Use the correct electronic version of your resume, cautions Deborah Walker in her article for Quint Careers, Is Your Resume Lost in the Great Internet Void?.
If your resume can’t be opened as an attachment, then it can’t be seen. Because of the threat of computer viruses many companies only accept resumes through their own online forms which ask you to cut and paste (rather than attach) your resume. Make sure you are sending your resume in a format that will work for the employer.
- If a resume attachment is requested: Save your resume as a Word document (.doc or .rtf), which is the standard most companies use. It should retain the formatting that you used for your resume. But just in case the employer uses a different word processing program from yours, you should still avoid using too many fancy formatting options, such as columns, boxes, and tables.
- If an email or online form is used: Use ASCII, plain text, or text only to remove formatting while preserving the content. Be sure to review your resume before sending it so that it is still easy to read and user-friendly. [Editor’s note: See our article, Your E-resume’s File Format Aligns with its Delivery Method.]
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