"I liked your smooth, textured surface."
August 28, 2008 1:49 PM Subscribe
ResumeFilter: Preparing my resume to be sent out and wondering about addressing the envelope by hand or printing it off. Also, is it worth it to get some official resume paper?
Any advice about the technical, physical aspect of resumes would be great, I realize a lot of companies just ask for it by email, but there are still some that ask for it to be sent by snail mail. So do I hand address the envelope to show them I am a person or do I print it out to make it look professional risking the impression I am a robot? I have Star Wars stamps, are they too unprofessional? Should I get generic stamps? Also, I am under the impression that for face-to-face interviews I should have a physical copy of my resume to give to the employer. Should I spring for some nice resume paper? White and cream seem to be popular at the office stores, does it matter? Fonts? I am a fan of Georgia, is there a different one I should be using? Am I putting too much thought into this?
I've read through hundreds of mefi posts about resumes and gotten lots of good tips on content, and additional ideas are welcome, but I am mainly asking about tips for the physical side.
Details: Applying for office admin/receptionist positions (Seattle) with a skills based resume.
Any advice about the technical, physical aspect of resumes would be great, I realize a lot of companies just ask for it by email, but there are still some that ask for it to be sent by snail mail. So do I hand address the envelope to show them I am a person or do I print it out to make it look professional risking the impression I am a robot? I have Star Wars stamps, are they too unprofessional? Should I get generic stamps? Also, I am under the impression that for face-to-face interviews I should have a physical copy of my resume to give to the employer. Should I spring for some nice resume paper? White and cream seem to be popular at the office stores, does it matter? Fonts? I am a fan of Georgia, is there a different one I should be using? Am I putting too much thought into this?
I've read through hundreds of mefi posts about resumes and gotten lots of good tips on content, and additional ideas are welcome, but I am mainly asking about tips for the physical side.
Details: Applying for office admin/receptionist positions (Seattle) with a skills based resume.
I'm part of a panel that reviews a couple thousand resumes per year. So in my very subjective and a little bit burned-out opinion:
A hand written envelope is best, though I seldom see them. I wish I could: I enjoy thinking I can tell something about a person by their handwriting, or at least their attention to detail. I've asked that the envelopes be left attached to the back of the resume/letter, but they're usually lost to the efficiency of the letter-openers.
(Also, contra Gungho, I believe that old-fashioned paper resumes mailed always rank higher and stand a better chance of being reviewed than e-mails. It takes more effort on your part too, especially if you manage to address them to the right people/departments, which I (at least) notice. If you wish to be extra clever, you can both mail and e-mail. The double-hit, assuming the resume reaches the same person twice, can be effective.)
There's no such thing as "official resume paper", and good god please don't use any textured, colored, fancy-ass paper unless you're applying for a job at Avon or Victoria's Secret. Regular laser-printer paper is fine. If you really want to "stand out", be subtle and use brighter-white or slightly heavier bond paper. That's subtle enough that most people won't notice why yours seems more polished... and that's exactly the angle you want. For the same reason, an odd font size (13 or 11pt, for example, not 12) can attract subliminal attention. But don't make a ransom note, either.
There are a million other bits of advice that come to mind, but I'll pick one that I think can help a lot: Don't ever use a generic cover letter. We definitely notice when someone applying for a job is blasting 1000 resumes to "YOUR COMPANY NAME HERE". This comes across as someone who's not trying very hard, or is not interested in working at Place A vs any other.
Expressing something unique in your cover letter (or better, the resume itself) that shows you actually know something about the business you're applying to, have made an effort to describe your skills as they relate to the precise job you're applying for, and most of all, showing actual interest in the specific job/employer goes a long way. Many people just want a job... any job of a thousand... and they'll throw as many resumes to the wall as it takes until one sticks. These people are much less attractive hires than the ones who clearly make an effort to apply to one specific place, show that they know the place and what it does, and have clearly presented an "argument" for why they'd be a specific asset. I suspect that the wall-stickers also end up with lower job-satisfaction, but I can't prove that either way.
I see way too many resumes that could be paraphrased as "I am confident that I would be an asset to COMPANY NAME INC and WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO THERE."
Straight to the shredder.
Better model: "I noticed that your company is one of the country's biggest tennis ball machine manufacturers, and realized that my degree in gravitational physics and experience as a skeet shoot tournament technician may be of value to you."
And then actually highlight/emphasize the important (to that company) skills and attributes in the resume you send them.
posted by rokusan at 2:17 PM on August 28, 2008 [4 favorites]
A hand written envelope is best, though I seldom see them. I wish I could: I enjoy thinking I can tell something about a person by their handwriting, or at least their attention to detail. I've asked that the envelopes be left attached to the back of the resume/letter, but they're usually lost to the efficiency of the letter-openers.
