Technology
is rapidly changing the face of traditional job searching –
as evidenced by recent statistics showing that more than 80
percent of employers use the Web for recruiting.
Since
the majority of resumes are processed electronically (via OCR
scanning or direct database input), we must re-examine how we
write and design resumes. We have a different audience now and
the rules have changed. |
|
Picture
this: Instead of circling ads in the Sunday paper, you turn your computer
on, log in to an Internet job bank and type in the appropriate keywords.
Within seconds, your computer screen displays a list of job leads, selected
to meet your specific requirements. With another couple of keystrokes,
your e-mail resume is transferred to potential employers – no paper,
no stamps, no delays!
E-mail
has not only revolutionized communication, but has become the cornerstone
of electronic job searching. E-mail resumes are basically plain text
(ASCII) documents without the formatting enhancements. Appearance doesn't
matter, though, as the primary beauty of ASCII-formatted resumes is
that any employer can read them, no matter what kind of computer system
they have.
How
to Create an ASCII Text Resume
First, make a copy of your existing resume. Give this new document a
different name, then make any needed changes (such as adding your e-mail
address or incorporating keywords). Next, use
use your word processor's SAVE AS function to save the resume as a plain
text or text only file. You may get a warning about losing
your formatting enhancements, but that's okay – that's
what we're trying to do.
After
saving it in text format, exit your word processor, then open the document
again. In doing this, you'll find that the formatting enhancements have
been stripped from the resume. Bolding, italics, ruling lines and such
are gone. In some cases, bullets will automatically turn into asterisks
(*) or dashes (-), but if not, make these replacements yourself.
Finally,
you'll want to clean up any extra spaces or awkward gaps caused by tabs.
When you're done, your name should be at the top, flush left, with your
phone and e-mail address stacked underneath.
ASCII Text Resume |
|
Regardless
of your original format, your categories should be left flush and the
body text directly underneath. You can add one hard return between paragraphs
that are not separated, but if you add more returns, they won't “hold”
and may cause problems later... so don't doctor things up too much.
To check your changes, simply save the document, exit and open again
to review the results.
Before
e-mailing this resume, it's a good idea to check and see how it holds
up. To do this, send the document to yourself and
print it out and see what it looks like. In most cases, some additional
clean-up will be needed before it's ready to use. |
|
