Soooooooo frustrated.....

[pixiewings71]

OK I need to vent! I'm so frustrated!!! I have been out of work since June (thru no fault of mine) and have submitted anywhere form 10-20 resumes per week since July (I was let go at the end of June, that's why I started looking in July), I have done 2 interviews and that's it! Since then I've received many replies to my emails saying they cannot open my Word documents (resume, cover letter, references) so I converted them all to text files so they can be opened with ease. Today I recieved an immediate reply to one of my submissions saying they aren't considering my qualifications, which made NO sense since I am 100% qualified for this position, so I sent a reply saying "Thank You, if I may ask why did you disqualify my submission? I am highly qualified according to your ad" they replied that I submitted my resume in an unprofessional format by using the text file....... Seriously???
This makes no sense to me at all.......they didn't specify to use Word format, if they had I would have used Word and then noted in the email that others have had problems opening the Word file as I've done with others. So I did reply and let them know why I used a text file and again said Thank You for letting me know why they had dismissed my submission so quickly because I do appreciate that very much, but now I wonder if that's why I'm not getting many calls....if so I have to figure out another format to use. I don't have access to a fax machine without paying for it so I usually just email the resume. Anyone have any ideas on what program to use that others can actually open? Or should I simply be submitting my resume in the body of the email? I do that when it's requested but many companies don't specify no attachments......
Feeling a bit frustrated right now, my unemployment claim expires in 3 weeks and I have NO prospects but plenty of qualifications......

 

[Myothername]

Wow that is frustrating. Can you attach the resume in both formats and explain why in your email? Or can you just mail your resume?

 

[NoeyLane]

hi there - you can try and format your resume in a .pdf file - that way most any one can open it. when you go into word, click save as, and save as pdf - if that option is not available, go to print and select adobe pdf

either way, that should help with someone not being able to read your word doc, and many companies will accept a pdf with no problem

hope this helps!

 

[BELLE1109]

Send your resume as a PDF

 

[pixiewings71]

Wow that is frustrating. Can you attach the resume in both formats and explain why in your email? Or can you just mail your resume?

I let him know I do have it in Word format and I was more then happy to resubmit if he would like but at this point he probably doesn't care to interview me at all. For future resumes I could try attaching both, I did that with a few submissions but didn't hear back from those companies so I just started to send the text doc instead. I really didn't think it would be an issue at all, my company didn't care about that type of that at all. Most companies here aren't giving any way to submit other then email via Craig's List, I've asked DBF to fax a few but again, most companies listing on CL aren't giving fax options either. If this company had given the option of dropping it off or mailing I would have done that, the town the job is in is very close to home and it wouldn't have been a problem to drop it off personally.

hi there - you can try and format your resume in a .pdf file - that way most any one can open it. when you go into word, click save as, and save as pdf - if that option is not available, go to print and select adobe pdf

either way, that should help with someone not being able to read your word doc, and many companies will accept a pdf with no problem

hope this helps!

Thank You for this, I'll have to give this one a shot. I didn't even think of that option as I rarely use Adobe for anything. I just did the text file because that was suggested by other companies HR reps.

 

[pixiewings71]

So I just looked and I guess I don't have Adobe on this computer, I have it on the laptop but not the desktop I guess....I thought we did. Well off to see if I can find a free version of Adobe.......

 

[C.Ann]

I know there's going to be all kinds of comments, but something as important as resumes - if I desperately needed a job - would be sent the good old fashioned way.. Via the mail..

Yes - it might take longer to get there, but I wouldn't be comfortable counting on the reliability of email and/or computers - and especially in your case since you have already had problems..

Good luck with the job hunt!

 

[KAMLEM]

I know there's going to be all kinds of comments, but something as important as resumes - if I desperately needed a job - would be sent the good old fashioned way.. Via the mail..