(Also, contra Gungho, I believe that old-fashioned paper resumes mailed always rank higher and stand a better chance of being reviewed than e-mails. It takes more effort on your part too, especially if you manage to address them to the right people/departments, which I (at least) notice. If you wish to be extra clever, you can both mail and e-mail. The double-hit, assuming the resume reaches the same person twice, can be effective.)
There's no such thing as "official resume paper", and good god please don't use any textured, colored, fancy-ass paper unless you're applying for a job at Avon or Victoria's Secret. Regular laser-printer paper is fine. If you really want to "stand out", be subtle and use brighter-white or slightly heavier bond paper. That's subtle enough that most people won't notice why yours seems more polished... and that's exactly the angle you want. For the same reason, an odd font size (13 or 11pt, for example, not 12) can attract subliminal attention. But don't make a ransom note, either.
There are a million other bits of advice that come to mind, but I'll pick one that I think can help a lot: Don't ever use a generic cover letter. We definitely notice when someone applying for a job is blasting 1000 resumes to "YOUR COMPANY NAME HERE". This comes across as someone who's not trying very hard, or is not interested in working at Place A vs any other.
Expressing something unique in your cover letter (or better, the resume itself) that shows you actually know something about the business you're applying to, have made an effort to describe your skills as they relate to the precise job you're applying for, and most of all, showing actual interest in the specific job/employer goes a long way. Many people just want a job... any job of a thousand... and they'll throw as many resumes to the wall as it takes until one sticks. These people are much less attractive hires than the ones who clearly make an effort to apply to one specific place, show that they know the place and what it does, and have clearly presented an "argument" for why they'd be a specific asset. I suspect that the wall-stickers also end up with lower job-satisfaction, but I can't prove that either way.
I see way too many resumes that could be paraphrased as "I am confident that I would be an asset to COMPANY NAME INC and WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO THERE."
Straight to the shredder.
Better model: "I noticed that your company is one of the country's biggest tennis ball machine manufacturers, and realized that my degree in gravitational physics and experience as a skeet shoot tournament technician may be of value to you."
And then actually highlight/emphasize the important (to that company) skills and attributes in the resume you send them.
posted by rokusan at 2:17 PM on August 28, 2008 [4 favorites]
Oh, and a tiny point I missed: if you do e-mail your resume, don't ever ever ever send a Word file. Even if it gets past the virus scanners, many orgs refuse to open Word/Excel attachments from unknown sources. Use a PDF.
posted by rokusan at 2:19 PM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by rokusan at 2:19 PM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]
Envelopes - most of the time the person reviewing your resume will not be the person opening the mail, just keep it professional, wouldn't worry about the stamps, the only time anybody will notice them is if they are into stamps.
Use nice paper, slightly heavier than your normal standard printer paper but keep it simple. Use a nice easy to read font which looks nice for all the formatting in the document.
Have a couple of copies with you - preferably one with annotations from when you did your research about the company interviewing you and how you are right for them.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:24 PM on August 28, 2008
Use nice paper, slightly heavier than your normal standard printer paper but keep it simple. Use a nice easy to read font which looks nice for all the formatting in the document.
Have a couple of copies with you - preferably one with annotations from when you did your research about the company interviewing you and how you are right for them.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:24 PM on August 28, 2008
Font: Times New Roman please -- 11 pts or 12 pts. The point of all resume formating is not to be noticed as formating but instead to emphasize the points you are trying to make as organic truths.
Paper: ordinary laser printer paper is fine. A slightly heavier stock is okay too -- but white as snow in all cases.
Envelope: run it through the printer if you can.
Stamp: a tasteful, neutral commemorative is better than generic, but please definitely not a Star Wars commemorative! (Not neutral, and some people's minds not tasteful, either.)
posted by MattD at 4:54 PM on August 28, 2008
Paper: ordinary laser printer paper is fine. A slightly heavier stock is okay too -- but white as snow in all cases.
Envelope: run it through the printer if you can.
Stamp: a tasteful, neutral commemorative is better than generic, but please definitely not a Star Wars commemorative! (Not neutral, and some people's minds not tasteful, either.)
posted by MattD at 4:54 PM on August 28, 2008
Image counts for a lot when applying for a job, so yes, invest in the good paper. I think cream is more appealing than white, but that's a personal preference.
