No matter how close your qualifications are to the requirements listed in an employment classified, you may still not get the interview. Many companies are now relying on scanning technology to read your resume or are requiring that you e-mail your resume to them. Not knowing how to make your resume compatible with these technologies may be a deciding factor in whether or not you get an interview. How does it work? A company receives your resume and it is scanned into their database. When the company has a position that needs to be filled, a list of keywords are entered into the database. These words include the main characteristics, experience and/or education desired for the job. The resumes that match these keywords are then made available to the employer in order of the most matches. Obviously, the more keywords your resume contains, the better.

What can you do the meet the need of all this technology? Here is an overview of what you should and shouldn't do to have a scanner or e-mail friendly resume:

The size and style of your text is important. Many scanners cannot read fancy, tiny, or overly large text. It is best to utilize a san serif font such as Arial in a size of 10-14 points.

Avoid putting anything on the top line of your resume besides your name. Many scanners are programmed to look for the name on the first line, and will record whatever you put there as such. Quoting Human Resource Assistant Lisa Cannon of Barnett Bank in Tampa, "When we first started using the scanning software, we would scan in resumes with the word "resume" on the top line. Later, when we would try to pull an individual's resume up, it could not be found." Avoid disappearing into the system!

Watch your paper color and the color quality. Are you using a clean and easily readable paper? It's a good idea not to fold resumes copied with copy toner as the toner can fleck off and make the page difficult to read. Also, faded copies, dot matrix print and poor quality faxes are almost impossible to scan. Avoid dark colored papers or papers with fiber or designs on them as they will interfere with the scanner's ability to read your text. Finally, never print on the back side of your paper.

Be sure to include keywords in your resume. This means avoiding generalizations such as "computer literate" and replacing them with specifics such as "Microsoft Word, Lotus 1-2-3, and PageMaker." Careful review of a job description or employment classified for the position you are applying for will help reveal many of the keywords the employer is looking for.

Consider adding a keyword section to your resume. If your resume does not have the keywords the employer is specifically looking for throughout the body of your resume, then this will allow you to improve your chances of getting scanner hits. This takes the place of a Qualifications section under the Objective, and is a list of words: Contract Administration. Subcontract Administration. MBA, Embry-Riddle. Bidding. Vendor Negotiation. Cost Estimation. Project Management.

I stress, however, that if these keywords are within the body of your resume or your Qualification section, don't create this section. Should your resume be read by a person rather than a computer, this lengthy paragraph of words can become very difficult to navigate and may defeat the purpose of showing an employer what you have to offer.

When responding to a company that asks you to e-mail your resume, take extra care in ensuring that the recipient will be able to read your resume. Frequently resumes are received in a format that is incompatible with the company's software and will get thrown out. Take the resume that you usually use and remove all bolding, centering or any other special characteristics. You want a straight text, left-justified document, again in a san serif font. Save the document in ASCII format and cut and paste it in the e-mail message box.