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To me, reading an all-Normal Word resume would indicate that a person might
be pretty good at kludging a tool to get a desired result. However, it
gives no evidence that a person understands the nuances of the tool. You
only have a few moments when the company is looking at your resume -- make
them count.
The candidate might be a whiz-band template ace, but there is no evidence of
it. Why not do the little bit of extra work and create a Resume Template --
maybe even a couple of oddly named styles (i.e. "Really Important Text"
style) that the interviewer might notice.
I know that some folks on the list have insisted that we are hired as
writers, rather than secretaries. True enough, but we all gotta use the
tools. Because template-creation is so easy, why not go the extra few steps
and show off the fact that you can indeed use more than just the bare
necessities of the tool?
One of the points I've often heard on this forum is that the tool doesn't
matter -- if you can learn one, you can learn any of them. Assume the
person reading your resume also believes this. By using a "resume template"
you show the interviewer that learning more demanding stuff about tools
(like templates) is no big deal for you.
Paul Strasser
Windsor Technologies, Inc.
2569 Park Lane, Suite 200
Lafayette, Colorado 80026
Phone: 303-926-1982
FAX: 303-926-1510
E-mail: paul -dot- strasser -at- windsor-tech -dot- com
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