SUBMIT YOUR RESUME TO A WEB SITE

If Part 1 convinced you that it is a good idea to start sending out job applications via the Web, then your next step is to learn how to convert your resume into a file that can be sent over the Web or through email and, importantly, in a format that the recipient's computer database can read.

To understand what you will be doing, it might be helpful to first understand why you need to convert a file from one form to another in the first place. The problem is that different word processors will save your resume in different formats. For example, I do much of my work using the Linux operating system, so I generally will not take the time to save, convert, and read email attachments that are sent to me in Microsoft Word format unless I have some especially compelling reason to do so. Although some recipients will accept branded word processor formats (and some will even require this), many require that an application be submitted in plain text (ASCII) format so that files can be stored in and retrieved from a database.

The reason that one word processor cannot read documents saved by a different word processor is that each uses invisible, non-text characters t o indicate which words are to be in bold, what font styles are to be used, where bullets are to be placed, and so on. Each word processor has its own unique way of identifying these "markup" functions, and so a document that was formatted by one brand of word processor cannot be properly read by another unless the document is converted when it is saved or retrieved. My copy of Microsoft Word, for example, often will not properly read files that other people have created with a different (older) version of Microsoft Word.

When a document is saved as a plain text only file, all of the special formatting characters are removed. Unfortunately, the result of removing these formatting characters is that the text document no longer has bolds, special fonts, bullets, and such. A resume saved as a text file will end up looking like something typed on an old manual typewriter - but it will no longer require a special word processor to read or display it. To see a a contrast between a word-processor style resume and the same resume in plain text format, take a look at my own formatted resume and the same plain text resume.

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