This Will Make A Huge Difference In Your Job Applications
Use the right file format.
More importantly, avoid using the wrong ones!
And remember: If you use the wrong file formats, your resume – along with your cover letter and application – will get instantly deleted.
Here’s how it works…
A Sneak Peak Into an Employer’s Perspective
We own about two dozen websites.
Three of them are attached to businesses that employ people, and have “jobs@” email addresses. They are meant to get applications.
As you can imagine, we get a lot of email…
And of course, like others in my position, I don’t read these mailboxes and instead use HR people to filter them for me.
But I do on occasion log in to one of these emails and see what’s going on. (Incidentally it’s always good to spot inspect the work HR people do for you)
I also like seeing the state of the the internet noise.
So… Last I went inside one of these mailboxes, here’s what it looked like:
| Subject |
|---|
| "Do you have a leaky bucket careerinsiders.org"? |
| Casino welcome bonus ---> 800 euro/dollar |
| Call? |
| Regarding Position [Attachment] |
| Beautiful girls for s*x in your city |
| Re: pharmacy non perscription |
| Hi, my name is Olivia |
| Look what we gift for you! |
In case you missed it, among these obvious spam messages, there is an actual email from a real applicant:
| Subject |
|---|
| Regarding Position [Attachment] |
Keeping the privacy details aside, here’s what it said:
Hello There,
My name is Jane Doe and I’m interested in a job at your organisation.
[Redacted message about how they qualify – which was written surprisingly well]
I’ve attached a copy of my resume.
Thank you!
— Jane Doe
And it had a DOCX document attached…
Which meant: it instantly got the delete button!
Why Such Applications Gets Deleted
Yes… They wrote a nice cover letter.
And yes, they were professional. And their email address looked like a real email address.
But their resume was in DOCX format.
Not a PDF, which is safer to open. Not an RTF for a TXT document, which are even safer.
Not even a link to their LinkedIn account, or a link to their personal website, or a Google Docs link…
But a simple document in Microsoft Office format.
And that’s really bad.
Dangerous Formats Get Deleted
You see… These DOC, DOCX and all other MS Office formats are seen as dangerous. They can contain executable code written in Visual Basic or Macro Language.
Meaning: They can be used to hack, attack or infect your computer if you open them.
Through the years, I received a number of phishing attempts disguising themselves as job applications. They are rarer than dating site spam, but they do hit employers.
And like all other employers, I have learned to be weary of attachments.
Now… If someone I knew had forwarded me this file…
Or even better, if I had asked for a resume from this person, I probably would have opened it.
In fact, even if the email was sitting in a relatively sane and clean mailbox, I “might” have considered opening it.
But it’s not 1990 anymore! And as you can see, this well intended email is swimming in a sea of malicious spam, among all sorts of phishing links, illegal prescriptions and sex offers!
So… It just seems guilty by association.
Which means, there is no way I’m opening the document inside it!
I simply cannot take the risk. Just imagine what would happen if I got our computers infected with ransomware!
It is a shame really… This application (and many others like it) may be from the exact employees I’m looking for!
But the risk isn’t worth it. Besides, there are many other applications who don’t pose that risk.
Remember this: If you want your resumes read, you shouldn’t expect anyone to take the risk of opening a potentially malicious file…
This may seem simple, but it makes a profound difference.
What Formats To Use On Your Resume
If someone is asking for you to send a resume in a specific format, send it in the format they want, even if it happens to be an unsafe format.
But, if you are sending cold emails, or making first contact with an employer, try to avoid file types that are popularly known to contain malware. (i.e. Microsoft Office Documents)
Besides, as a rule of thumb, your initial contact should not contain a resume. It’s better to build dialogue, and then get them to ask you to send a resume. We cover this process at length in Launch Your Career, and it makes a tremendous difference.
This is why, ideally, for your first contact, you should only send in a link to your LinkedIn profile.
It helps establish professional trust. But it doesn’t feel like you are trying to sell them on hiring you. Plus, it’s a trusted domain name, and people are more likely to click it.
You can also include, a link to a website that has your resume or a link to a Google doc that is your resume.
But also remember: links can raise suspicion if they don’t come from a trusted domain like Google.com. After all, it is possible to attack or infect a computer simply by getting people to click a link.
To deal with this confusion, we discovered that…
There Is A Much Better Way To Get Your Resume Read
Embed your resume to the bottom of your cover letter.
That’s not only guaranteed safe (no malware there), but it also helps them read it without even having to click a link or open a file. They just have to scroll down.
This is a neat little trick which works wonders in terms of response rates.
But… If for some reason, you do have to have a resume attached, try to use PDF files. They are perceived to be safer.
Most editors allow you to “Save As” your file in PDF format, so it won’t take you any extra time to create them.
If you don’t want to use a PDF, you can also save using a Rich Text Format, or plain old Text files. You have to work on the visual presentation a bit, but these do work for getting interviews almost equally well.
And, yes… I can see the tech geeks thinking…
Even these PDF, RTF or TXT files can be infected with malware. But that’s not the point.
What matters is that most people have no idea that they can be infected, and they feel much safer to open them.
Besides, the software that reads these formats tend to be sturdier and harder to exploit than software that reads DOCX files. So… They are arguably safer.
Your Options For Resume File Format Summarised
In summary, when sending cold (i.e. unsolicited) resumes:
- Only send a link to a trusted domain like LinkedIn
- Embed your resume inside the email
- Send a PDF attachment
- You can do all three in one message
These are important things to think about, especially if you are bypassing HR using the techniques we teach, and connecting directly with hiring managers.
Remember: An HR professional may or may not open DOCX files. They could be desensitised to it, and it may not be a big deal.
But most managers and executives won’t open random files. They don’t want to be the one infecting their network, dealing with an incoming application that’s meant to go through HR.
So… Next time you are sending applications… And wondering if they are even being read…
Use the techniques I’ve outlined above!
Who knows… Maybe everything else you are doing is great, and you are just tripping up in the format.
Additional Resources
If you haven’t already done so, you should read “Never Put These Words On Your Resume“.
Also… Feel free to check out:
Learn About The Five Core Skills & Seven High Value Disciplines