How to write a computer-friendly CV

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How to write a computer-friendly CV

1. Things you should know about on-line CVs

2. Make sure you know which type of CV the recruiter wants

3. Discard the “old rules” when creating a scannable CV document

4. How to create your CV in ASCII

5. Key words – vital for computer-used CVs

1. Things you should know about on-line CVs

The Internet has brought about a new approach for delivering CVs. Over recent years the search for employment has become more electronic and CVs have followed suit. It is not uncommon now for employers to only accept CVs electronically, either out of practicality or preference. This electronic dynamic has changed much about the way CVs are written, read, and handled.

Things you should know about online CVs are:

§You will need to choose a file format in which to maintain your CV. Many employers, especially recruitment agencies acting on their behalf, insist on receiving CVs only as Microsoft Word documents. Others will only accept CVs formatted in HTML or PDF. The best thing is to write your CV in Microsoft Word, which can be used as an e-mail attachment, or converted to PDF if required. You should be aware, however, that recruiters may not open your CV attachment in the same font that you used, and your CV may not look as you intended. (With some versions of Microsoft Word you have the option to “Embed TrueType fonts’ as you save the document. You should refer to your software’s ‘Help’ menu for more details of how to do this.)
Many potential employers now find candidates' CVs through search engines, which makes it more important for you to use appropriate keywords when writing your CV.
By including an e-mail address in your online CV you may become exposed to spam. To guard against unwanted “junk e-mail” to your usual e-mail account, you could open a web-based e-mail solely for the purpose of job applications. Incidentally, don’t give the e-mail address of where you currently work – you obviously face the risk of your current boss intercepting e-mails from recruiters!

2. Make sure you know which type of CV the recruiter wants

First, contact the company to find out which type of CV they require. It would either be:

§one for the human reader,
one for the company’s computer scanner delivered in paper form,
one of each, or
your CV to be submitted in digital form, possible in ASCII

If the recruiter does want two paper documents, one to be read by a human being, one to be electronically scanned, make sure you identify which CV is for which purpose. A good idea is to attach little yellow ‘Post-Its’.

3. Discard the “old rules” when creating a scannable CV document

Many of the ‘old rules’ about writing a good CV must be discarded when you are creating a CV document that will be scanned into a recruiter’s human resources database. These are the things a scanner likes:

§Name ONLY on the top line. Address and phone numbers must be BELOW you name. Don’t confuse the scanner!
§Choose a popular font and make sure that it’s plain and easy to read. Use a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, not Times New Roman or Comic Sans MS. Also select a reasonable size of font – anywhere between 9 and 12 points should be acceptable. Microsoft seems to have settled on 10 point Arial as their default font in most of their applications and it would be a good idea to follow their lead.
§Text only - no graphics, no shading, no fancy borders, no cute lines. The more boring the CV looks, the more the scanner likes it! The essential thing with a scanner is ‘content’ not appearance.
§Use only plain text. Say no to bold print, italic and underlining, as these tend to make letters run together when scanned. That gives gibberish and not coherent sentences.
§Use job-specific key words – these are what the computer will look for. Section 5 gives you tips on words to use.
§You need not restrict your CV to two pages. Unlike a human reader, a computer scanner will not be ‘turned off’ by a long CV, so there’s no need to ‘tailor down’ your CV. In fact, put in as much data as possible, provided it is relevant to the target job. (Remember, though, the CV designed for human reading which accompanies your scannable CV must only be two pages in length – human beings ARE turned off by lengthy resumes!)
§Print your scannable CV on a high-resolution laser printer, and only send an ORIGINAL, not a photocopy. The clearer the document to be scanned, the more accurate the scanner can do it.

4. How to create your CV in ASCII

The traditional scannable CV document is widely used, but a digitally encoded CV, often required in plain-text (ASC11) format is processed even faster. Be careful, a recruiter may request your CV to be delivered in ASC11 on the Internet, through job boards or e-mail, as a first test of your IT competence. Although a CV held in ASCII is not very pretty ( ASCII is called ‘PLAIN text’!), today’s technically minded HR managers prefer it, because all computers universally recognise ASCII.

There are two ways to create your CV in ASCII:

•Simply copy and paste your CV straight from Microsoft Word into a plain-text editor such as WordPad® or Notepad®, or an online CV form on a job board, or in the body of an e-mail. Doing it this way automatically converts your CV to ASCII in most cases. (For Wordpad ® using Windows: click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.) The problem with converting from your word-processed CV to ASCII is that you may lose some formatting in the process – ASCII does not support fancy formatting such as bold, italic, underscoring and bullets. It also doesn’t support centering, tabs and special characters. This means you may have to reformat your word-processed CV each time you copy and paste it. This can be time consuming.
Another approach is to create an ASCII version of your CV in the first place (say in Notepad®) and store it on your computer and repeatedly copy and paste it, without reformatting each time.

