How to Customize Documents Based on Professional Resume

• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SUMMARY

This article describes how to customize documents based on the Professional Resume template and Resume Wizard supplied with Word.

This article is divided into the following sections:

• Adding additional information (another job, more education)
• Moving the categories (Objective, Experience, and so on)
• Moving the address
• Changing the alignment of dates, company name, and place
• Changing the formatting of styles
• Changing the bullet style
• How it works

MORE INFORMATION

The Professional Resume uses frames for most of its formatting. This is an unusual use of frames. If you want to make a few changes to documents created by this template, go ahead. But if you want to make a document that is easier to modify, a Web page is available that gives complete instructions on using Word to create an easily modified resume.

You can obtain this Web page from Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet at the following location:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/products/office/word.htm

   http://www.microsoft.com

Adding Additional Information (Another Job, More Education)

To add another job title:

1. Put the insertion point where you want the information to appear.

2. Press ENTER to create a blank line. Move the insertion point to the new blank line.

3. Click the down arrow in the Style box on the Formatting Toolbar. Select Job Title.

4. Type the job title. Press ENTER. The next line is automatically formatted with the Achievement style, and a bullet appears.

1. Put the insertion point where you want the information to appear.

2. Press ENTER to create a blank line. Move the insertion point to the new blank line.

3. Click the down arrow in the Style box on the Formatting Toolbar. Select Institution.

4. Type the dates of attendance. Press TAB. The insertion point moves to the middle of the line. Type the name of the institution. Press TAB. The insertion point moves to the right edge. Type the city and state.

5. Press ENTER. The next line is automatically formatted with the Achievement style, and a bullet appears.

The category titles (Objective, Experience, Education, Interests, and Resume Tips) are all enclosed within frames. A frame allows you to specify exactly where on the page a paragraph will appear.

1. On the View menu, click Page Layout.

2. Click the category you want to move (for example, click "Objective").

3. On the Format menu, click Frame.

4. To move Objective right or left, click the Horizontal Position box. Type the number of inches from the left edge of the PAPER that you want the word to appear.

5. Click OK.

1. On the View menu, click Toolbars.

2. Select the Drawing toolbar. Click OK.

3. On the Drawing Toolbar, click the Snap to Grid button. (It's the fourth button from the right).

4. Clear the Snap To Grid check box. Click OK.

Moving the Address

To change where the addresses appear, see the section titled "To move the categories (Objective, Experience, and so on)". To change the formatting of the addresses, see the section titled "Change formatting of styles," and modify the styles named "Address 1" and "Address 2."

To add more lines to the addresses, click the "[Click here and type address]" area, type the address, and press ENTER to create a new line. The top of the address will stay put. If you add several lines, however, all the text below the address will move down the page.

Changing the Alignment of Dates, Company Name, and Place

The lines that refer to employment places are formatted with the Company Name paragraph style. The paragraph style includes a definition for tab placement. By modifying the tabs in the style definition, you automatically change all the paragraphs formatted with this style.

1. Click a paragraph whose alignment you want to change.

2. On the Ruler is a small black "L" at the 1.5 inch mark. Drag this "L" to where you want the centered text to start.

3. A backwards "L" appears at the right edge of the ruler. Drag this "L" to the place where you want the right edge of text to be.

4. Once the text in this line is aligned to your satisfaction, use the following steps to change the style definition so that all the other paragraphs with this style change also:

   a. Highlight (select) the paragraph or a portion of the paragraph.

   b. In the Formatting toolbar, click the style name. (The style name

         is "Company Name").
   

   c. Press ENTER.

   d. The Reapply Style dialog box appears. Select "Redefine the style

         using the selection as an example," and click OK.
   

   All the other paragraphs change.

Changing the Formatting of Styles

To change the formatting of styles used in this template:

1. Click on a paragraph whose style formatting you want to change.

2. Change the formatting of the paragraph.

3. Once the text in this paragraph is formatted correctly, use the following steps to change the style definition so that all the other paragraphs with this style change also:

   a. Select the paragraph or a portion of the paragraph.

   b. In the Formatting toolbar, click the style name.

   c. Press ENTER.

   d. The Reapply Style dialog box appears. Select "Redefine the style

         using the selection as an example," and click OK.
   

   All the other paragraphs with this style applied change to match the new formatting.

Changing the Bullet Style

The bullets used in the template are square bullets. Several other bullet styles are available.

1. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering.

2. Click the Modify button.

3. Choose a bullet from the row of Bullet Characters, or click the Bullet button and select another bullet. By changing the font name in the Symbols From list, different bullets are available. When you've found the character you want to use for a bullet, click OK.

   The bullets used throughout the document do not change.

4. To change the bullets used in the document, highlight each paragraph that uses a bullet. (Since you cannot select all the paragraphs that use bullets at once, select those paragraphs that are adjacent, and repeat steps 5-7 as needed.)

5. Click the Bullets button. The bullets are removed from the paragraphs.

6. Click the Bullets button again. The new bullets appear.

How It Works

The text along the left edge of the paper (Objective, Experience, and so on) is lined up within frames which are anchored to neighboring paragraphs. A very large left margin (2.75 inches) ensures that the body of the resume is indented to the right. Styles ensure consistent formatting for similar elements (Job Title, Company Name, and so on). The areas that say "[Click here and type objective]" are created with the use of macrobutton fields that call a non-existant macro named "NoMacro." This is a clever way of making the whole field selected when you click anywhere on it. Since the "Typing Replaces Selection" option is usually enabled, the instructions will disappear as soon as the you start typing.

                                                    Macrobutton field
                                                    |
                                                    |
                                                    v
                          -----------------------------------------------
                         |
                         |                        [Click here and type...]
                         |
                         |         Max Benson
Paragraph border-------> |         --------------------------------------
                         |
Frames-----------------> |         Objective
     |                   |
     |                   |
      -----------------> |         Experience     1990-1994      Arbor Shoe
Styles-----------------> |                        National Sales Manager
     |                   |                        * Increased sales from
      -----------------> |                        * Doubled sales per
                         |