If you are still writing your resume for the humans, you’re doing it wrong.


Photo: Don Klumpp | Getty Images
You want a job? Be nice to the robots.






It’s fine if you prep a human-friendly version to hand out in the interview but in this day and age, you need to have one that catches the eye of the machines — before they let you through the gate to speak to the humans.
“One secret to a killer resume is to use the right keywords to improve your performance with search engines,” said Tony Lee, the publisher of CareerCast.com.
Remember the days when we learned how to orient our name vertically, add a picture and throw in a column format to really wow ‘em?
Yeah, throw that out the window.
Remember when we strove to be concise on our resumes and not repeat ourselves?
Toss that one on the recycling pile.
Today, it’s all about wooing the machines.
And in the same way that you choose your words carefully to woo someone you’d like to date, you have to choose your words carefully on your resume to woo the machines reading it.

So, what’s the machine-equivalent of “Wow, you have the most striking eyes”?!
First, you want to include a target job title and include it up high on your resume, an area favored by algorithms, according to Martin Yate, author of the“Knock ‘Em Dead” book series.
That sounds simple but it puts you at a huge advantage: Seven out of 10 resume writers forget to include a target job title, according to CareerCast. But don’t just stop there — use all the words and phrases to describe the job you want.
Equally important, include a “performance profile” — also high up — that describes your ability to do the job, CareerCast suggests.
The third thing that should be high up is a description of your...