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How to Develop an Electronic Resume [J. Murray Elwood] You can easily develop an electronic resume and send it by e-mail, but there are caveats.
Be aware of two downsides to attachments.
Many law firms are technologically con-
image, or text file, of the resume that it
servative and not at all savvy in the elec-
then stores for later retrieval and review in
Sometimes attachments are not sent in Word
tronic processing of their documents. They
a databank. This scannable resume is de-
or a compatible format and the attached file
prefer to receive paper resumes for law
veloped from your ordinary word-processed
is garbled when opened. This file can usually
school recruiting or for screening of lateral
resume, but created with simple typefaces,
be read by some other application already
moves. But sooner or later in a job search, a
such as the kind of typefaces used in this
in the computer, but the process is time-
potential employer or recruiter will ask you
book - Times New Roman, Ariel, Helvetica,
consuming, inconvenient, and infuriating. A
to e-mail your resume. Or it might be that an
Univers - but without italics, horizontal lines,
more serious problem with attachments is
ad in a legal newspaper will instruct: “Apply
or underlined words. Note also that words
that some employers, concerned about vi-
by e-mail and send your resume as a Word
used for section headings (e.g. Education,
ruses, have firewalled their systems against
attachment.” What do you do?
Bar Admissions) in the scannable resume
all attachments to protect the integrity of
are emphasized by capitalization, rather than
their emails. As a result, the phrase “No
written in bold type.
Attachments Please” seems to be appearing
First of all, you don’t need a completely different resume for e-mailing. With a few slight variations, the same text can be used
more and more in corporate advertisements.
An Electronic Resume
for the three most common formats for transmitting resumes:
Read the advertisement carefully or ask the person requesting your resume what e-mail
Your resume can also be sent electronically
format to use when forwarding the resume.
either as an attachment file to your e-mail message that the addressee opens upon re-
As Plain Text. You convert your resume to an
ceipt or as plain text pasted onto the e-mail
ASCII (“ASK-key”) or plain-text format that is
Sometimes labeled “hard copy,” with ar-
message itself. Both methods are widely
then pasted directly on to the bottom of your
resting typefaces and bulleted descriptions
used to submit resumes to either recruiters
e-mail message.
of accomplishments. This is the resume,
or in answering advertisements.
A Paper Resume
To send your resume as part of the e-mail
still widely used, that you have traditionally mailed with your cover letter. When required,
As An Attachment File. If you’ve created
message for Word 98/2000, just follow these
you can also fax your paper resume as an
your resume using standard word processing
steps:
answer to an advertisement.
software, say WordPerfect or Microsoft Word 98/2000, after composing your e-mail mes-
1. Open your resume. Choose: File > Save
sage, you hit “Browse” to find your resume
As > Save As Type; Choose: Text Only. You’ll
file, then click the “Attach” button and then
probably get a message saying that the
This form of electronic processing does not
“Send” and your resume goes out as a file
document “may contain features that are not
yet seem to be widely used by law firms, but
with your covering message. If sent in Word
compatible with Text Only format. Do you
resume scanning is employed by the human
and received as a Word document, format-
want to save the document in this format?”
resource departments of major corporations
ting and fonts should appear very much as
Select: Yes
to manage large numbers of incoming paper
they do in a “hard copy” format. For example,
resumes. Clue: The ad tells you to direct
Bradford Bunting’s corporate resume, when
2. A Text Only form of your resume will come
your resume to “Data Processing.”
sent as an attachment and “read” in Word 98,
up on the screen. Select the resume, then
came through exactly as printed on page 60.
Choose: Edit > Copy. Then go to your E-mail
A Scannable Version
The company scanner creates an electronic
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text, position your cursor after your message
continued on back