If your resume will be read by a resume scanning program for key words, it's absolutely imperative that those key words be included in your text. Consequently, tailoring your resume to an ad, networking recommendation or job description is probably even more important than if a person were doing the initial screening. In this respect people-scanned and computer-scanned resumes are very similar. However, because some computer scanners have difficulty reading vertical lines, italics and unusual type fonts, techniques you might use to grab the attention of recruiters can be misinterpreted by a computer. If your resume is likely to be scanned, keep the format simple and use only boldface type and bullets to highlight major points.
Have you ever tried to hire a new employee? While looking for a job is tough, finding a good employee is no picnic either. Picture yourself as the CEO of a small to midsize company looking for a new CFO. After carefully constructing your ad, you wade through scores of resumes, schedule and conduct several rounds of interviews, screen the princes from the frogs, and hope when you choose the best candidate, he will say yes. For a busy executive, this can be a long, expensive, and nerve-racking process with no guarantee of a positive result.
My job is to listen to ideas, maybe cook up a few of my own, and make decisions based on what's good for the shareholders and for the company.
Philip Knight