When Fred Flintstone was "downsized" by his job at the stone quarry and he found he no longer had a job, he probably met with the outplacement department and they referred him to the local resume writer. Together they produced an appropriate document utilizing the finest of stone carving tools and the highest quality granite available. Fred then made the rounds leaving resume slabs for corporate consideration.
Fortunately progress does occur and has been duly noted. The appearance of the printing press, the typewriter, electric typewriter and word processor have each heralded a new era for resume production.
The icon of the newest era is the computer. The computer with all its related electronic technology and online networks allows for instantaneous production and distribution of resumes on a global basis. Frederick J. Flintstone IV can now produce a resume at will and transmit it electronically to computer online databases where it can be searched immediately and continuously. The entire process can be completed in a matter of minutes or hours. The resumes may contain photos of the job seeker or a video clip of the job seeker performing in one way or another.
The standard resume, no matter how effectively designed, executed or presented, is no longer adequate to meet the demands of electronic/computer scanning. Computer scanning and database management of resumes are necessitating a significant re-engineering of the concept and process of using resumes in job hunting endeavors.
A New and Exciting Era Has Begun!
Once a scanned resume is uploaded into a database, it can then be searched by anyone who has access to the database. One such database is the Worldwide Resume/Talent Bank database located in the Career Center forum area on the America Online computer network service. This 20,000 resume database can be accessed by America Online members at no cost beyond their membership fee and the usual online charges. This particular database is also accessed via the Online Career Center on the Internet for a viewing audience of 43 million. Prodigy subscribers now also have access to the Worldwide Resume/Talent Bank on the Internet.
Other resume databases have been developed by a myriad of associations, groups, and companies. They vary widely in size, content, accessibility and cost. Their primary commonality is that they are all searched in one way or another by computers.
On the far end of the spectrum are resume management systems. These systems scan resumes into databases, search the databases on command, and rank the resumes according to the number of resulting "hits" they receive. At times such searches utilize multiple (10-20) criteria. Such resume management systems are usually utilized by major corporations and recruitment firms. The reliance upon resume management systems, coupled with the downsizing of human resource departments in many corporations, has resulted in a situation whereby many resumes are never seen by human eyes once they enter the electronic systems!
The lesson here, therefore, is to make the resume as computer/scanner friendly as possible so that its life in a database will be extended and its likelihood of producing "hits" is enhanced.
Key Words!
In order to satisfy the idiosyncrasies of the scanning process, a new resume style, utilizing "Key Words", has developed. Key Words refer to those words or phrases that are used for searches of databases for resumes that match. This match is called a "hit" and occurs when one or more resumes are selected as matching the various criteria (Key Words) used in the search.
Key Words tend to be more of the noun or noun phrase type (Total Quality Management, UNIX, Bio-Chemist) as opposed to power action verbs often found in traditional resumes (Developed, Coordinated, Empowered, Organized).
"Key Word resumes are the integral ingredient of the job seeking process." James C. Gonyea, author of The Online Job Search Companion released by McGraw-Hill in November 1994, goes on to say, "Key Words are the billboards that you can place on the Information Superhighway to draw the attention of employers to your employment availability."
Another way to look at Key Word phrases is to think in terms of job duties. Detailing your job duties may require a modified mind set for those of you accustomed to traditional resume writing. However, the words and phrases that detail your job duties are the phrases--the Key Words-- that provide your resumes with "hits".
Traditional vs. Key Word Resumes!
Debarah Wilson, a Texas based resume writer who specializes in Key Word resumes, states, "The average job seeker or career planner has not been fully informed about the extent of computer scanning of their resumes or the pronounced need for properly prepared Key Word resumes." Further, Wilson notes that she has found, from her teaching classes in Key Word Resume Preparation that, "The Key Word resumes can be best understood by observation." Therefore, Debarah has prepared the following Key Word Resume for your perusal.
Note that the Key Word resume must contain an adequate description of the job seeker's characteristics and industry specific experience presented in Key Word terms in order to accommodate the electronic/computer search process. These are the words and phrases that employers and recruiters use to search the databases for "hits"!
Also observe that the following guidelines are followed in order to enhance the processing of Key Word resumes through the electronic system:
Success on the Information Superhighway!
This writer suggests, therefore, that successful job seekers will prepare two versions of their resumes. The traditional market driven resumes will continue to be designed to be read by "real people" in "20 seconds or less" and will follow the various formats presented by untold numbers of resume writers and resume writing programs. The Key Word resume, however, should be developed, added to the successful job seeker's arsenal and utilized in any situation where computer scanning might possibly be involved.
Most employers are changing the way they use and retrieve information. Electronic scanning into databases using the Information Superhighway is the "Way of the future". Join Frederick J. Flintstone IV and travel into the future now by presenting your Key Word Resume to potentially millions of employers locally, nationally and globally.
Wayne M. Gonyea, President of OnLine Solutions, Inc. of Morrisonville, NY 12962 is involved in the development and deployment of programs to facilitate uploading of full text resumes for job seekers and career planners into the Information Superhighway (America Online and the Internet).
Wayne Gonyea can be reached through:
World Wide Web: Online Solutions, Inc.
Internet Email:careerw@usa.net
Voice: 518-643-2873 Fax: 518-643-0321
Modem: 518-643-0134
America Online: CareerPro1
Prodigy: RSNA65A
CompuServe: 73512,3174