Resume paper?

[Poohforyou]

I'm in a new job and just used the white copy paper I had at home. Every place I interviewed with had my resume already printed out from what I submitted online. The printed copy was only for me to reference.

I don't think it will matter one way or the other.

 

[jen0610]

I think the change from resume paper to regular happened around the time laser printers became generally available. I remember my older siblings getting a box of resumes produced at a printer in the mid 80s. That's because home printers looked like this:
View attachment 170270
And used paper like this:
View attachment 170271
Where you had to tear each page along the perforations, as well as removed the hole-punched strip of paper from the side.

Don't laugh, but we still have a dot matrix printer at work and it is used DAILY. The dispatch system that we use is OLD, but works so they have never upgraded and the invoices are generated out of that program. The processor then has to send the info to the updated accounting system, which we had to have a special program written for, because the two systems don't, can't and won't talk to each other. You would think they would have updated everything to current technology but they haven't.

The billing I do, doesn't tie into the dispatch system and she was super ticked off that I was allowed to ditch my dot matrix printer 11 years ago. I am sure if I could get full access to the system she uses, I could find a way to switch her over to being able to print on laser jet. The payroll function I do, is processed in that same dispatch system and I have it switched over to plain paper and laser jet.

 

[DawnM]

Well, I am heading to a job fair tomorrow and I have a large stack of resumes and cover letters ON RESUME PAPER!

 

[Kellykins1218]

I'm almost 50 and have never heard of resume paper

 

[KimmyAnne]

The best (and funniest) job and interview resource, Ask a Manager blog, just answered a question about this and said not necessary, but if it makes you feel better, it doesn't hurt either.

 

[disneychrista]

Honestly, I do not want you to give me yet another copy of your resume. You emailed it to me, I have already read it and called you in for an interview. Giving me another copy just gives me more clutter/trash.

I got a resume once that was not only on heavy weight resume paper it was in a report folder. The things was two pages (cover & resume) and totally over the top for a BAR TENDING job.

 

[bcla]

Honestly, I do not want you to give me yet another copy of your resume. You emailed it to me, I have already read it and called you in for an interview. Giving me another copy just gives me more clutter/trash.

I got a resume once that was not only on heavy weight resume paper it was in a report folder. The things was two pages (cover & resume) and totally over the top for a BAR TENDING job.

I have been in situations where my resume on file was really old, or I had extensive updates. I keep extra copies on hand if an interviewer doesn't have one. I'm not kidding either. I've seen interviewers switched on short notice or even completely replaced with someone else. It happens in an industry with meetings called on short notice.

Do whatever you want, but some employers might consider it a negative, like you're trying too hard to look superficially nice. Reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes strip where Calvin makes a big deal that his report was handed in using a "professional looking folder".

 

[mjkacmom]

Thanks everyone! Looks like there isn't a clear cut answer. The job is for an intern at a restaurant, doing payroll or accounts payable, not really sure. Here friend's family owns the restaurants, dd has already been hired as a server, but hasn't started yet. They asked her to bring her resume - she didn't email it, so this was the one and only copy they saw.

She should hear soon if she got the job or not, might have heard already, but she's been working so much at her other job, so I haven't talked to her. If she gets it, she will be living at her off campus apartment at college, because it's closer. I thought we'd have more summers, but it's full time, and something to add to her resume.

 

[DisneyOma]

Whatever works for you, but these days it could be more distracting than anything else. I also remember using this stuff that would jam printers. It was 36 lb 100% cotton paper. It was really nice, but even in the 90s I'm not sure it did anything. I'm not really "professional" would describe it. Professionals use plain paper. Maybe "formal"? The fanciest stuff we ever used in the office was letterhead, and it was basically useful only when something had to be submitted to a government agency or a bank.

"Distracting"? Hopefully the interviewers are intelligent enough not to be distracted by paper. Not thinking Legally Blonde, but a nicer quality paper above the standard cheap stuff.