If someone sent me a resume through the mail instead of email I would think they had an issue with technology and I would not interview them. In addition, a lot of companies don't want to receive it in the mail. They want to be able to store it electronically and they don't want to receive a hard copy.

OP-what version of word do you have? If you have Office 2007 maybe you should save it as a 2003 file. Before I got Office 2007 I sometimes had difficulty opening files that were created in that version.

 

[merekc]

I have not had to job search so please take my suggestions with a grain of salt, others may have better suggestions. And part of it depends on the type of industry you are applying for whether it is one that keeps up with the advances in technology or if it is one where 20 year old computers are the norm.

I could be wrong but in this day and age I feel that most people email resumes. Electronic submission is now the standard way to submit a resume.

But I can understand why people would be upset receiving a text file. The best choice IMO is to submit a PDF, most people with a computer have the ability to read a PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader). That is the free program that you can find. You will need to purchase the current version of Adobe Acrobate to be able to save your file as a PDF.

Another suggestion would be to upgrade your Office program to the most current version. This will allow you to save your file in any older office formats necessary. It is difficult to tell you exactly what to do since some industries are less technical than others.

ETA: Good luck in your search.

 

[Northstar]

I also vote for sending it as a pdf file.

But you don't have to create it in Adobe (most of us just download the Adobe Reader, which is free and lets us read but not create and edit documents)

Just open your Word document, then click Save As instead of Save on the File drop-down menu. One of your file options should be Pdf if you're using a modern Word version.

If you can't save it from your Word program as a pdf, download Open Office (free), open the file in Open Office, choose Export from the File menu, and then Export as pdf.

 

[MsLeFever]

PDF certainly. One other idea would be to create a web page of your resume and send a link for applications. That would allow you to showcase "extras" as well.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Use .pdf and don't worry about the job. You really don't want to work for a company that makes decisions like that.

Good luck!

 

[HannaBelle]

I highly recommend sending it via .pdf as well. It is a "flat" file and there should be no issues with formatting.

I have hired 3 people over the past 18 months and each time I received over 400 resumes in response to our ad. If the resume is not in an easily readable format, I do not spend the time looking at it. There are too many to look through.

I am so sorry you are having a hard time finding work, it is such a tough job market.

 

[disneystacy]

I just copy and paste my cover letter and resume into my email. They open the email and my stuff is right in front of them. I have had multiple interviews and offers for jobs and just accepted a wonderful offer.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I also vote for sending it as a pdf file.

But you don't have to create it in Adobe (most of us just download the Adobe Reader, which is free and lets us read but not create and edit documents)

Just open your Word document, then click Save As instead of Save on the File drop-down menu. One of your file options should be Pdf if you're using a modern Word version.

If you can't save it from your Word program as a pdf, download Open Office (free), open the file in Open Office, choose Export from the File menu, and then Export as pdf.

Thanks for that. I am using Microsoft Office 2003, which has no PDF that I can see. My 14yodd told us we need to upgrade to 2007 at least, which is what they use at her school.

 

[Northstar]

Thanks for that. I am using Microsoft Office 2003, which has no PDF that I can see. My 14yodd told us we need to upgrade to 2007 at least, which is what they use at her school.

openoffice.org

I'm chicken about downloading free stuff, so I always check reviews and go through the links found at cnet.com. That way, you're pretty sure to avoid phishing and programs masquerading as something they're not.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

openoffice.org

I'm chicken about downloading free stuff, so I always check reviews and go through the links found at cnet.com. That way, you're pretty sure to avoid phishing and programs masquerading as something they're not.

Thanks. I am gearing up for job hunting myself so I appreciate the advice.

 

[pixiewings71]

I know there's going to be all kinds of comments, but something as important as resumes - if I desperately needed a job - would be sent the good old fashioned way.. Via the mail..

Yes - it might take longer to get there, but I wouldn't be comfortable counting on the reliability of email and/or computers - and especially in your case since you have already had problems..

Good luck with the job hunt!

