords on your resume, other words on your resume are also important.

For instance, your resume should contain nouns. Your resume should have descriptive words like software programmer, project manager, or Acme Corporation.

Try not to use abbreviations of words if it is not common. For example, you could assume people know that BA spelled out means Bachelor of Arts.

The AIDA formula is as old as dirt. It was taught when I was in school over a decade ago. And it's still being taught for good reason - it works! When you apply it to your cover letter, it has power to transform a regular cover letter into an attention-grabbing "Killer Cover Letter" that'll make your phone ring off hook.

AIDA is an acronym. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. It describes process marketers want to take their prospect through in order to make a sale.

In this case, prospect is hiring manager and you're selling yourself in sense that you want hiring manager to contact you for an interview. So I'm going to show you how to grab hiring manager's attention, create interest, arouse desire, and ultimately get him or her to take action (pick up phone and call you for an interview).

By way, I've tested this killer "System" so I know it works. Ready to get started? Then let's go.

Attention

The first thing you need to do is grab reader's attention. You must get reader's attention before he or she can become interested and desirous of your offer to come in for an interview. We're all busy and we all have several things going on in our lives. So how do you cut through clutter and grab reader's attention?

There are several ways actually. One way is to create an attention-grabbing opening sentence or headline as copywriters call it. Think of it like headlines in newspapers and magazines. You choose which articles to read by quickly glancing at headlines, don't you?