Last month, 100 companies received an electronic résumé from a candidate seeking an accounting position that was just right.

On her résumé, Golde Locks boasts a master's of business administration and a 3.85 grade-point average. A closer reading, however, reveals that she got her degree from Kellogg's School for Made-Up Characters and that she currently resides at 1 Porridge Lane, Forrest, N.J.

The spoof résumé is part of a study conducted by Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispin, principals of CareerXroads, a Kendall Park, N.J., technology-recruiting consulting firm, along with the help of 25 out-of-work human-resources professionals. Each year, the consultants analyze and rate the career pages of hundreds of corporate Internet sites, identifying the best and worst features that job seekers encounter when applying for jobs online.

Some recruiters caught the phony résumé and its intended humor. But Golde Locks also sparked irritation. Mr. Mehler says one recruiter vented at him over the phone for wasting his time with a dummy candidate. Another company called the number at the bottom of the résumé to try to set up an interview with Golde Locks.

Other recruiters' reactions were neither hot nor cold. "It took me a minute to figure out what was going on there," says Carrie Thompson, human-resources manager with Granite Construction Inc., in Watsonville, Calif. "Initially I was annoyed, because I'm very busy. Then I thought it was funny."

While the analogy to the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears isn't perfect, job seekers and companies alike are looking for the right hiring fit, Mr. Mehler argues, and company Web sites should make it easier for both parties to match up.

At a time when many companies receive thousands of résumés a month that are loaded directly into electronic databases, some job seekers might take heart that any companies noticed the résumé at all.

Seventy-eight companies, which came from a recent list of the 100 best companies to work for, sent an automated reply acknowledging the receipt of the résumé or online application. Mr. Crispin says the percentage of replies is higher than he has found when looking at larger samples of companies.

But there is still significant room for most companies to improve their online recruiting, he says. In the study, Web sites were rated on how well companies meet four criteria: targeting job seekers, sending a clear recruiting message, providing a site that is easy to navigate, and managing job seekers' expectations. The online recruiting strategies of 38 companies were "seriously flawed," and seven companies are "turning people away by not providing any information about hiring at all," says Mr. Crispin.

Some Web pages either were hard to navigate or didn't offer much helpful information. "I found that most of the sites that I was responsible for were unwieldy and very unfriendly," says Judy Covington, a 57-year-old Rocky Hill, N.J., resident who served as a volunteer on the project. If she weren't a human-resources professional with an extensive recruiting background, "I would be really discouraged," says Ms. Covington.

Most companies fared worst when it came to managing job seekers' expectations. Mr. Crispin argues that companies need to figure out how to give more feedback to candidates. Hardly any companies tell job seekers when they aren't right for a position, for instance. Mr. Crispin cites Nordstrom Inc. as one of the very few that promise to notify candidates by e-mail if their qualifications don't match a position's requirements.

How can you get noticed when you apply at a corporate Web site?

Match your skills to job description requirements. One technique is to list a position's requirements on the left side of an application and your relevant skills on the right. "It makes it easier to see that a candidate has experience relevant to a company's needs," says Sandra MacKay, a consultant with Waltham, Mass., human-resources consulting firm King & Bishop.

Make online applications as readable as possible. Many corporate sites require job seekers to re-enter résumé information in an online application. Ms. MacKay advises candidates to include white space between entries or use bullet points, so that a recruiter doesn't have to wade through "600 lines of text smashed together."

Search corporate Web sites for potential contacts, advises Susan Joyce, who runs Job-hunt.org, a resource for online job hunting. She also recommends that job seekers send a backup résumé and cover letter by mail. "I'm sure this will drive recruiters crazy, but I'm not even sure e-mail [alone] is effective anymore," she says. Whenever possible, get an employee referral that will help draw a recruiter's attention to your online application, she adds.

Follow up by e-mail and phone. You need to find a balance between being assertive and overly aggressive, says Monica Gilewski, director of human resources for Quicken Loans. Persistence and skillful follow-up can demonstrate a passion for a company and ability to handle a particular position. "We would be a bit concerned if a loan consultant [candidate] wasn't calling," for example, says Ms. Gilewski.

Q uicken Loans was among the 10 or so companies that stumbled on an errant Golde Locks in their résumé databases, as far as Messrs. Mehler and Crispin know. For the rest, she is still waiting to be discovered.