Preparing a resume was once relatively easy -- you typed the resume and that was is. The process has become vastly more complicated, however, and you may now need four different versions of your resume: print, scannable, electronic and Web.

The Print Resume

This is the traditional resume you would take to an interview and forward by mail or fax in response to a print advertisement. Your objective is a sharp, professional and visually attractive presentation that conveys a positive and upscale first impression.

The Scannable Resume In this plain-Jane version, the things that make your print resume look attractive -- bold, italics, columns, sharp-looking typestyle -- are stripped away. You want a document that can be easily read and interpreted by scanning technology. While technology continues to improve and many scanning systems can read a variety of type enhancements, accommodate the lowest common denominator by following these guidelines:

• Use a common, easily read font such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Don't use bold, italic or underlined type.
• Use a minimum of 11-point type size.
• Position your name, and nothing else, on the resume's top line.
• Keep the text left justified with a ragged right margin.
• Use common abbreviations, but when in doubt, spell it out.
• Eliminate graphics, borders and horizontal lines.
• Use plain round bullets or asterisks.
• Avoid columns and tables.
• Spell out symbols such as "%" and "&."
• Print using a laser printer on smooth white paper.
• If your resume is more than one page, print on only one side of the paper, and put your name, phone number and email address on the top of the second page. Don't staple the pages together.
• Mail your resume -- don't fax it -- and send it flat in a 9-by-12-inch envelope.

The Electronic Resume

Electronic resumes can take two forms:

Email attachment: When including your resume with an email, attach the word-processing file of your print resume. Since most businesses use Microsoft Word, this is the most acceptable format and will present the fewest difficulties when attached. However, given the variety in software, operating systems and printer drivers, your beautifully formatted resume could look quite different at the other end. To minimize glitches, use generous margins -- at least .75 inches all around -- don't use unusual typefaces and minimize fancy formatting.

ASCII text file: You'll find many uses for an ASCII version. You can avoid formatting problems by pasting your resume into an email message, you can cut-and-paste the text version into online job applications, and the text version is 100 percent scannable. To create a text version of your resume:

1. Create a new version of your resume using the "save as" feature of your word-processing program. Select "text only" or "ASCII" in the save-as option box, and then close the file.

2. Reopen the file. Your word processor has automatically reformatted your resume into Courier font, removed all formatting and left-justified the text.

3. Reset your margins to two inches left and right, so you have a narrow column of text rather than a full-page width. This margin will not be retained when you close the file, but you can adjust the text formatting for best screen appearance.

4. Review the resume and fix any odd characters that may have been inserted to take the place of curly quotes, accents or other nonstandard symbols.

The Web Resume

This newest evolution in resumes combines the visually pleasing quality of the print resume with the electronic resume's technological ease. You host your Web resume on your own Web site. With just one click, a viewer can access and print your Web resume. What's more, because the Web resume is such an efficient tool, you can include more information than you would in other versions. Consider separate pages for achievements, project highlights and technology qualifications.

To meet the demands of a technology-based job search as an executive candidate, you must prepare a portfolio of resumes that allows you to respond to each opportunity, no matter the method of resume presentation and transmittal.