Help me send out my resume today

November 13, 2010 12:17 PM

Help me send out a resume out today.

I've created a resume. But, when I "test" send it to myself it comes out all wonky. I am computing from a very old machine. I use gmail to send out such documents. Is there a free (trusted) online method of creating a resume/document and sending it via email that will allow me to do such - without buying a mac today?

posted by marimeko to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

What format are you sending it? Is it just pasted in to the text of the email? It is an attachment? Is it html or plain text? What is coming out wonky?
posted by brainmouse at 12:18 PM on November 13, 2010

Response by poster: It was an attachment - rich text as opposed to pdf. It was ugly..
posted by marimeko at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2010

I would download a free pdf maker and turn it into a pdf. That's the safest way to keep formatting, I've found.
posted by xingcat at 12:23 PM on November 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I should mention, some parts were in bold for no reason at all - others in a different font (again, I don't know why) and not all in line as it had been in my orriginal.
posted by marimeko at 12:23 PM on November 13, 2010

Response by poster: xingcat is there any particular name I should be looking for in terms of a free pdf. maker?
posted by marimeko at 12:25 PM on November 13, 2010

Create a Google docs account. Upload it. Download it as PDF. See if it looks ok.
posted by zippy at 12:25 PM on November 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

PD Fill and PrimoPDF both work nicely. They act like printer drivers, in that you "print" the document (from MS Word, or whatever) and chose 'PrimoPDF' from the list of available printers.
posted by jon1270 at 12:31 PM on November 13, 2010

Another free PDF "printer" for Windows is CutePDF Writer.
posted by qwip at 12:38 PM on November 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

2nd ing Google docs for this. You can create a doc, click the print button and it automatically becomes a pdf.
posted by cestmoi15 at 12:41 PM on November 13, 2010

As an aside, it's usually best to try and avoid RTF. There are several different revisions of the spec, so not all RTF files will play nice with each other or with all editors (depending on the spec used during development).
posted by truex at 1:23 PM on November 13, 2010

Nthing convert the document to PDF via one of the methods suggested and then mail it.
posted by goblinbox at 1:45 PM on November 13, 2010

Response by poster: I want to thank all of you - great advice for a tech-challenged person. I'm using google docs and converting it to pdf. - couldn't be simpler!
posted by marimeko at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2010

PDF for a resume is NOT the way to go. HR departments want plain text that they can search and copy/paste easily without creating a mess.
posted by PSB at 6:30 AM on November 14, 2010

@PSB: What? You can copy/paste from a PDF just as you can from a plain text file, what difference would it make? I have never heard about anyone sending an formatted resume.
posted by themel at 7:02 AM on November 14, 2010