Welcome to Q & A Wednesday

This Week’s Question: What is an ASCII resume and what do I need it for again?

Answer: I often get phone calls a week or two after a project is complete with questions like; “what is the ASCII again? When do I need to use this?”

Here is the refresher answer. An ASCII resume is the text (.txt) version of your resume. The nice presentation resume you also received is the Word (.doc). When an ASCII version of your resume is created it removes all the formatting; bold letters, different fonts, tabs, tables, and other things used to make your resume look unique, and grab the reader’s attention by making it stand out.

The ASCII (text) version is used when you are applying online and  you are asked to “cut and paste” parts of your resume (work experience, education, associations etc) into blocks or spaces available in the online application. When they ask for cut and paste they are usually looking for the ASCII version.

Why? Because when your resume goes through their application system, the information will go through a filtering process searching for keywords. Any formatting or special characters may change the look of your resume, change words, and possibly boot it out of the system altogether.

This version is not very pretty to look at and not always easy to read. So, many times the application will also ask you to attach a copy of your resume in the Word version. That way, if your resume makes it past the first gatekeeper it will be viewed by the second line of defense which is usually the HR department. They usually prefer to read the Word (.doc) version of your resume.

Hope this helps!

If you are in need of a Text version of your resume – give me a call! I do resume version conversions.