You will find many Internet sights that you can not only do job searches and post your curriculum vitae on. These sights are very competitive, so getting your resume right is important. Most of these sites have an online form you can complete but you can also upload your curriculum vitae in Microsoft word or text format. Outside of the job search web sites, e-mailing your resume as form of application has become commonplace. However, each employer or headhunter has different rules on the file they will accept via e-mail.
Most companies will accept an attachment in Microsoft Word – this is why you have to be conscious of the font type and size, as well as margins you are using but if the company requires a text file, your Word document will have to be saved to a text file. Before you send it make sure all the formatting is correct especially the tabs and bullet points as they will mess up the formating if not corrected before you send it. Keep in mind the plain text files do not support bolding, italicizing and/or underlining; therefore ensure that all your text is properly formatted – it should be left justifies and properly spaced.
When you include your curriculum vitae in an email, instead of treating it like a word document, you need to treat it like a text document. If you treat it like a word document you will find that the formatting will not be sent correctly. The basic fonts used by many employers are Arial or Times New Roman so make sure you use the same especially if you are cutting and pasting your CV directly into your email instead of sending it as an attachment. Format is important. When you type your resume you need to make sure you pay attention to detail, spacing and bullets need to be done correctly. It is always important to keep you email simple forgo italics or bold lettering as you really are not sure what type of email software the recipient has.
When sending your curriculum vitae as an attachment make sure you format the body of the email as a covering letter remembering to include the address of the recipient and obviously your own name and address. The same guidelines of an emails content should be used when sending it in the emails body. Do not make the mistake of just sending your CV in the body of the email and think this is the only details you should be sending. You still need to let your employer know a little bit more about yourself via a cover letter,even if it is copied into the email. Even a cut and past CV is not enough, make sure you include more information in a covering letter even if this is also icluded in the body of the email.
All the same, since you will include your address at the top of the email, feel free to begin your CV with a career objective instead of including the heading with your name and address. Sending your cut and past resume to an email adress you have access to is a good way to test the formatting, this way you can see what your new employer will see and correct any formatting issues before sending to your new employer. In this way you can make sure that your curriculum vitae represents you to employers in a tidy and professional manner.