Electronic Resumes

Creating E-mail Resume

"Your Entry into Cyberspace"

With the Internet becoming a greater factor in the job search process, so to is the use of E-mail resumes. Creating the E-mail resume is straightforward and relatively uncomplicated. You will need to reconcile yourself to the fact that an e-mail resume is not going to be as attractive as your printed one, but it will be highly effective in getting your qualifications into Cyberspace quickly, both in e-mail and for posting to resume databases.

As some screens only read 60 columns across, set your page width accordingly.

If your resume uses bullets, replace them with * or - . Remove all tabs and where space is required, use the spacebar . Use spaces to separate jobs and paragraphs.

Only use keyboard symbols. Avoid em or en dashes. No smart quotes or mathematical symbols. Remember, if it isn't on your keyboard, don't use it.

Remember to save your file in ASCII format. Also be sure to save the e-mail version under a different name so that you don't overwrite your resume.

To post your resume, simply open the ASCII file, use the copy command under edit on your toolbar, and then paste into your e-mail. After you have completed the conversion, send an e-mail to yourself to see how it looks.

You are now ready to enter the job searching world of Cyberspace.

Good Luck!

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Scannable and Key Word Resumes

In August of 1998, at the National Résumé Writers" Association Convention, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar on Scannable Resumes, presented by the one of the country's foremost authorities. I am pleased to report, that contrary to popular belief, scannable resumes do not have to be plain and ugly. With almost the entire Fortune 1000, the majority of large companies and most recruiting organizations now using scanners and Optical Character Recognition software to read resumes, it is imperative that the resume you slaved over is readable by today's technology.

To begin, let's talk about font size and type face. Headings should be no larger than 20 points with the optimal being between 10 and 14.. Stay away from fancy fonts with feet. Use more traditional fonts like Arial or Helvetica.

There has been much controversy regarding the need for a key word section. The overwhelming consensus is that if the resume is written properly, the keywords will already exist and regardless of where they appear in the resume, will be found.

Make sure letters do not touch and use no less than .95 between lines, with 1.0 ideal.

Now for the surprise, you can use lines. The lines should be long, not short, as the software may mistake short lines for letters. Use single lines, not double and not too thick..

Put your name at the top of the resume, but the address and contact information can be bottom or the next line after your name.

You may use bullets, but they should be solid and round. Bullet circles can be misconstrued as the letter o.

+, &, % and mathematical symbols cause problems. Spell out the words.

Avoid ........ leaders.

Don't use newspaper-like columns.

Electronic resumes can be as many pages as is appropriate.

Submit original laser or good quality ink jet originals, not copies or faxed sheets, as they will have lost sharpness.

Don't fold resumes. The creases can distort letters or even be read by the scanner as lines of text

No staples. The scanner may read the holes as letters.

Use standard size paper, white or cream color.

Guarantee Our resumes are so effective, if you don't get interviews within 30 days, we'll rewrite for free.

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With Gilbert as your "career growth partner," success is just an E-mail or phone call away.