For thirty years as an employment counselor I spent a lot of time getting jobseekers to write résumés that would capture the attention of a human reader. Occasionally, companies would assign initial résumé screening to trainee fresh out of college. I taught 1970s jobseekers to write catchy résumés with impressive bullet points and bold print. The challenge I gave my charges: "Your job is to write a résumé that gets through to Bill, my mythical screener, in 15 seconds."

If Bill were a real person, these days he'd be out of a job and looking for a new line of work. Most large companies have replaced human screeners with technology that assesses and selects qualified job applicants for further consideration. Computers can handle a daily deluge of résumés with ease. Plus, entry-level trainees were not always sufficiently skilled to identify the résumés of the most promising candidates. Computers are very consistent. Most big companies now rely on an applicant tracking system or talent management system, software that allows them to track and manage résumés and information on applicants. They scan résumés into the database or capture the data when applicants enter information online.

How do these applicant-tracking systems work? Unlike old-fashioned typewriters, which could not store information, word processors "remember" information you've entered. Word processing software can even tally how many times you used the word 'I.' Most applicant tracking systems work in a similar manner, but with even more sophisticated "intelligence' that can discriminate between key phrases. It might distinguish between, say, "Harvard graphics" and "Harvard University."

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of State Employment receives 500 to 1,000 hard copy résumés every week. These résumés are scanned into an applicant tracking system. Nancy Smith, bureau director, says that the 15-year-old system can quickly produce a list of eligible candidates for interviews.

If you expect to apply to large or medium-sized companies you will likely need two résumés - one standard version, one scannable. The standard, eye-catching résumé may contain underlining, bold print and bullet points designed to catch the eye of a human reader. That styling will not work with computer scanners. Scannable résumés must be kept very plain.

Usually a newspaper or online job listing will make it clear which type of résumé the company prefers. Most will list the guidelines for submitting a scannable résumé at their Web sites.

Key words are the way to success. Pennsylvania State Employment Director Smith advises applicants to use detailed key words. "It does not help to say you are a laborer," she says. "You must specify if you are a carpenter, stock room or landscape laborer. Applicants also need to be specific about their computer proficiency. List your familiarity with specific hardware and software such as Windows XP, Excel, Access, etc.

When an opening occurs in a Pennsylvania agency the requirements are entered into the applicant tracking system. The system produces a list of résumés that match the job requirements and rank the applications that received the most hits. The bureau does additional screening of the winnowed list of résumés.

It is important to know that my 1970 rule to keep résumés to one page only no longer applies in an era of scannable résumés. "But don't send a six-page résumé," Smith warns. Make every word count.

Randall S. Hansen, founder of, Quintessential Careers, www.quintcareers.com, a career development Web site, offers these tips for formatting a scan-friendly résumé.

• Use a standard typefaces in a normal type size, 11 to 14 points.

• Avoid all graphics

• Use all capital letters for major headings but avoid boldface, italic and underlining.

• Do not use bullets or lines.

• Left-justify text.

• If your résumé is more than one page, place your name at the top of each additional page.

• Use only white or a very pale color paper in standard letter size, 8 1/2- inches x 11 inches.

• Always send original copies.

• Try to mail or deliver your résumé in a flat envelope or by fax. Do not staple pages.