Word Up!

I enjoy creativity by job-seekers. I love to be surprised by candidates - like receiving thank-you cards in the mail. Years ago, at the Stockton Leadership Summit (an event I truly miss), Ann Rhoades spoke about how she sent the CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, her resume wrapped around a bottle of Wild Turkey - a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey famously enjoyed by Mr. Kelleher.

That's creative. And it takes guts. Unless you have a time machine, you're Ann Rhoades, and you're sending it to Mr. Kelleher, I wouldn't recommend repeating this.

As much as I want you to be creative, don't be creative on how you write your resume.

Use Microsoft Word.


I don't care about the philosophical reasons why you won't use Microsoft products. I don't even care that you don't have Microsoft Office. The vast majority of companies use Microsoft Windows and Office.

If you must use another application, such as Google Docs, Apple's Pages, or even WordPerfect (believe it or not, WordPerfect still exists), be sure you save your resume as a file that can be easily opened Microsoft Word.

Oh, and in case you don't know the rest of the story; Ann Rhoades got the job at Southwest Airlines, had a fantastic career there and then went on to co-found JetBlue.