c How to Convert Your Résumé to ASCII Format

by Kim Isaacs, M.A., C.P.R.W., N.C.R.W.

What is ASCII? ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a form of data that can be readily understood by the vast majority of computers throughout the world. The benefit to job seekers who are sending their résumés electronically is that they don't have to worry about whether or not the recipient can open the file or read the format.

How to convert a résumé to ASCII? When emailing your résumé to an employer, it should be converted to ASCII. Open the résumé in your word processing program (such as Word or WordPerfect) and "save as" plain text (in Word 97/2000, select File > Save As > Save as Type, choose Text Only). You may then get a prompt stating that your document "may contain features that are not compatible with text only format"; choose Yes. Then do any "clean up" necessary. Change bullets to asterisks or dashes If columns or tables were used in the original document, make sure the text is coherent.

Review the heading to ensure that the address, phone number(s) and email address(es) are placed in a logical sequence. Add stylistic elements to the header sections so that they stand out. A horizontal line (up to 60 characters) may be created by using a series of dashes or asterisks. Make sure the most important information is in the top third of the document. Hiring managers report that they often print the screen shot, not the complete résumé. If a résumé is longer than one page and contains contact information on the additional pages, remove this information from the ASCII version. The ASCII résumé is meant to be read on a computer screen, so there is no distinction between page numbers.

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