There are two types of Electronic Resumes:

• E-mail Resume
• Scannable and Key Word Resume

E-mail Resume

Creating an E-mail resume is very easy. It is very plain and does not contain all the “whistles and bells” that are in our non-electronic resumes. The E-mail resume format may be used for posting your resume to online databases and for emailing purposes when not using attachments. You can simply cut and paste from this document into any online database or e-mail.

Here are some helpful hints:

• Watch your page width. Don’t exceed 60 columns across.
• Don’t use tabs. Use only the spacebar where space is needed. This includes spacing between paragraphs, jobs, etc. The spacebar is your friend!
• <See this Bullet? No bullets allowed! Use only keyboard symbols such as * (asterisk) or - (hyphen). If it isn’t on your keyboard, don’t use it.
• Save your file separate from your standard formatted one in ASCII format. (We have included some information to help you with this).

Scannable and Key Word Resumes

Creating a Scannable Resume is also very easy. Most large companies and recruiting firms now use scanners to read resumes. While it doesn’t need to be as plain as your ASCII Resume, it must be technologically readable.

Here are some helpful hints:

• The biggest surprise is that you can use lines. Not short lines or bold lines but only single lines.
  
• Font size should be between 10 and 14. Keep your heading font size between 18 and 20. No fancy fonts please! Basic is a must. Stick to Arial.
• Always put your name at the top of your resume. The rest of your contact information can be directly below your name or even at the bottom of your resume.
• <See this Bullet? You can use it. Notice it is solid and round. Other bullet types can cause readability confusion.
• Other problem causing symbols to stay away from are %, &, + and mathematical symbols. Also, avoid abbreviations and take time to spell out your words.
• No columns or tables.
• No folds, creases or stables. Use standard size paper and be sure to submit an original and not a copied or faxed version as the sharpness will be decreased possibly causing a readability problem.
• Lastly, in addressing the Key Word issue, there is no need for a special Key Word section to be created (as they should already exist) if your resume was written properly in the first place.

ASCII INFO

ASCII - The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a standard seven-bit code that was proposed by ANSI in 1963, and finalized in 1968. ASCII was established to achieve compatibility between various types of data processing equipment. Later-day standards that document ASCII include ISO-14962-1997 and ANSI-X3.4-1986 (R1997).

ASCII, pronounced "ask-key", is the common code for microcomputer equipment. The standard ASCII character set consists of 128 decimal numbers ranging from zero through 127 assigned to letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and the most common special characters. The Extended ASCII Character Set also consists of 128 decimal numbers and ranges from 128 through 255 representing additional special, mathematical, graphic, and foreign characters.

ASCII Q & A

Q: What does ASCII stand for?
A: ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

Q: Someone wants me to send my resume (or some other file) to them in ASCII, so what do I do?
A: In general, if somebody asks for your resume or another document "in ASCII", what they really want is a copy of your resume (or whatever the document is) in electronic form, but without any formatting. Save your resume (or other document) from the word processor you're using (such as Microsoft Word ®) as plain text, and then paste it into an e-mail (or copy it to a floppy disk) and send it to whoever wanted it.

Q: OK, fine, but how do I save a Microsoft Word ® document as plain text?
A: Here are some simple instructions for saving a document as plain text in Microsoft Word® '97. The procedure is similar for other word processors.

1. Click on "File".
2. Select "Save As".
3. In the box marked "Save as type:” select "Text Only (*.txt)" or "Text Only with Line Breaks (*.txt).
   
4. In the box marked "File name:” enter the file name (a different name than the one that you had been using).
   
5. Click on the button marked "Save".

If you get a warning indicating that formatting will be lost, don't be alarmed. The whole point of the process is to remove the formatting from the document before you send it.

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