Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Donlin

Many of you write to ask about how to e-mail your résumé to employers. The problem is often this -- sometimes, when you send your résumé to companies by e-mail, they write back saying the document was garbled or not attached to the e-mail correctly. If employers can't read your résumé, how are they going to hire you?

This can make you look all thumbs when it comes to technology. Worse, it can bring your job search to a screeching halt. So, how do you make sure your e-mailed résumé is readable?

Here's how.

Most people send their resume either as an attachment or in the body of an e-mail message. But, for maximum results and minimum headaches, I recommend that you do both.

First, send your résumé as an attachment. Almost all e-mail programs (Eudora, AOL e-mail, etc.) let you send attachments, which are documents that ride along with the e-mail. When the reader gets your e-mail, they can "open" (download and read) whatever document you have attached. Word for Windows is the most popular word processor (to my knowledge), so use this format for your attached résumé, if possible. WordPerfect is another good choice.

But attachments aren't foolproof. They may get scrambled during transmission and become impossible to open. Or, the reader may not have the same word processor as you, preventing them from reading your attached résumé. Then there's the old Mac/PC problem -- if your résumé was written in a Macintosh format, it won't be readable by a PC (and vice versa).

So, to make sure everyone can read your résumé, you should also copy and paste the text into the body of your e-mail message. In your word processor, simply highlight the entire text of your résumé, and copy it into the clipboard (short-term memory). Then, switch over to your e-mail program and paste the text into your message.

That's it! When you e-mail your résumé as both an attachment and with the text in the message itself, you can be certain that one way or another, your résumé will get read. Good luck!

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Article by Kevin Donlin of Guaranteed Résumés, a Minneapolis-based résumé service.
Since 1995, Guaranteed Résumés has provided résumés, Internet résumés, cover letters and job searches for clients in 44 states and 23 countries.

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