Best free or cheap word processor to write resume on OS X?

July 12, 2006 2:59 PM

What's the best (free, or cheap) word processor (or other program) to write my resume with? I'm on Tiger OS X and don't have MS Word.

I don't have much experience writing resumes. I don't need advice on providing the content---I've found a lot of great info about that on here and elsewhere---I just need advice on what software to use when writing it.

I've read that a word processor is the best way to go, and that makes sense. Problem is, I don't really have a word processor. No MS Word, etc.

I'm on Tiger OS X... What's my best free or cheap option?

posted by defenestration to Computers & Internet (21 answers total)

Pages - Apple's own word processor is pretty great. It's available from their website I think and reallly cheap.

It's simple and great for standard layouts. I use it as a substitute for MS Word as it can use the .doc format and read Word files. Also I find Word to be fairly bloated so this makes for a good alternative.
posted by iTristan at 3:01 PM on July 12, 2006

I like Tex-Edit Plus. It's quite robust for shareware and, as the site mentions, it is useful for dealing with text/formatting copied from other sources.
posted by persona non grata at 3:04 PM on July 12, 2006

Best answer: Or just go with the open and free option:

NeoOffice

It's a Mac OSX specific fork of Open Office. It reads/writes Microsoft Office formats, and does so with ease. I use it on my powerbook all the time, and LOVE the features/ease of use.

Did I mention it's free?
posted by griffey at 3:11 PM on July 12, 2006

I quite like Mellel, but it costs $49.
Alternatively Abiword is free and fast, though not very featureful.
posted by Popular Ethics at 3:23 PM on July 12, 2006

Read all the help files on the included text editor Text Edit.
For something as simple as a resume, you may find it does everything you need. It's really quite versatile, I use it for most of my word processing.
posted by shanevsevil at 3:27 PM on July 12, 2006

Best answer: Use TextEdit, which is pre-installed on every Mac and certainly good enough for resumés. Turn on these options to make it look more like a real word processor:
- Format > Wrap To Page
- Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling As You Type
- Format > Fonts > Show Font Panel
It can also export Word documents for emailing.
posted by cillit bang at 3:41 PM on July 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

Really, the included TextEdit is fine for something like that; you can even save them as Word documents for companies that require that. Look under the Text submenu of the Format menu for Lists and Tables for (slightly) more advanced formatting.

On preview: what cillit bang said.
posted by boaz at 3:51 PM on July 12, 2006

another vote for neo
posted by matteo at 4:14 PM on July 12, 2006

I have used neo office in the past but it does lag behind openoffice, which is expected as it is a port. Anyway, if you aren't scared of using X11 and not having the menus in the "correct" place, you can just install X11 from your install cds and grab the official OpenOffice release for OSX.
posted by chrisroberts at 4:26 PM on July 12, 2006

Best answer: email me for a Writely invite.
posted by scarabic at 4:56 PM on July 12, 2006

Bonus..

Text edit will Save as a .doc file which is word format. That's right...text edit reads/writes text edit documents.
posted by filmgeek at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2006

whoops, reads/writes WORD documents.
posted by filmgeek at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2006

I would also recommend OpenOffice - it's an excellent word processor (and spreadsheet).
posted by jb at 6:25 PM on July 12, 2006

Best answer: I have no experience with it myself, but emurse is a "web2.0"-ish site that claims to simplify the remuse writing/maintaining/formatting process. Exports to doc/pdf/html/etc. It's been making the rounds on del.icio.us and digg in the last few days, so it is hot, if not time-tested.
posted by misterbrandt at 6:44 PM on July 12, 2006

What shanevsevil, cillit bang, and filmgeek said.

Don't let Text-Edit's simplistic interface fool you- it is really quite robust at doing a lot of things. I have Word on my hard drive, but I find myself retreating to Text-Edit because its uncluttered appearance helps me focus more on what I'm supposed to be writing.
posted by invisible ink at 7:00 PM on July 12, 2006

scarabic: any chance I could take you up on that offer? been signed up for ages and heard nothin, could really use it.
posted by chrissyboy at 8:25 PM on July 12, 2006

chrissyboy- if you list your email on your profile page, I can invite you (or anyone else who's also reading this.)
posted by invisible ink at 8:41 PM on July 12, 2006

Thanks ii much appreciated, just updated my profile =)
posted by chrissyboy at 8:56 PM on July 12, 2006

Done. You should get an email inviting you to collaborate on a sample doc. If you don't, post back here.
posted by invisible ink at 9:24 PM on July 12, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips!

Giving the different options a try-- something should definitely work out. I'll report back later.
posted by defenestration at 9:52 PM on July 12, 2006

Response by poster: I gave emurse.com a try. Did what I needed it to do-- in a very simple way. Thanks for the recommendation!
posted by defenestration at 8:19 AM on July 18, 2006