Electronic Resumes (for the internet)
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1. After writing your resumé, save it in plain text, also called ASCII or DOS, format. Absolutely no word-processed or PostScript files! (CareersInHouston will accept word-processed or "saved in text format" documents.)

2. You cannot use bullets, bold or underline text in a plain text document, so consider using the following characters as substitutes: bullets--use asterisks (*) or plus signs (+) at the beginning of lines; lines--use a series of dashes to separate sections; bold text--consider capital letters or use asterisks to surround the text.

3. Set your margins at 0 and 65. There are two good reasons for this. One, the human eye has difficulty reading an 80-character line. In the world of jobs and resumés any edge is important. You might as well have a resumé that is easy to look at. Two, many employers who download resumés have their printers set to eight or ten space margins. If you have your own margins to boot, part of your resumé MAY NOT PRINT.

4. Include a cover letter and be sure to note where you found the ad.

5. Send the resumé and cover letter in one file.

6. Use the job title and/or job reference number as the subject of your message. Cite any relevant job numbers noted in the ad. (You do not need to do this when using CareersInHouston.)

7. Some positions advertise online but do not accept resumés via electronic mail! Sometimes they will only take fax and snail mail applications, or they might want the e-mail sent to a different address. (You do not need to worry about this when using CareersInHouston.)

8. After you have your new resumé ready to go, perform a test. Mail it to yourself or to a friend to see how it looks after being mailed in text format. (CareersInHouston will automatically format your resumé for you, so you don’t have to do this.)

9. Remember where you sent your resumé and follow up with an e-mail or phone call a week or so after you submit it.