Step 3: Limit Line Lengths in Your Resume

Because each type of email software limits the number of characters and spaces per line, your email may have a longer line length than the receiver of your email. This can cause the employer to see line wraps in unusual places, making your resume document look odd and even illogical.

To avoid this problem, limit each line to no more than 65 characters (including spaces), as this is a conservative line length. Here's an easy way to make line length changes in your document:

MS Word 2007

1. Open the Plain Text version of your resume from within MS Word. Here's how to do that: Click the Office button in the upper left corner of your MS Word window; click Open in the left column; and use the browser to find and open (with Windows Default selected) the Plain Text version of your resume.
2. Select the entire document and change the font to Courier, 12 pt.
3. Go to Page Layout in your toolbar; click on Margins and select Custom Margins at the bottom of the pull-down menu. In the Page Setup window that appears, set the left margin at 1 inch and the right margin at 1.75 inch.

MS Word 97-2003

1. Open the Plain Text version of your resume from within MS Word. Here's how to do that: Click the Start Button, select All Programs, and click MS Word. In the File drop-down menu select Open, find and select the Plain Text version of your resume, and click Open.
2. Select the entire document and change the font to Courier, 12 pt.
3. Go to File in your toolbar and select Page Setup; set the left margin at 1 inch and the right margin at 1.75 inch.

With the left and right margins set under these conditions, each line of your document will be no more than 65 characters and spaces.

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