C Ann companies here do not want them via mail. Not at all, in fact many CL ads will state "do not send by mail, all mailed resumes will be sent directly to the recycling bin" or something similar. 99.9% of companies here will only accept resumes via email, the other .1 will take them via fax or mail but it's very very rare to get that chance. I do use that option when I can but it doesn't happen often at all. Thanks for the good luck wishes again, I can use them.

If someone sent me a resume through the mail instead of email I would think they had an issue with technology and I would not interview them. In addition, a lot of companies don't want to receive it in the mail. They want to be able to store it electronically and they don't want to receive a hard copy.

OP-what version of word do you have? If you have Office 2007 maybe you should save it as a 2003 file. Before I got Office 2007 I sometimes had difficulty opening files that were created in that version.

Well I realized I don't have Word, what I have is MS Works and I used MS Works Word Processor for this resume. I guess when we got the new computer it didn't have Word installed and we never bought it, what I have is from 2007 so it's updated as far as that, I guess I just never realized it wasn't an actual Word program.

Use .pdf and don't worry about the job. You really don't want to work for a company that makes decisions like that.

Good luck!

Thanks, that's how I felt after venting and searching my computer for Adobe so I could convert my resume to a pdf. The interviews I have had didn't care either way and as I said more than 1 HR person (from large companies) suggested I use a text file instead of the word file I was using. I even asked my previous HR person (from the company that let me go) and she suggested text as well, she said it didn't matter to her in the least if it was a pdf, text or word doc as long as she could open it and read it. Text docs are very easy to open and read, it's just text.

I just copy and paste my cover letter and resume into my email. They open the email and my stuff is right in front of them. I have had multiple interviews and offers for jobs and just accepted a wonderful offer.

I've done this when they've specified no attachments and I did it to a few other resumes that I sent after I got the email from the ins. guy. I just really honestly had no idea that someone would consider a text file unprofessional....I never considered it that way myself and I got a lot of emails from other companies at my previous job.

I did some searching on my computer, we do have Adobe and I was able to import and convert the resume and cover letter with no problems. Thanks for the ideas and good wishes everyone, I really had no idea it would take this long to find a new position, especially with my qualifications and experience! It's just mind blowing...one company that interviewed me said she had over 100 applicants in the first hour of the ad being up! It's just horrible around here.

 

[Robinrs]

I know there's going to be all kinds of comments, but something as important as resumes - if I desperately needed a job - would be sent the good old fashioned way.. Via the mail..

Yes - it might take longer to get there, but I wouldn't be comfortable counting on the reliability of email and/or computers - and especially in your case since you have already had problems..

Good luck with the job hunt!

If someone sent me a resume through the mail instead of email I would think they had an issue with technology and I would not interview them. In addition, a lot of companies don't want to receive it in the mail. They want to be able to store it electronically and they don't want to receive a hard copy.

OP-what version of word do you have? If you have Office 2007 maybe you should save it as a 2003 file. Before I got Office 2007 I sometimes had difficulty opening files that were created in that version.

I also don't deal with snail mail and wonder about an applicant who does. I had one who sent me the most AMAZING resume to pass on to others but I couldn't just xerox it and send it along. I can push a few buttons and send an email, though. When I asked her why she sent it in the mail she admitted she's not comfortable with computers. BIG RED FLAG.

 

[Jestocost]

Well I realized I don't have Word, what I have is MS Works and I used MS Works Word Processor for this resume. I guess when we got the new computer it didn't have Word installed and we never bought it, what I have is from 2007 so it's updated as far as that, I guess I just never realized it wasn't an actual Word program.

Glad you figured out the PDF conversion. There also are a few sites online where you can upload a document and convert to a PDF if you don't have a newer version of Word or the proper Adobe software.

Another option for Works users is to save the document as an RTF instead of the WPS format. WPS is the default format for Works word processing documents, but if the person opening the document isn't real tech savvy it can be problematic to open in older versions of Word.