Honestly, I do not want you to give me yet another copy of your resume. You emailed it to me, I have already read it and called you in for an interview. Giving me another copy just gives me more clutter/trash.

I got a resume once that was not only on heavy weight resume paper it was in a report folder. The things was two pages (cover & resume) and totally over the top for a BAR TENDING job.

Having a paper copy on hand means the person is prepared, wouldn't you want someone who is prepared? How can a cover and resume not be two pages? Or are you not fussing about that, just fussing about the report folder? Sounds like you were hoping to hire some scruff off the street and got someone more professional than needed for the job.

 

[bcla]

"Distracting"? Hopefully the interviewers are intelligent enough not to be distracted by paper. Not thinking Legally Blonde, but a nicer quality paper above the standard cheap stuff.

Most interviewers won't really care. But these days it really won't help. Some of the interviewers I've seen would probably be thinking, "why are they trying to impress me with this fluff when their resume says nothing". The most important think is to make it readable.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140504004500-10326243-why-to-skip-the-fancy-resume-paper

This one sort of expresses the way things work today:

http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/is-resume-old-fashioned

Forget the fancy paper. It was all the rage a number of years ago, said career counselor Holly Klose, but, aside from the fact that you will submit most resumes electronically, fancy paper is a thing of the past. “It either shows that you’re over a certain age, or that you’re new to the workforce and received advice from someone of a certain age,” she said.​

 

[tvguy]

A lot has changed since I graduated from college in 1979 and paid to have resumes printed up on nice paper with matching envelopes. My kids have discovered that a lot of companies today don't even want your resume. The information they want is what is on their online application form. I know my employer and my wife's don't even have a way to accept paper applications or resumes anymore.

 

[bcla]

A lot has changed since I graduated from college in 1979 and paid to have resumes printed up on nice paper with matching envelopes. My kids have discovered that a lot of companies today don't even want your resume. The information they want is what is on their online application form. I know my employer and my wife's don't even have a way to accept paper applications or resumes anymore.

Strangely enough, the last time I was looking for a job, I found one ad on Monster.com requesting only that printed resumes be mailed in. There was no way to apply electronically. Most have an online means to apply, including many requiring a username/password setup and an account where data is stored and can be retrieved for other applications. It was rare to see any application process that didn't request a resume.

A lot of smaller companies don't pay for an HR system to handle applications. They only request a resume (and maybe cover letter) be sent by email as an attachment. There are also quite a few simplified "easy application" systems where only a limited number of entries are requested, along with an uploaded resume.

 

[tvguy]

Strangely enough, the last time I was looking for a job, I found one ad on Monster.com requesting only that printed resumes be mailed in. There was no way to apply electronically. Most have an online means to apply, including many requiring a username/password setup and an account where data is stored and can be retrieved for other applications. It was rare to see any application process that didn't request a resume.

A lot of smaller companies don't pay for an HR system to handle applications. They only request a resume (and maybe cover letter) be sent by email as an attachment. There are also quite a few simplified "easy application" systems where only a limited number of entries are requested, along with an uploaded resume.

My own experience is different just because I have worked in the same industry and the same city for 41 years and all the folks doing the hiring know my work and have worked with me in the past..

 

[bcla]

My own experience is different just because I have worked in the same industry and the same city for 41 years and all the folks doing the hiring know my work and have worked with me in the past..

I work in an industry with many, many employers of different sizes using all of the major HR software packages (Workday, Jobvite, Taleo) as well as custom or no system. Even with a system, it can be customized. What I learned over the years is that there is no uniformity. However the days of just blanketing employers with paper resumes is over. They might accept them and put them through a scanner, but in the end proper keywords are more important than making a resume eye catching.

Worrying about the paper seems a bit silly these days.

