1. Create a resume that is easy to read in MS Word (or Pages or Google Docs) and makes minimal use of enhancing features.
2. Then go through the document and insert an empty space before every hard return also known as the paragraph marker. In MS word this is found on the Home ribbon at the top toward the middle beneath the VIEW tab. The paragraph marker, which looks like a backward “P”, toggles on and off. In the “On” position you can easily detect when you have added an extra space before the paragraph marker. The extra space prevents merging of words, phrases, headings, and labels during digital screening of your resume. This avoids creating unintelligible strings of characters instead of the desired key words that give your resume a competitive edge.
3. Save your resume as you usually do. Then from the “Save As” dropdown menu, additionally save your resume as a .pdf file and a plain text file (.txt).
4. Note the .txt Save As conversion strips away all formatting enhancements from your resume, but makes odd substitutions such as replacing bullet point symbols with question marks and making spacing changes.
5. Make adjustments to the .txt file such as substituting two asterisks in place of bullet symbols and adjusting spacing as needed. The .txt conversion from MS Word deletes text boxes, shapes, images, headers, and footers. It converts tables to lists, but also check for words ad phrases that may have merged unless you have added the extra space before each hard return.
6. The .txt format is the least-risky way to prevent formatting chaos when you submit your resume for digital scanning. Never send an MS Word file unless specifically requested.
7. When submitting via email with resume attached, send both the .pdf and .txt files
8. When submitting via a job board (Indeed, for example), use the .txt file as your resume source document. Cut and paste from your resume .txt file to enter the specified content into dialog boxes. Then look for an Edit button to check for any need for adjustments due to problems that may have occurred during conversion from your computer to the online resume posted to the cloud.
9. In addition to posting content into the onscreen application dialog boxes, look for a button to upload the .pdf version of your resume in its entirety.

Digital scanning of resumes is almost universal in practice. Applicant tracking systems eliminate 75 to 80% of all resumes submitted online. It is worth taking precautions including adding the extra space!