Also: I was told in high school that sans-serif fonts are inappropriate for business, so I've always used a serif font and cringe a little whenever I see a resume written in Arial. This is just a personal opinion of what "looks" professional, but certainly stick to something traditional. TNR is kind of dull, but it's a good standby. I used Georgia on my CV, so I personally think it's an excellent choice! :)
Stamps, probably no one will notice them, but I'm big into details and always use a bit of a "cute" or "funky" stamp on all of my mail. Everytime I buy stamps I ask the postal workers for "something pretty" and have gotten really nice stuff (including some Louis Comfort Tiffany stamps, holy hell those were awesome). I put perhaps too much effort into having an "artsy" image and wouldn't be caught dead sending something with the American Flag or the Liberty Bell on it. If you're a Star Wars kind of girl, go ahead and use your Star Wars stamps! Your image should be professional, but it's also about YOU. As for hand-addressing or computer addressing, that's also your call - if you're the kind of person who prefers hand-written stuff, go ahead and write it yourself. If you normally do everything printed out, then do that. These little details may not "matter" to anyone else, but having a consistent professional image never hurts and at least makes *you* feel more confident.
And yes, always bring a physical copy of your resume with you to an interview. I've very rarely had anyone actually want to HAVE it, but I'm always asked for it. Usually, they then whip out a copy that they printed out themselves, so it's mostly a prepared-ness test. It also helps to jog your own memory about what exactly you said on there.
Best of luck!!! :)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:01 PM on August 28, 2008
Also: I was told in high school that sans-serif fonts are inappropriate for business, so I've always used a serif font and cringe a little whenever I see a resume written in Arial. This is just a personal opinion of what "looks" professional, but certainly stick to something traditional. TNR is kind of dull, but it's a good standby. I used Georgia on my CV, so I personally think it's an excellent choice! :)
Stamps, probably no one will notice them, but I'm big into details and always use a bit of a "cute" or "funky" stamp on all of my mail. Everytime I buy stamps I ask the postal workers for "something pretty" and have gotten really nice stuff (including some Louis Comfort Tiffany stamps, holy hell those were awesome). I put perhaps too much effort into having an "artsy" image and wouldn't be caught dead sending something with the American Flag or the Liberty Bell on it. If you're a Star Wars kind of girl, go ahead and use your Star Wars stamps! Your image should be professional, but it's also about YOU. As for hand-addressing or computer addressing, that's also your call - if you're the kind of person who prefers hand-written stuff, go ahead and write it yourself. If you normally do everything printed out, then do that. These little details may not "matter" to anyone else, but having a consistent professional image never hurts and at least makes *you* feel more confident.
And yes, always bring a physical copy of your resume with you to an interview. I've very rarely had anyone actually want to HAVE it, but I'm always asked for it. Usually, they then whip out a copy that they printed out themselves, so it's mostly a prepared-ness test. It also helps to jog your own memory about what exactly you said on there.
Best of luck!!! :)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:01 PM on August 28, 2008
Regular, white printer paper is 20lbs. I would recommend something like 24~28lbs but no higher, to avoid having a cardboard-like resume. I like the bright white laser paper because it is coated just enough to feel smooth but not be too shiny.
If for some reason you decide to get the fancy resume paper, be sure to that the watermark (faint see-through letter/design inside the paper) is facing the right direction when printed.
Last thing: if you end up sending a Word document, and you have any formatting that depends on fonts, be sure to go into the options and choose Save Fonts. This will embed the fonts so if the recipient will see it the same way as you do, even if he/she doesn't have the proper fonts. But you should be using PDF anyway unless otherwise specified. Or send both and let them choose.
posted by PixelatorOfTime at 5:33 PM on August 28, 2008
If for some reason you decide to get the fancy resume paper, be sure to that the watermark (faint see-through letter/design inside the paper) is facing the right direction when printed.
Last thing: if you end up sending a Word document, and you have any formatting that depends on fonts, be sure to go into the options and choose Save Fonts. This will embed the fonts so if the recipient will see it the same way as you do, even if he/she doesn't have the proper fonts. But you should be using PDF anyway unless otherwise specified. Or send both and let them choose.
posted by PixelatorOfTime at 5:33 PM on August 28, 2008
Seconding the suggestion that if you email it, you should use a PDF and not a word document. One of the reasons: some employers may turn on the "track changes" feature, and might be able to see how you modified the cover letter or resume from the last version (so if all you did is change the name of the company in the cover letter, they will know). You can use a product like PDFforge to convert a word file. (disclaimer: I have never used a PDF creator myself).
posted by Shebear at 6:59 AM on August 29, 2008
posted by Shebear at 6:59 AM on August 29, 2008
When you send a resume via email, be sure to give it a useful file name: your name. File names that make sense to you but read generically or, worse, reveal your strategy (e.g., Resume4.pdf or Resume no paper route.doc) are awful.
posted by carmicha at 6:17 PM on August 29, 2008
posted by carmicha at 6:17 PM on August 29, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
That being said, Yes invest in some quality laid paper and matching envelopes, and unless your handwriting is exceptional I would type the address (Don't use a label). Don't forget to include a copy of your resume when you send your thank you letter.
Always have a copy or several with you when you interview, even if you mailed and emailed prior to the interview.
posted by Gungho at 2:00 PM on August 28, 2008