
Resume PDF or Resume Word Doc (Best Format to Submit)
Should you save your resume or CV as a .pdf or MS Word .doc file type? Does it matter what document format you choose? Here's the answer.
Bland and boring might be all right for oatmeal, but not for your text resume. Find out how to write a plain text resume that is anything but plain.
No matter who you ask or what advice you read, it all seems to be about the resume bling bling nowadays. Thousands of guides will tell you how to format your resume into God tier in a matter of minutes.
The thing is, the company you’re applying to wants a plain text resume. Or they want you to apply via a free form text box on their site or by email. All those bells and whistles on your resume are just getting in the way now.
So how do you write a plain text so it’s not as boring as watching a llama shed its fur for summer? We’ll take you through how plain text resumes work, why they’re important, and how to create an ASCII resume that will have employers calling you up.
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Interested in a different format for your resume? Check out our other dedicated guides:
A plain text resume, also known as an ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) resume is a resume created without any formatting and in a plain text format. Plain text resumes are often used when applying by email or to companies that specifically request them.
There are some job boards and application software that don’t recognize fancy word processor formatting like bullet points, italics, margins, or bold so uploading your Word or PDF resume will end up sending them a giant mess. The same goes for applying by email where different email providers may interpret formatting differently and leave your resume looking like a tornado went through it.
This is where the plain text resume comes in to play and helps you send all the necessary information needed for your job application without the hassle (or worry) of making sure it’s all formatted properly. See how it looks like.
Casey Hall
casey.z.hall@gmail.com
916-566-6124
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PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Experienced financial analyst with excellent analytical skills as well as a devotion to customer service. Proposed changes to account opening procedures led to a 15% drop in wait time and processing errors. Looking to leverage banking skills at Merrill National.
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WORK EXPERIENCE
BANKING ANALYST
RJ Savings and Trust
Dec 2016- Dec 2019
Managed 100 investors’ due diligence processes and coordinated with international operations managers when required.
Performed financial risk assessments and studied banking and financial market trends to prepare activity and progress reports to management.
Navigated marketing activities by reaching out to 150+ VC and lead 5% prospects.
Key achievement
Conducted valuation report on $20 million swaps deal for a tech company which resulted in 35% rise in corporate earnings.
ASSOCIATE BANKER
Merriweather Bank
Sept 2015-Dec 2016
Reviewed and processed credit and loan applications according to best practices and law.
Supported identifying potential sales opportunities to new business clients.
Handling daily reconcilement of payments as well as maintaining incoming and outgoing cash records.
Key Achievement
Earned Customer Service Award twice for excellence and professionalism in banking customer service.
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EDUCATION
2011-2014, B.A. in Economics
University of South Dakota
President of the student finance club for 1 year.
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SKILLS
Ability to work under pressure
Financial planning
Risk assessment
Customer service
Problem solving
Technical skills
Interpersonal skills
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CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)
That doesn’t look half bad, does it? In an age where there are an average of 20 applicants to any one position, content is key. Formatting doesn’t get jobs, skills and experience do.
If you already have a resume in Word, you can convert your resume into plain text in a few simple steps.
Here’s a simple, step-by-step process to convert your Word resume into plain text format:
Told you it was simple! But what if it could be even easier?
You’re done!
But what if you don’t have any resume content written so far? Here’s a quick formula:
Sending a plain text resume usually means that the employer has asked for it specifically or that you don’t have the option of uploading any other resume format.
So how do you create a plain text resume that doesn’t end up looking boring and just plain ugly? After all, job browsing is on the rise and you can’t be left behind.
Read more: How to Write a Resume
Just because a plain text resume is meant to be, well, plain, that doesn’t mean you can’t add a bit of formatting for old times’ sake.
Here are some tips on what you can and can’t do as far as formatting your plain text resume:
Read more: Professional Resume Layouts
Obviously your plain text resume isn’t going to be winning any beauty pageants any time soon, but it’s the impact of the contents of your resume that’s important. If it lands you an interview for that great job with a sweet salary, what does it matter that your resume is plain?
Thanks for reading! Do you have any other cool hacks to make a plain text resume stand out? Let us know down below!
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