The Right Format

Rebecca Smith, who runs eResumes.com, outlines the various different types of resume formats on her Web site. Here's a summary:

1. ASCII plain text: A text-only file that you can create in most world processing software programs, including Microsoft Word and MS's notepad utility. This type of resume format is good for when you are sending the resume in the body of an e-mail, not as an attachment.

Here are some tips for creating an ASCII resume from CareerPerfect.com:

• Set margins so that 6.5 inches of text are displayed.
• Change all text to 12-point size in the plain type style, i.e. no bold, italics, underlining, etc.
• Use a non-proportional font such as Courier or Monaco.
• Remove all graphics.
• Replace all non-ASCII characters, e.g., "bullets" and "m" dashes, with ASCII characters such as asterisks and hyphens. All characters you can type on your basic keyboard are ASCII characters. It is easier to do this type of search and replace editing while you are still in your word processor.
• Avoid capital letters except in main headings.
• Move all text to the left margin. Remove tabs; use space bar to indent.
• Spell check your resume.
• Save your resume version as "Text Only" or "Text" with line breaks.
• Open this new file with a plain text editor such as Notepad or SimpleText. This will display your resume as it will be seen in ASCII format in an e-mail program, an automated applicant tracking system, or an online resume bank.
• Proofread your new ASCII resume carefully as text sometimes runs together. Also, check for any remaining non-ASCII characters. Non-ASCII characters will show up as question marks, square blocks, or other odd characters.
• E-mail your ASCII resume to yourself and preferably someone else with a different e-mail program and computer system and check the results before submitting.

2. ASCII rich text. This format lets you include more formatting that plain ASCII, but may not be compatible with older e-mail programs.

3. HTML-formatted resume. Lets you publish your resume online and can include text, links, graphics, and multimedia elements such as video or audio clips. EResume offers some excellent tips on creating this type of resume.

4. Keyword resume. Including keywords on your resume makes it easier for employers and recruiters to scan you resume and to find qualified candidates in searchable databases. Keep the number of keywords to between 25-35 and put them in order of importance, suggests Smith. Keywords may include job titles, skills and responsibilities, industry-specific acronyms and terminology, and education and certification words. For more information, eResume offers a very thorough tutorial.

5. Scannable resume. Many employers and recruiters use automated software programs to scan resumes into a database. To make sure that your resume gets scanned properly, you must remove all graphics (including lines and even bullets), use common fonts such as Time Roman and Courier, and kept the font size between 10 and 14 points. For more tips on creating scannable resumes, visit E Jobs.

Remember; always follow instructions from employers about how they want resumes submitted. Sending a resume as an attachment when a company has explicitly said "no attachments" or sending a text file when they've asked for a hard copy is the quickest way to land your resume in the closest trashcan.

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