Please be patient if you've sent out resumes.

[apirateslifeforme]

I like to receive resumes in the body of the email because it allows me to search keywords that I'm looking for much quicker. Formatting CAN change so I usually take that into consideration when they don't look exactly right when I receive them.

Perfect scenario for me is when I receive it in the body of the email and in an attachment (I prefer it to be in Adobe .pdf, but that's entirely a personal preference and doesn't mean that I won't consider .doc files). That way I have the ability to search and I also know what the person who sent it intended for it to look like.

Thanks! I did consider doing this once, but the way the company worded the ad, I was actually afraid I'd be seen as overly pushy if I did it. So I probably wouldn't want to work for a company like that in the first place...

Since there are so many HR professionals here, this is my dilemma. How do I convince "you" in a cover letter/resume that I am so much more capable of doing tasks that are not reflected in my previous job duties? I was employed at my last company for 8 years before being laid off in February. To their credit, they paid well, the benefits were outstanding, and 95% of the people were friendly and helpful. However, after a few years, it became clear that the job for which you were hired was the job you were going to do, period. No more, no less. I repeatedly asked for more work and responsibility; I was either told, "We didn't hire you for that," or I was ignored outright. One woman finally quit after 18 years; she'd applied for 21 different jobs within the company and was told, "You're fine where you are." I did occasionally ask coworkers if I could help them out with their work - and I did, so I have the ability to learn and perform other duties - but eventually I was told "That's not your job, don't do it again."

So, these weren't my official job duties, and they really weren't things I did every day, or even every week, but I certainly CAN do them. How do I prove that to "you?" How do I prove that I WANT to work and I CAN and WANT to learn new things? I don't even get calls for interviews, despite my resume and cover letter being rated "outstanding" (as far as format, wording, etc.), so what do I have to change to get "you" to call me?

ETA: I'm not looking for jobs several steps above what I did - I was in data entry/product technical support, and I've been applying for administrative assistant jobs.