Quintessential Careers:
Your E-resume's File Format Aligns with its Delivery Method
by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.
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Have you read The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online?
E-resume, or electronic resume, is a broadly used term that covers several types of resumes. The way a resume is intended to be delivered to its recipient determines the technological approach you should take to the resume's preparation. This article describes the most common types of e-resumes and offers some general guidelines on how to create them.
Formatted, "print" resume, also known as a word-processed resume or traditional paper resume, is created in a word-processing program. Microsoft Word is the most widely used and is advisable to use for that reason. Some job-seekers use Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Works, or other less well-known programs. If you are sending your formatted, print resume as an attachment to an e-mail message, it is inadvisable to use a program other than Word unless you save the resume in Rich Text (.rtf; see Rich Text Format entry, below). File extensions for formatted, print resumes include .doc for MS Word, .wpd, for Corel WordPerfect and .wps for MS Works. Common delivery methods for the formatted, print resume include regular postal mail, faxing, hand-delivery, and e-mail attachment.
The formatted, print resume is among the best for its attractive visual presentation of the job-seeker. When sent as an e-mail attachment, however, its formatting may appear inconsistently from computer to computer, and it is highly vulnerable to viruses. Don't send a formatted, print resume as an attachment unless (a) you're sure it's the employer's preference or (b) you also provide another alternative, preferably your text-based resume pasted into the body of an e-mail message.
Text resume, also known as a text-based resume, plain-text resume, or ASCII text resume, is the preferred format for submitting resumes electronically. A text resume, which carries the .txt file extension, is stripped of virtually all its formatting and is not especially visually appealing, which is OK since its main purpose is to be placed into one of the keyword-searchable databases that the vast majority of today's large employers now use. The text resume is not vulnerable to viruses and is compatible across computer programs and platforms. It is highly versatile and can be used for:
- Posting in its entirety on many job boards.
- Pasting piece-by-piece into the profile forms of job boards, such as Monster.com.
- Pasting into the body of an e-mail and sending to employers.
- Converting to a Web-based HTML resume.
- Sending as an attachment to employers, although you'll probably also want to send your formatted version.
- Conversion to a scannable resume.
Numerous resources are available to guide you through creating a text resume or converting your existing formatted resume to text, including this part of the Electronic Resume Workshop from Susan Ireland.
You can see what a typical text resume looks like in this sample text chronological resume.
Rich Text Format (RTF) resume, can be created in most word-processing programs by saving the resume as Rich Text with a file extension of .rtf. Generally speaking, the formatting and attractive visual presentation created in the original document will hold up in the Rich Text resume, although more complex formatting (such as columns or tables) may not hold up. It's best to test the Rich Text resume by sending it to the computers of a few friends to see how the formatting looks on the other end. Rich Text can be an excellent choice as an e-resume attachment because it is compatible across all platforms and word-processing programs. It's also far less vulnerable to viruses than are Word documents. In terms of attachments, it's the best choice when you can't determine what file type the employer prefers, but it should be accompanied bythe text version of your resume pasted into the body of the e-mail message to which the RTF resume is attached.
Portable Document Format (PDF) resume offers the advantages of being completely invulnerable to viruses and totally compatible across computer systems (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software, a free download, to be opened and read). Have you ever noticed that when you send a resume (or any document) as an attachment from your computer to someone else's computer, it sometimes doesn't look the same on the other person's computer as it did on yours? Maybe it has more pages on the other computer, or maybe Page 2 starts at the bottom of Page 1, or maybe the fonts are different. A resume converted to PDF, which carries a .pdf file extension, looks virtually identical to the original document from which it was created, thus preserving the resume's visual appeal, and it also appears consistently from computer to computer. Many employers specifically request PDF resume files.
