Resumes

To create an ASCII resume, all you need to do is type your resume using your favorite word-processing application, and then save it as a text-only document (sometimes also called Rich Text Format or RTF). This should be an option under your "save" or "save as" command. You can also use a simple text program to compose your resume.

Since your resume will appear as ASCII text, it will not recognize special formatting commands specific to your word-processing program. Therefore, you must watch for these common mistakes:

Special Characters -Special characters (such as "smart quotes" or mathematical symbols) do not get accurately transferred in the text save, so avoid using special characters.

Tabs - Do not use tabs. Use the spacebar instead. Alignment - The default for ASCII is to make everything left justified (which is the preferred format for scanning resumes and online viewing). So if you want to indent a sentence or center a heading, use the spacebar.

Word Wrap - Do not use the word wrap feature when composing your resume. Instead, use hard carriage returns to insert line breaks.

Fonts - Fonts will become whatever a computer uses as its default face and size, so boldface, italics, and various sizes will NOT appear in the ASCII version.

Spell Check - Check your document before you save it as a text file.