There seems to be much confusion on the Web these days regarding the different resume file formats and when each should be used. You can present your resume to potential employers in multiple ways, including sending a copy via email, "pasting" its content into a form on their web site, faxing it to them, and hand-delivering a copy, as well as others. So, here's the quick guide, in the following format:
COMPUTER PROGRAM USED (file extension)- this refers to the software that the document is created with, either MS Word, Adobe Acrobat, or Windows Notepad (those who have Apple computers have a text editor similar to Notepad).
OTHER NAMES OR PROGRAMS- for example, the .txt format is usually not referred to as the Notepad resume, but instead it is called the Internet resume or Plain Text resume. Also, for MS Word, if you don't have this program, there are other word processing programs you can use.
PURPOSE OF THE RESUME- HOW IT IS USED- email, fax, hand-deliver, copy-and-paste are all options and they are covered below.
GUIDE TO RESUME FORMATS
1. Microsoft Word (.doc)
OTHER PROGRAMS: Microsoft Works, Corel WordPerfect, GoogleDocs, Windows WordPad
PURPOSE: This format is used when you asked to Upload your resume to a site, when you are Attaching your resume to an email message, or when you are Printing your resume for in-person distribution. You can also fax this version.
2. Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
OTHER PROGRAMS: This is the only program that creates PDF files.
PURPOSE: This format is used when you asked to Upload your resume to a site, when you are Attaching your resume to an email message, or when you are Printing your resume for in-person distribution. You can also fax this version. ** The difference between the .doc and .pdf files is that recipients cannot alter the .pdf document, unlike the .doc (unless you password-protect it, which creates a whole different set of problems).
3. Windows Notepad (.txt)
OTHER NAMES: Internet Resume, Text-Only Resume, Email Resume, Plain Text Resume
PURPOSE: This format is used when you asked to copy-and-paste your resume into an online form, such as a form on a web site or the body of an email message. These documents have all formatting stripped out of them, so they are compatible on all systems (but they look plain, so it is not the document you want to print and hand to an interviewer).
OTHER NOTES:
** You can convert a .doc file into a .txt file. Just open up your file in Microsoft Word, click File, Save As, give it a different name (last name, first name INTERNET RESUME), scroll down to Plain Text, click Yes, and save in that format (you'll have to open it up again and make adjustments to ensure it looks proper).
** You can convert a .doc into an .html file for publishing on the Web, but I would recommend either creating a Career Folio if you are going to include multimedia in your Web resume, or simply copying-pasting your resume content into your LinkedIn Profile (I would recommend this for non-graphic arts and non-multimedia professionals).
NOTE ON PICTURE:
This is a picture of Leonardo DaVinci's resume/cover letter.
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