The biggest resume mistake you could be making

July 28, 3:53 PMSF Job Search ExaminerMegan Pittsley

Very often I see resumes and cover
letters that employers cannot open - Microsoft Word 2007 (or .docx file
extensions). If you're a job seeker, it's not wise to send your resume
or other job related documents out in this format. While
many people have the updated Microsoft Word software on their newer
personal and home computers, many employers have not updated to the
2007 version, so beware!

It is expensive to update software
company-wide and time-intensive to install converter packages, so many
companies don't. In times when staff and budgets are thin, this in
increasingly true. If
an employer gets hundreds of resumes for a position and can't open
yours, it's unlikely that they will even let you know.

Many times they
move on to the ones they can open. However, it's a very simple fix to
turn your document into a 2003 Word version. 

Instructions:

• Open resume      


• Click "Save As"        


• In the drop-down box for "file type" select "Word 2003" or "Document" 

You don't want it to be your fault that your resume doesn't get read! 

ADDITIONAL NOTE: PDF
files cannot always be read by keyword screening functions in many
applicant tracking software programs, so please be aware and steer
clear from PDFs in many cases as well!