From the course: Writing a Resume

Resume-friendly software

From the course: Writing a Resume

Resume-friendly software

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- Have you ever sent your resume to a recruiter only to have them ask you to send it back to them in a specific format? Ever wondered why? Or have you been in the middle of an online job application trying again and again, to upload your resume only to keep receiving the same error message? Most employers use Microsoft products for the workplace, even if they actually use a Macbook at home, which means that your document which was created in Pages will not be usable or uploadable in an employer's online system. Even though most employers use Microsoft, Word as a word processing program can cause a number of issues. When your resume isn't a Microsoft word document the layout can change based upon the version you used to create the document and the version that the reader opened it with. Therefore, you have no control over the end result. Your two-page resume might turn into three. A formatting feature you thought you turned off might suddenly appear showing all of the errors and font changes you expected to remain hidden. Whether you're in the Apple or the Microsoft camp, when working with resumes, the only document that is universal is the PDF or portable document format. You may already have this feature installed and you can often find it under the print options of your word processing software. If you don't have a PDF converter, there are many free or low cost options for converting your finished product into a PDF. A quick internet search for free PDF converter will provide you with many options. Just be very careful about which one you download as some can contain viruses and spyware. I have successfully used Soda PDF and also CutePDF Writer, but don't take my word for it. Take a look for yourself or ask around for some recommendations. The advantage to converting your resume into a PDF is you can be certain that the resume you created will be viewed exactly as you intended it to be. Why then will an external or third party recruiter sometimes ask you for your resume in a word document? Two main reasons come to mind. They may send your resume to several different employers and may need to convert your resume to an earlier version or a specific version of Word based upon a client's request, but more than likely because they are submitting your resume to several different employers, they intend to replace your contact information with theirs so that the employer knows which recruiter sent them the resume. If that is the case, there isn't a lot you can do about it, but you can mention your concern that your resume be transmitted exactly as provided to them. It's a great idea to create a few different formats of an identical resume so that regardless of what you run into when applying for a job, you'll always be prepared.

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