No matter who you ask or what advice you read, it all seems to be tied to resume brilliance these days. Thousands of guides will tell you how to format your resume to God level in a matter of minutes.
The thing is, the company you’re applying to wants a text-free resume. Format . Either they want you to apply via a free text box on their site or via email. All those bells and whistles on your resume now get in the way.
So how do you write plain text so it’s not as boring as watching a llama shed? your skin? for summer? We’ll explain how plain text resumes work, why they’re important, and how to create an ASCII resume that will have employers calling you.
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[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. Same thing.Interested in a different format for your resume? Check out our other dedicated guides:
- How to Make a Resume in Word
- Free Google Docs Resume Templates
- Free OpenOffice and LibreOffice Resume Templates
- Curriculum LaTeX
So how do you create a plain text resume that doesn’t end up looking boring and just plain ugly? After all, the job search is on the rise and you can’t be left behind.
- Open a simple text editor and start writing your resume there. Don’t worry about the format yet, just write the content.
- Break the page into the correct resume parts.
- Start with a professional resume header. Indicate your name and personal information at the top. Make sure your contact information is up to date.
- Write a professional resume summary or resume objective. A resume summary focuses on your experience and is perfect when you have a few years of work experience. A resume objective is best for career changers or those who are just starting their career and focus on their goals and skills. In both cases, keep it to no more than 2-3 sentences.
- Create a strong work experience section. Use the reverse chronological format. Use short sentences and include numbered accomplishments where you can instead of just a boring list of responsibilities. In terms of how far back a resume should go, 10-15 years should be far enough back. Also use action verbs that are very ATS compatible.
- Add the education section of your resume. Please provide the name and location of your school, the dates you attended, and the degree you earned. Skip the last part if you’re adding college drop-ins to a resume and add relevant courses instead.
- Include a great resume skills section. List both hard and soft skills and don’t forget about technical skills. Use the job ad as a cheat sheet to see what skills the hiring manager wants to see more of in a candidate.
- Create additional sections to make your resume stand out. Include relevant hobbies and interests, projects, volunteering, language skills, extracurricular activities, achievements and awards, study abroad, and licenses and certifications. Double-check the job ad to see what might be helpful.
More information: How to write a resume
How to format your resume Plain Text Resume
Just because a plain text resume is meant to be, well, simple, doesn’t mean you can’t add a little formatting for old time’s sake.
Here are some tips on what you can and can’t do when it comes to formatting your plain text resume:
- Resume Source: This may not be controlled as the font will appear according to the settings on the recipient’s computer.
- Line spacing: Use the space bar on instead of the Tab key to create spaces from the Tab key can sometimes mess up the formatting. Also use the spacebar if you want to indent a line or center a resume section header.
- Resume Margins – Set your margins to 0 and 65 or just set your right margin in 6.5 ”. Wordpad and Notepad usually already have default margins set which should be fine, but double check to make sure.
- Alignment: Plain text resumes should automatically be justified to the left.</li
- Page numbers: Don’t add any, they are not needed.
- Formatting Hacks: You can replace the bullets with asterisks (*), hyphens (-), or plus signs ( ) if you want to replicate some of the formatting of your Word resume. Use CAPS for section headings. Use equal signs (=), underscores (_), or scribbles (~) to separate sections.
More information: Professional Resume Designs
Obviously, your plain text resume isn’t going to win any beauty contests anytime soon, but what’s important is the impact of your resume content. If he lands you an interview for that great job with a good salary, what does it matter if your resume is simple?
Also, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter generator here. Here’s what it might look like:
See more cover letter templates and get started to write .
Thanks for reading! Do you have any other great hacks to make a simple text resume stand out? Tell us below!
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