Resume question

[leebee]

DD21 is applying for a job that asks for electronically submitted material. The ad specifically asks for a cover letter and resume, submitted via email. She is unsure about the appropriate format for this. What do you think? Should she:

(1) Use the body of the email as her cover letter and attach a resume;

(2) Write an email saying "I am applying for job XYZ as advertised in ABC; attached please find my cover letter and resume. Thank you for considering my application," and then attach both cover letter and resume;
OR
(3) Follow format for #2 but create ONE document containing both the cover letter and the resume?

I am from the hard-copy days so have no idea of the appropriate format for applying for a job via email.

 

[wvjules]

#2

 

[Ladcassidy]

#2. The cover email you proposed is very good, but before the final sentence (beginning "Thank you"), I would add "Please let me know if you have any difficulty opening the attached documents or if you would prefer that I send them in another format."

 

[SMD]

If the ad specifies cover letter I do #3. Otherwise I do #1.

 

[kamik86]

I definitely wouldn't do number one. I know at my company (we don't require cover letters) resumes get passed around alot. So you want it in a format that is easy to forward without making someone hunt through the text of the email. Since in my experience those that have open positions they are hiring for often are overloaded with work at the moment so anything that makes them spend more time means they are less likely to bother reading it.

 

[aprilchem]

#2. And submit them both as .pdf files, not word documents or something else. Sometimes a word document doesn't look the same from computer to computer.

 

[bcla]

#2. And submit them both as .pdf files, not word documents or something else. Sometimes a word document doesn't look the same from computer to computer.

When I've looked for a job I specifically created my own PDF using a "save as PDF" option in my print options. However, a few recruiters and HR specifically asked for Word or text format (I think they wanted to be able to edit resumes for specific clients or that was their own requirement). Also - sometimes the submission is merely uploaded and then the information extracted. In the case of a PDF it might throw in carriage returns that look odd.

 

[wvjules]

Cliff Claven? That you?

 

[bcla]

Cliff Claven? That you?

I have some fairly recent experience writing resumes and submitting them electronically. I've been through the ringer where I've been asked to change, reformat, update, lengthen, or otherwise make a resume more readable or eye catching. Is there anything I wrote that should be subject to ridicule or didn't address any concerns of the OP?

For the OP - I'd recommend your daughter have multiple formats (Word, PDF, text) of the resume available depending on the particular employer or website. There are some where they'll just take several acceptable formats, while there are others that will make the applicant manually enter the information and/or cut and paste into boxes. It's good to be prepared. Typically an ad will indicate specifics about what format, but if they don't PDF is usually pretty universally accepted. I have had HR or recruiters reply back that they need Word format, and it's good to have that ready. Many employers do simply extract information into their own formats. I've sat in several interviews where I saw what HR or hiring managers saw, and often all my fancy formatting, fonts, bolding, underlining, bullet points, etc disappeared. Creating a resume that stands out that way is tricky.

I'm of the opinion that the cover letter should be separate from the resume.

Here's a pretty good primer on resumes. They go over basic tips, how to create a scannable resume, text resumes for electronic submission, and keywords to use in a resume:

http://ist.psu.edu/current-students/pdf/resume-template.pdf

Well - good luck for your daughter. I know how daunting it can be to look for a job in this era. These days recruiters and HR are flooded with resumes submitted electronically, so little details can help get a resume noticed when someone is probably only going to look at it for five seconds.

 

[MrsDuck]

#3

 

[Ambear]

When I've looked for a job I specifically created my own PDF using a "save as PDF" option in my print options. However, a few recruiters and HR specifically asked for Word or text format (I think they wanted to be able to edit resumes for specific clients or that was their own requirement). Also - sometimes the submission is merely uploaded and then the information extracted. In the case of a PDF it might throw in carriage returns that look odd.

I've also seen the majority of jobs I've applied to ask for word and .doc. Maybe it's also easier for keyword searching programs to use...

I always use #2. Usually only the initial recruiter needs to see the cover letter, but when interviewing in a group you'll often find everyone has a copy of the resume. So make this easier for them to print out separately.

 

[sam_gordon]

I was going to say #2, but once I thought about it, I think #1 is acceptable. Here's my reasoning...

In the "old days", you'd send (snail mail or drop off) a cover letter which hopefully intrigues the decision maker to read on to your resume. If they don't care about the cover letter, they just throw that out, right? Or they throw out both.

So in this electronic age, your email IS your cover letter. If you don't sell yourself in the email, why would they open the attachment? If they need a hard copy of cover letter and resume, they can still print both. If they only need one or the other, they can print what they need. They can also easily forward both.

 

[Imzadi]

DD21 is applying for a job that asks for electronically submitted material. The ad specifically asks for a cover letter and resume, submitted via email. She is unsure about the appropriate format for this. What do you think? Should she:

(1) Use the body of the email as her cover letter and attach a resume;

(2) Write an email saying "I am applying for job XYZ as advertised in ABC; attached please find my cover letter and resume. Thank you for considering my application," and then attach both cover letter and resume;
OR
(3) Follow format for #2 but create ONE document containing both the cover letter and the resume?

I am from the hard-copy days so have no idea of the appropriate format for applying for a job via email.

Do #1 AND #3 as it covers both bases.

#1 to make it easy for them to quickly scan the email and see DD is clearly the applicant they want. Don't make them HAVE to open an attachment to read her credentials.

HOWEVER, do #3 in addition, especially if they requested that the cover letter & resume be ATTACHED, then DO attach them as one document. They may want to be able to print them as a hard copy, or save likely candidates to a folder on their PC, or forward the CL & resume to someone else once they decide she is a likely candidate.

She wants to make it easy for them to both read and have a necessary copy of her resume.

She should NOT include a physical (home) address on her electronic resume or in the email when answering an AD, (especially if it was found on Craigslist,) as we used to during snail mail days, when they used to write back via snail mail. (This is what the FBI instructs, if you don't really know who placed the ad. Like is the return email address she's corresponding to an actual company like JCPenney?) She can include a physical address when she goes for the actual physical interview. She should include both a contact phone number and email address for electronic submissions so they have both to contact her.

 

[tasha99]

#2. If they don't specify a format, I'd make the attachments .pdf files. Then at least you know how it will look to the reader--sometimes word files get messed up going from one word processing program to another.

 

[sonnyjane]

#2 unless otherwise specified. I recently applied for an internship that asked for cover letter, resume, and references all in one PDF, but absent of direction like that, I'd do separate documents.