Creating a "Text Version" of Your Resume

Your resume is all set to go--right?

Well, if you don't have a text version, you'll be formatting it every time you go to post the text version...and that could cause you to go batty. Instead, create and save a text version that you simply copy and paste whenever a text version is requested.

Here's how to do it in Word: Hold down “Control” and hit “A” and then “C,” then open up a new document and hit “Control V” to paste the text. Scroll down to the bottom of the text where you see that little clipboard and click “keep text only.” Reformat the resume to substitute any bullets with hyphens and space out the text a bit.

Next, highlight all of the text and change the font to CourierNew, preferably on 10 or 11 point. Then save the resume as a “text document” (scroll down on the “file type” prompt before you save, where you usually see "Word document"). Save the document. Then another window will pop up asking about the conversion type--click MS-DOS.

Close the document then open it back up to look at the formatting and make sure you don't have any funky wingding types of characters. Edit as needed, then resave.

Easy breezy, right? Now you have your text version of the resume and it's ready to be sent out!