Some tips when using ASCII

§Delete the header and footer from your CV. This is because the receiving computer applications decide where to break the pages, if at all.
Conversion to ASCII might transform bullets to asterisks (*), although Notepad will probably still show bullets. However, when you paste your word-processed CV to a text file (e-mail, or job-board form) if the bullets are replaced by asterisks (and you prefer bullets) then try this tip which normally works:

(i) Turn on the Num Lock to activate your numeric keypad, if you need to.
(ii) Depress and hold down the Alt key.
(iii) Key 0149 on your numeric keypad.
(iv) Release the Alt key.

§Word converts tabs into spaces and left justifies everything; that is it lines up all text with the left edge of the page. This is very acceptable for ASCII CVs. But if you want to smarten up your ASCII CV a bit, then indent your text by using the space bar, in place of tabs. However, do this with care. The recruiter’s computer software systems may have their own ideas about spacing and you can’t be sure where they’ll wrap your text. An indent consisting of six spaces may end up looking like ten.
§Regardless of the font style on your word-processed CV, Word converts your ASCII CV to Courier, which is acceptable. This may not happen when Word is copied and pasted into an e-mail and the result may be a less suitable font. You would need to check the defaults you have selected in your application options. Also make sure your e-mail sending format is plain text, not HTML.
§When you have converted your word-processed CV to ASCII, save it. If Word warns you that formatting will be lost, you’ve done something that does not work in ASCII. Do not worry. Simply click Yes to continue saving your new CV. Then close and open it again. Word should automatically remove whatever you did that caused the warning.
§To test your new CV, simply copy and paste it into the body of an e-mail and send it to yourself. You may need to make formatting adjustments. Once you’re happy with your CV, its ready to copy and paste into e-mails and online CV forms.

5. Key words – vital for computer-used CVs

We make the point previously, that because many potential employers now obtain candidates' CVs online through search engines or by scanning CV documents, it becomes essential for you to use appropriate keywords when writing your CV.

Keywords are specific words or phrases that job seekers use to search for jobs (for example you may be interested in an ‘Audit’ position), and employers use to scan-find the right applicants. Recruiters use keywords as search criteria in the same way as you search for data on the Internet. The more keywords you use, the more closely the web page will match what you're really looking for. For example, if you type the word “accountant" into a search engine, you'll get literally thousands of job descriptions. But if you type the phrase “Credit control manager," you're going to get fewer and more useful results.

Most accounting and finance job postings are loaded with professional- and position-specific key search words. Generally, companies who require online CVs use applicant tracking software, which scans CVs for key words relating to skills, training, degrees, job titles and experience. Make sure your CV gets through the gatekeeper - present your experience and qualifications as if the reader is comparing the words on your CV to a list of desired key search words.

Of course, key words are also position-specific within the profession, so make sure that you use key words in your CV that are specific to your profession and the position you’re interested in. One way of uncovering appropriate key words is take your cues straight from the primary source and visit professional association Web sites, and particularly use key words contained in the job advert and job description.

Listed below are some specific examples of popular keywords in the accountancy and finance profession. There are more - out there!

Key words for accounting and financial CVs – but link them to the job advert and job description

ACA

ACCA

accomplished

accountancy standards

accountant

Adobe

analyst

analytical

A/P

A/R

assertively

assistant

auditor

back office

balance sheet

bilingual

billing

budget

business

capably

career

cash management

change

CIMA

completing

complex

consolidating

consistently

control

cost accounting

counselling

creatively

e-business

e-commerce

effectively

examining

database

degree

delivered

derivatives

detail

developed

discretionary

enterprising

establishing

examining

Excel

financial control

financial analyst

Financial controller

financial management

financial services

financial statements

flexible

forecasting

foreign currency

fulfilled

GAAP

General ledger

global

growth

hedged fund

hedging

IAS

IASB

implementing

initiative

IFRS

influencing

information

informative

inspiring

inspecting

instigated

interest

International GAAP

Information technology (IT)

joint venture

keeping

key

KPIs

led

leadership

ledger work

listening

management

management accounting

managing

MBA

model

monitoring

monthly

MSc

multi currency

negotiating

OLAP

on line

operated

options

Oracle

oral skills

oversaw

payables

persuasive

PDF

piloted

portfolio

Power Point

proactive

problem solving

processing

productivity improvement

professional

profit and loss

profitability

project management

promoted

qualified

quantified

quantitative techniques

receivables

reconciled

reporting standards

representing

research

resourceful

responsible

Sage

sales ledger

selected

servicing

significant

software

skilful

SOX

SLA

statistics

stimulated

stock option

strategic

successful

supply chain

team building

technology

tested

time sheets

tools

trained

treasury

UK GAAP

US GAAP

uncovered

understand

underwriting

utilised

value added

value chain

variance analysis

versatile

virtual

Windows

won

Word

worked

worth

written communication skills

year end

Important: The following MUST be included in the ‘words’ on your CV:

(i) The title of the position you are applying for e.g., ‘Financial Analyst’

(ii) The key words used in the job advert/job description.