Resume Writing, Resume Writing Tips, Writing A Resume

Getting Attached to Files

You may be tempted to send your resume as an attached file, thinking that the employer will then receive your nicely formatted document. But here’s why you shouldn’t do that:

• The employer may be operating under different ISP (Internet service provider) standards. It’s possible that the employer’s e-mail system won’t be compatible with yours and will refuse to open the attachment.
• You and the employer may be using different computer platforms. If you and the employer aren’t both using the same computer system (whether Windows, UNIX, or Macintosh), the employer’s system might not be able to accept your attachment.
• You and the employer might have different word-processing applications. Your resume might have been prepared in an application or version that the employer can’t read. If any of these are the case, your resume will not be read unless the recipient jumps through some technical hoops to convert it. Trust me, most employers won’t bother; they’ll just throw it away.

Terms of Employment

An attached file is a document that accompanies an e-mail message. (When you have your e-mail window open, you’ll notice an option for attaching a file.)

Direct Message

Sending your resume in the body of an e-mail message (rather than sending it as an attached file) is a much surer way of delivering it to the employer. Granted, it’s not going to look like a fancy document, but that’s okay because the employer won’t expect it to. Besides, I’m going to show you how to make it look pretty darn good, considering the layout limitations of e-mail.

Getting the Job Done

Prepare your cover letter and resume as one e-mailable document. Here are the steps for doing that:

1. Put your cover letter and resume into one MS Word document.
2. Save that document as Text Only.
3. Use all caps for words that need special emphasis.
4. Replace each bullet point with a standard keyboard symbol
   (such as a dash, plus sign, or asterisk).
5. Make sure to use straight (”stupid”) quotes in place of curly (”smart”) quotes. (I’ll show you the difference a little later in this chapter.)
6. Limit line lengths to 65 characters and spaces.
7. Save the document again, this time as Text Only with Line Breaks.
8. If your document exceeds three pages, whittle it down to three pages or less by adjusting the spacing or editing the text.

Read on to find out more about these steps.

Job-Hunt Hint

If a job posting specifically says to send your resume as an attached file, rest assured it’s OK to do so. The ad’s request indicates that the employer has what it takes to open your attached document.

Career Casualty

When following the step-by-step instructions in this chapter, don’t be dismayed if your version of MS Word uses slightly different terminology for its commands than what I’ve listed here. If the translation is hard to figure out, consult your MS Word manual or the Help menu near the top of your screen.

Give Me a Break

You need to save your MS Word document one more time in order to preserve the short line lengths you created in the previous section. Here’s how:

1. Follow the same steps you did to save the document as Text Only, only this time save it as Text Only with Line Breaks.
2. Close your document and then open it again from within MS Word (just as you did for your Text Only version).

Here’s what Carter Wood’s resume and cover letter document looked like in his Text-Only-with-Line-Breaks version.

Bonus Check

After saving your document as Text Only With Line Breaks, check that your line breaks were preserved:

1. Go to the Tools menu.
2. Choose Preferences or Options.
3. Click the View tab.
4. Select Paragraph Marks under Non printing Characters.
5. Click OK.

When you return to your document, you should see a paragraph symbol (¶) at the end of each line. That symbol ensures that your lines will end at that point when transferred into your e-mail document.

You’re doing great–you’re just a few tortilla chips away from the big enchilada! Let’s keep going.

Setting Limits

Don’t let your resume and cover letter extend past three pages while they’re in your “Text Only with Line Breaks” document. If necessary, edit your resume or consider a shorter cover note.