 

[Rhie]

Regular printer paper is just fine for resumes these days. That is, if they even bother to ask for a hard copy. Most companies want them emailed or uploaded into a specific part of the website. The best thing to do, in my experience, is to call or email the interviewer and ask them if they have an email address the job seeker can send their resume through. Interviewers are impressed by that kind of initiative. They don't even notice the kind of paper, so you won't score any points for it. You'll just lose a few dollars a page - which is a big deal in job hunt!

Oh and make sure the resume is ONE PAGE ONLY and clearly readable with as much white space as possible.

 

[bcla]

Regular printer paper is just fine for resumes these days. That is, if they even bother to ask for a hard copy. Most companies want them emailed or uploaded into a specific part of the website. The best thing to do, in my experience, is to call or email the interviewer and ask them if they have an email address the job seeker can send their resume through. Interviewers are impressed by that kind of initiative. They don't even notice the kind of paper, so you won't score any points for it. You'll just lose a few dollars a page - which is a big deal in job hunt!

Oh and make sure the resume is ONE PAGE ONLY and clearly readable with as much white space as possible.

I've seen and heard different opinions on size. I my industry, someone experienced with a one page resume is going to be looked at poorly, more less leaving the reviewer wonder what someone did for all those years. I had one recruiter specifically ask me to pad my resume to at least four pages before submitting my resume to a manager. There's no one answer, since it's about particular industries and years of experience.

The biggest key is that resumes generally get to the reviewer through keyword searching.

 

[disneychrista]

I have been in situations where my resume on file was really old, or I had extensive updates. I keep extra copies on hand if an interviewer doesn't have one. I'm not kidding either. I've seen interviewers switched on short notice or even completely replaced with someone else. It happens in an industry with meetings called on short notice.

In the cases I am talking about you would have had to have sent me the resume in the past 2 weeks. If you sent me an outdated one, bring a current one to the interview is NOT going to help you.

Having a paper copy on hand means the person is prepared, wouldn't you want someone who is prepared? How can a cover and resume not be two pages? Or are you not fussing about that, just fussing about the report folder? Sounds like you were hoping to hire some scruff off the street and got someone more professional than needed for the job.

Being prepared is great but you also have to make sure you keep in mind the job you are applying for. If you are applying for upper management is much different then applying to pour beer at a bar. You'd be surprised at how many resumes I have gotten have been 3 - 4 pages long. I'm "fussing" over the way over the top way the person applied for a service job. IMO, it made them look desperate not professional.

 

[bcla]

In the cases I am talking about you would have had to have sent me the resume in the past 2 weeks. If you sent me an outdated one, bring a current one to the interview is NOT going to help you.

That's not my case. I always sent my most recent resume. However, the wheels can turn slowly. I've applied for a job, and the interview happened several months later. There may also be an HR system in place where I can't send anything. I've sent updated copies via email before an interview, only to see my old resume in the hands of the interviewers. I've also been through interviews for contract jobs where the agency edited out a bunch of stuff, including my contact info and even my experience.

I find extra copies useful regardless. It's useful to have them ready to review before an interview, and I've been to interviews where an interviewer didn't even have a copy of my resume.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I got my first real job in January of 1999, and I have no idea what "resume paper" is.

 

[tasha99]

Regular printer paper is just fine for resumes these days. That is, if they even bother to ask for a hard copy. Most companies want them emailed or uploaded into a specific part of the website. The best thing to do, in my experience, is to call or email the interviewer and ask them if they have an email address the job seeker can send their resume through. Interviewers are impressed by that kind of initiative. They don't even notice the kind of paper, so you won't score any points for it. You'll just lose a few dollars a page - which is a big deal in job hunt!

Oh and make sure the resume is ONE PAGE ONLY and clearly readable with as much white space as possible.

I disagree with the idea of limiting a resume to one page. It depends on the job and your experience level. If you have skills and experience that warrant it, its better to have 2 pages than look less qualified. My resume is 2 pages, and I almost always get a response right away. I work contracts, so I interview 2 to 3 times a year. I think the 1 page rule is kind of outdated, but maybe different fields have different standards.