What is the best way to send it to a hiring manager?

There are four versions of your résumé you will want to think about having ready, depending on the company you choose or the manner in which you apply.

The hard-copy version will be brought with you to interviews, distributed among hiring managers, mailed in response to a job posting, or faxed to a company. It is best to print your résumé and cover letter on white or off-white 24 lb. paper. It is not necessary to use a color unless that represents your talents in your industry. Check to make sure the copies are easily read and are neat in appearance. Purchase 9”x12” matching envelopes to mail your résumé without folding and to make it stand out on the recruiter's desk. If you use labels, buy the clear type so the address will appear to have been typed directly on the envelope.

A Microsoft Word format résumé can be used as an attachment in an email with a cover letter or in addition to a company's standard employment application. This file also becomes your working résumé where you can modify it to fit certain positions, update with recent experience or classes taken, and test new keywords for your success rate with scanners.

For job boards and companies that will not accept attachments, you will need an electronic (or ASCII) version of your résumé . How? Open your résumé in a word processor, select File-Save As and choose Text Only. This creates a .txt version of your résumé that you can spot in your files when cleaned up and saved. To remove stray characters that may have appeared, close the file, reopen it and edit out left over bullets and other graphic characters. You can use this file to cut and past into e-mails and web sites and it will automatically format itself.

PDF format gives you the greatest design freedom to load in graphics, bullets, and interesting spaces. Lock in your PDF and know that the recipient will open what you carefully crafted and sent.