Resume Writing Tip: Got The ASCII Resume Blues?

I received an email from Ron today: “Kim, I converted my resume to plain text and it looks terrible! Is there any way I can keep some of the formatting from my MS Word resume, like bold and bullet points?”

Kim’s Answer: Plain-text (ASCII) resumes are indeed ugly. ASCII files don’t use formatting features like bold, italics, or underline, or special characters like bullets you would find on a traditional resume. The tradeoff is that your resume can be read on virtually any computer system, and employers can easily save your resume in their applicant tracking systems. Content is king with ASCII resumes, so make sure your resume “sells” you and the value that you offer.
The good news is that you can maximize your ASCII resume’s readability and avoid the jumbled mess that many ASCII resumes become when they are converted from Word documents. Check out this post for detailed instructions on how to convert your resume to ASCII format: ASCII Resumes: Learn How to Convert Your File
By Kim Isaacs and courtesy of ResumePower blog.

Originally posted by sarah ennenga