The downsides include the fact that it is more difficult to perform keyword searches on PDF resumes unless they are scanned first or special extraction software is used. If a resume writer prepares a PDF document for you, you will not be able to manipulate or change it in any way (unlike, for example, a Word document, which you can easily change), so the PDF conversion should take place after you're totally satisfied with your resume and need no additional changes. Your PDF resume should be a companion piece, not a substitute, for a document that you can manipulate. The biggest downside is that you need special software to create a PDF document. The gold standard for creating PDF documents is Adobe Acrobat, which is rather expensive. You can buy this and similar programs at the PDF Store. Cheaper and even freeware or shareware programs are available. Mac OS X with comes a built-in program, Preview, that can convert any OS X file into PDF. Search for freeware and shareware using Planet PDF's Tools List. Planet PDF is a rich resource on conversion of documents to PDF. You can also pay a print shop or resume writer to convert your resume to PDF.
For examples of PDF resumes, you can view any of the samples at our sister site, Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters.
Web resume, also known as an HTML, Web-based, or Web-ready resume, is advantageous in a number of ways:
- Employers can access your resume 24/7. If you're talking on the phone with an employer in another city who wants to see a copy of your resume, you can simply refer the employer to the Web address where your resume resides.
- Resumes published on the Web, which carry the file extension .html or .htm, enable passive job-seeking because employers sometimes find your resume on the Web using various search mechanisms.
- A resume published on the Web can be expanded into a Web portfolio that includes links to work samples (written work, graphic design, other Web pages you've designed, photographs, reports, etc.) that can demonstrate your skills to employers.
- If Web design is a career you are pursuing, a Web-based resume can show off your design skills.
The only catch to having a Web-ready resume is that you need to have a place and a means to publish it. The most likely candidates for Web-based resumes are those who already have their own Web pages or access to Web space. For example, many universities provide Web space for their students. But even if you don't have your own space, you can still use a Web-ready resume. Some Web sites offer free Web-space hosting. Check also with your Internet service provider to see if Web hosting is included in available services.
Learn everything you need to know about creating a Web resume or converting an existing resume to a Web resume in our article, A Web-Ready Resume Can Be a Major Advantage in Your Job Search.
Check out these samples of Web-based resumes.
Do not confuse a Web-ready resume with one that can be posted on job boards, such as Monster.com. Most job boards explicitly prohibit HTML resumes.
Scannable resumes, which were all the rage just a few years ago, are being used less and less frequently by employers today. Why? Because a scannable resume is basically a print resume that the employer turns into an electronic resume by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software and then placing it into a keyword-searchable database. With the growth of e-mail as a mode of communication, employers soon asked themselves, "Why are we going through the extra step of scanning hard-copy when we could have resumes e-mailed to us and place them directly into databases without having to scan them first?" A former student of mine who had entered the human-resources field once told me that resumes e-mailed to his company could enter the database in a matter of days, while a resume that had to be scanned could take up to three weeks to be placed in the database because of the extra labor involved.
You still may encounter employers, however, who request scannable resumes. The rules for scannable resumes are virtually the same as for text resumes except that scannable resumes are generally printed out and sent by fax or postal mail. They can also be sent as e-mail attachments. For the lowdown on preparing a scannable resume, see our article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals: How to Write Text Resumes and a sample scannable resume.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., creative director and associate
publisher of Quintessential Careers, is an educator, author,
and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers,
edits QuintZine,
an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and blogs about storytelling
in the job search at A Storied
Career. Katharine, who earned her PhD in organizational behavior
from Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH, is author of Dynamic
Cover Letters for New Graduates and A Foot in the Door: Networking
Your Way into the Hidden Job Market (both published by Ten Speed Press),
as well as Top Notch Executive Resumes (Career Press); and with
Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters, Write Your
Way to a Higher GPA (Ten Speed), and The Complete Idiot's Guide
to Study Skills (Alpha). Visit her
personal Website
or reach her by e-mail at
kathy(at)quintcareers.com.
And take advantage of all of our free resume resources, including articles, tutorials, quizzes, and much more!
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