Nobody likes looking for a job. It's a rite of passage that, for many, repeats itself over and over again - especially in the high-tech world. The resumes, the cover letters, the job ads, the calls, the interviews. No part of it seems agreeable. In the increasingly internetworked world we live in, the preferred mode of applying for a job is online. We've tailored our resume service to this approach.

Four for the Price of One
When you use our service, you'll get four versions of your resume:

1. The paper (or "dead-tree") version.
2. The original version in one of these formats: PageMaker, Word, HTML, FrameMaker, or Corel PrintOffice.
3. The Adobe Acrobat PDF version, and
4. A plain text version.

Why so many choices? Ultimately, we recognize the need for a printed version. People like to go to interviews with copies of their resumes. It's also ideal for job fairs and going door-to-door.

Thinking of the Future
We believe that your resume is yours, not ours, and we want you to be able to take a version home with you that you can edit yourself. That's why we offer so many formats. Take the original home and change it any way you like. Insert your friend's information and let them use it. Why are we so trusting? Because we believe the real reason you came to us was for the writing and design of the resume. People lose pieces of paper, and computer files disappear. That's why we'll always keep a copy of your resume on file for future reference. You only pay the $50 fee once - for a year after, updates are free although printed copies are extra. After that, you'll pay only $20 whenever you need a resume re-vamp. Forever!

If you intend to make changes to your resume in the future, you should choose a program you own and you're comfortable with. If anything should go wrong, you can always come back to DeskTop Chameleon.

Why PDF? 3 Excellent Reasons
1. PDF (Portable Document Format) files are created with Adobe Acrobat. PDFs are cross-platform and not dependent on the system being viewed on. That means a person with a Mac can read it just as easily as a person with a PC or a UNIX machine -- and it'll look exactly the same in every case. You can even put PDFs on the web -- most web browsers either include a PDF viewer or allow the plug-in to be installed. The PDF reader and plug-in are free from Adobe.com.

2. PDFs are very rapidly gaining acceptance in the print world. With the free Acrobat reader anyone can print a PDF file on any printer without having to install special fonts. We can even embed links to external documents such as web sites. Think of the power this gives you: With a single click, your future boss could be looking at a photo of your greatest achievement.

3. Security. Once created, only someone with Adobe Acrobat can edit your resume. With a Word file, it's much more likely for someone to steal your formatting. Of greater concern is the rising epidemic of identity theft.

A Note About Word Files
Microsoft Word^TM is a fantastic program and lots can be done with it in the hands of a skilled user. We can provide you with the Word version of your resume so that you can edit it yourself. However, hackers are well aware of the powerful macro abilities in Word and new "worm" viruses are appearing all the time because of this. Therefore, we do NOT recommend emailing the Word version of your resume. You may not even know a worm exists on your system or network, and when the damage is done it's too late. Best to play it safe and use a PDF or text file whenever necessary.

Some network administrators don't even allow Word files to be atached to emails (incoming or outgoing), because of the risk they pose to the network. Any program that uses macros may be at risk, but Microsoft programs are targets because of their popularity. All files we create are virus-checked before being delivered but we prefer to mail Word files on diskette, CD, or Zip disk.

Many placement firms or "headhunters" may ask you for your resume in Word format. While you shouldn't be concerned with emailing these people an easily edited version of your resume, you may want to email any Word files with a disclaimer saying that to your knowledge, the attachment does not contain a virus.

HTML - A Special Case
Not everyone will want this option. It's best if you're going to post your resume on a web site (perhaps even your own). The hypertext ability of HTML makes it easy to link additional information, photos, or even multimedia -- something that can't be done with a printed piece of paper. Because all browsers can read HTML, no plug-in is need to view it. Lastly, it makes a user appear more web-savvy. The Lowly Text File
In order to apply online, many sites (especially online job search engines) require a text version of your resume. To create this from a Word file or even a PDF can be quite time-consuming, and it's frustrating to have to lose your beautiful formatting. So rather than leave you in the cold having to cut, paste, and adjust, we've included a text-only version of your resume. It includes minimal formatting for clarity, and line breaks are made to fit in most standard text readers, such as Notepad or SimpleText. So it's a snap to open your text resume, highlight everything, copy and paste it into the site at which you're applying for a job.

At the top end, a resume can be a real achievement, a marriage of style and readability. At the lowest end, a text version will always suffice. In between, we'll help accommodate any situation you might encounter. We understand that a resume is not only the first opportunity to get your skills and experience seen, it's your first opportunity to impress a potential employer.