iWork for Writing Resume

[dingdongbubble]

Hi

I was wondering if iWork would be a useful tool for writing resumes or not. Are the templates in it really good or would I be better off looking elsewhere. I am going to be making my first resume soon so I was wondering if it would be a good idea to buy iWork for it or not.

Secondly I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if iWork would be useful for making posters and handouts and stuff. I might be starting a new student club at my university and since I am pretty useless when it comes to designing and artistic stuff I thught maybe getting iWork and using its templates would be really good until I can get a volunteer to do some serious stuff.

 

[Arn1499]

As far as writing resume's, any word processor will do - just be professional and neat and clean with it all, it doesn't really matter what program you use - there's templates for all

For posters though, Pages is far better then anything I've used personally. The built in templates are very nice and easily customizable. I think they have most of them shown at the iWord page.

 

[dingdongbubble]

Resumes: Well this is my first resume and first job and since its going to be harder to get I want the resume to look professional and since I dont have much of an idea about this I wanted something like a pre-designed template where I just fill in my information.

oh and lets assume that all the prospective employers use MS Office. I know you can convert documents to an MS Office compatible format but does the formatting stay consistent and not too different from how I made the document. I know Apple claims that it should be fine but what about the real world?

 

[devburke]

Resumes: Well this is my first resume and first job and since its going to be harder to get I want the resume to look professional and since I dont have much of an idea about this I wanted something like a pre-designed template where I just fill in my information.

oh and lets assume that all the prospective employers use MS Office. I know you can convert documents to an MS Office compatible format but does the formatting stay consistent and not too different from how I made the document. I know Apple claims that it should be fine but what about the real world?

I used it to write a resumé once, the layouts are very professional-looking. As for compatibility, for things like resumés you should be fine, more advanced formats like posters and stuff could potentially have a few hiccups, but I haven’t done it so I can’t say for sure.

 

[beaner454]

As far as compatibility goes I just export my resumes to PDF. The employer doesn't need to be able to edit your resume and it basically guarantees that it will look the same on their screen as it does on yours.

But I always use Pages for resumes they look great and are easy to edit. The only problem is that all of the templates tend to be space inefficient. What could be said on 1 page in a typical resume usually takes up 2 in pages.

 

[dingdongbubble]

Wow this sounds excellent.

I would just like to confirm a couple more things:
1. There are templates made by Apple already in iWork for resumes right?
2. Templates in Numbers for keeping track of expenses and purchases?

 

[tallguy]

Wow this sounds excellent.

I would just like to confirm a couple more things:
1. There are templates made by Apple already in iWork for resumes right?
2. Templates in Numbers for keeping track of expenses and purchases?

Yes to both.

 

[ceezy3000]

Resumes: Well this is my first resume and first job and since its going to be harder to get I want the resume to look professional and since I dont have much of an idea about this I wanted something like a pre-designed template where I just fill in my information.

oh and lets assume that all the prospective employers use MS Office. I know you can convert documents to an MS Office compatible format but does the formatting stay consistent and not too different from how I made the document. I know Apple claims that it should be fine but what about the real world?

No i have first hand experience with this. Try not to get Too fancy. If you do you might want to save it as a pdf which is pretty much universal and any os can open it up.

 

[dingdongbubble]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I got iWork and checked out the resumes and liked a couple of them. I also found a template for the expenses thing.

For the expenses I am looking at the Checking register template. Since this is my first time keeping a record of transactions I have a few questions:
Should I make a new file for every month? Like should I open up Numbers and open a fresh checking register template every month?
If I wanted to send this report thing to someone every month which would be the best way to do so? PDF? Is that possible?
Why are the amounts in brackets?
Is there some iPod touch extension? So if I am away from my Mac and I make a purchase I can record it on my iPod touch and it automatically syncs with this file when I get home and connect my iPod to the Mac.

 

[mysterytramp]

For the expenses I am looking at the Checking register template.

The check register template, because it handles deposits and withdrawals, might be more complicated than you need. There is an expense report template that's geared to recording expenses.

Since this is my first time keeping a record of transactions I have a few questions:
Should I make a new file for every month? Like should I open up Numbers and open a fresh checking register template every month?

Personal preference, or probably more important, the preference of the people paying the expenses.

If I wanted to send this report thing to someone every month which would be the best way to do so? PDF? Is that possible?

You can create a PDF as in other Mac apps ... Just hit print, you'll see the PDF button and from there you can save the file as a PDF.

Why are the amounts in brackets?

You mean the parentheses? Those are deductions from the checking account in the template.

Is there some iPod touch extension? So if I am away from my Mac and I make a purchase I can record it on my iPod touch and it automatically syncs with this file when I get home and connect my iPod to the Mac.

I don't believe there's a way to read/sync iWork documents on an iPod/iPhone although I'm sure there are several ways to record the data.

mt

 

[miles01110]

A resume that depends on formatting as it's "sticking point" is a bad resume. Save it as a PDF as someone suggested to preserve formatting if you must, but good content and a logical method of presentation are much more important.

Also keep in mind that a lot of places have you upload your resume and then their web app (taleo or whatever) parses it and pulls your info from it to put into automated fields. PDFs usually don't work as well as doc or txt files for these types of things.

 

[nddomer]

Resumes with Pages Help!!!

I am new to pages. I cannot seem to figure out how to create borders or section dividers that can be filled with color. Specifically; I'm working on a resume. I'm trying to create rectangle shaped sections with quarter inch to half inch sized borders that I can color. Inside these sections I intend the various parts of the resume information. Can anyone help?

 

[MisterMe]

I am new to pages. I cannot seem to figure out how to create borders or section dividers that can be filled with color. Specifically; I'm working on a resume. I'm trying to create rectangle shaped sections with quarter inch to half inch sized borders that I can color. Inside these sections I intend the various parts of the resume information. Can anyone help?

The best help is to thoroughly reread and understand miles01110's post immediately above.

I will repeat: Ornate formatting is not the sign of a good résumé. Try to locate the résumé of a professional in your field, study its formatting [or lack thereof], and use it as a template. You may also find an excellent resource for properly formatted résumés here.