First Decision: How to Reproduce Your Resume
You've got a good, clean original of your resume. You've produced it by a good typewriter, a good typesetter, or a good word processor or page layout program. Now you've got to reproduce it. There are only three ways to reproduce the copies you need. You can have your resume printed, you can laser-print multiple copies from your word processing or page layout files, or you can have it photo copied.
If you take your original resume to a printer, be sure that printer has the right kind of paper (see the discussion of paper selection below). If that printer does not have the proper paper, find one that does. If you can't find one that stocks the right paper, find out where you can buy it, and then take the necessary supply of paper with you to the printer. Before you order copies from the printer, be sure to ask for some samples. Make certain the printer can produce copies without the slightest extraneous dot or smudge.
Another way is to laser-print multiple copies of your resume rather than take the master laser originals to be printed on a press or photocopied. One problem with this option has to do with the health and welfare of your laser printer-it may be wiser and, in the long run, cheaper to take your master copy to a photocopy shop. Another problem is more compelling; although you can use a variety of papers in your laser printer, some laser printer manufacturers ask you not to use the type of paper we strongly recommend for your resume (100 percent rag paper). Recently, paper manufacturers have introduced 100 percent cotton paper specifically designed for laser printers.
The other way to reproduce your resume is to have it photocopied. Here you have to be extremely careful. First, be sure the copy center has the right kind of paper (as revealed below). Second, ask the copy center to run two copies of your resume before you commit to ordering fifty or one hundred. Why two? Because the drums of many photocopiers make two impressions. If the drum has a speck on it, it might not show up on just one copy but would show up on the next copy. Carefully check the two copies and make certain you find absolutely no specks or flecks on either copy. If you do, ask the copy center to get rid of the specks by cleaning either the screen or the drum. If they can't, find another copy center that can produce fleckless copies.
Second Decision: Kind and Color of Paper to Use
As to paper type there is only one pat answer. Insist on paper made of 100 per cent cotton fiber. In the trade this is called rag content. Be sure you specify 100 percent rag. Why not 50 percent or 25 percent cotton? Because of feel. If you take a piece of 100 percent cot ton paper and a piece of 25 percent cotton paper in your hands at the same time, you'll notice the 100 percent cotton paper feels richer, finer, and more professional.
Is feel important? Of course it is. When that employment manager picks up your resume, that's the first contact she has with you. She feels your resume even before she sees it. That's the first handshake. In an interview you would not offer the interviewer a limp, dead-fish handshake. Then why should your resume feel like a dead fish? It shouldn't. It should be a firm and confident handshake. Only 100 percent cotton paper can do the job.
What about color? There are only three acceptable colors: white, off-white or ivory, and gray. If you use off-white or ivory, be sure it is just a subtle tan. Don't go with any distinctly brown paper or any unusual tan color,- we've seen some so-called off-white paper that resembles a grocery bag. It should be very subtle. The same is true with gray: it should be subtle, and not silver.
Of course, it should go without saying that you'd never use any pastel colors or other weird shades, but we say it anyway, because we've heard about some strange paper requests for printing resumes (the most recent was a dark shade of blue).
What color is right for you? It really depends on your targeted audience. If you're pursuing a conservative profession like banking or the law, stick with white or maybe a very subtle off-white. If you're going into the business world, then any of the three colors is all right. If you're going into the entertainment or other artistic field, then you might decide to use gray or a slightly darker tan.
Does this whole color business make any difference? A recent study showed resume reviewers prefer off-white or ivory (probably because it's easier on the eyes when they're review ing more than eighty resumes each night).
- Matching Your Cover Letters.
Professional Resume Services
You can check the yellow pages in most telephone books and find numerous resume services in most American cities. Before you commit to using a professional service, you should ask to see some sample resumes, inquire about the paper used, see whether the service will electronically store your resume for future revision, and ask for a firm cost estimate. Prices will range from nine dollars for a typed resume with no copies to several hundred dollars for professional writing services.
If you wish to retain a professional writer, definitely ask for references, and check out the references before commit ting to the service. Ask for a price range on the phone. If the service refuses to give you a price range, stay away from that service!
Watch out for self-proclaimed experts. At many colleges and universities, you'll find scads of professional resume writer notices on bulletin boards. We once worked with a professional editor from New York who had paid a professional eighty dollars for resume-writing services. The resume she received was a disaster. So be careful. Ask the resume writer for his or her resume, as well as for references, and check those references out! Whether you use a professional service, hire a typist, or do it yourself, you should follow the instructions in this chapter on the techniques of resume production and reproduction. Some people might sniff at the notion that production makes a difference. But you've got to agree that the first contact an employment manager has with you is that moment when he touches your resume. He picks it up, feels it, and then begins to read it. Shake his hand, firmly and convincingly.
