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Since all my jobs were obtained in the 21st century, I have never in my life sent a resume by mail. Do I fold up the resume and cover letter and put it in an ordinary envelope, or is there some type of special legal way of doing it?

Thanks!

You should be printing your docs onto formal resume paper (the fancy, heavy-weight stuff) . Get paper with matching envelopes, not just "ordinary" envelopes.

just ordinary envelops - it's usually the assistant/ clerk who screens the letters ....

dont fold the resume. put it in a flat parcel. preferably of high quality

I've always sent my resumes in a large enough envelope (preferably matching the color of the resume paper, not a brown or manilla envelope) so that the resume does not have to be folded. Does it make a difference? In my experience, yes. First, not folding the resume means whoever opens it doesn't have to smoothe it out to read it. Second, the envelope itself, being large, is harder to "misplace" or get lost in a stack of standard sized envelope.

Spend a few extra pennies and get the bigger envelopes!

oh really, is it the custom?
In all my letters I folded my resume (unless I sent my writing sample as well).
my interview calls shoul dhave doubled if I had followed this custom ...

but you know ... when you have to send out 100 letters, then it's sort of expensive ....

Thanks guys, I'll grab some matching envelopes then. These are from family connections straight to the big cheese, so I want everything to be presented nicely.

hope u will get the job you want. you sounded dejected from some of your posts.

linquest wrote:You should be printing your docs onto formal resume paper (the fancy, heavy-weight stuff) . Get paper with matching envelopes, not just "ordinary" envelopes.

All the "advice" we got was to use regular paper. You'll be sending so many and employers look at so many that using expensive paper is both expensive and stupid.

Eh, all the "advice" my Career Services gives us is the opposite. That's the standard when I was a recruiter as well.
If presentation can make a difference, it's not "stupid" to spend a few extra pennies. But what do I know, I got my job with an application via Fed-Ex packaging....

but is it true that resume should never be folded?

Obsess more, weirdos.

Rolling up your resume and sending it in a mailing tube is also a great way to both avoid folding your resume and utilize packaging that won't get lost in a stack of standard sized envelopes.

linquest wrote:Eh, all the "advice" my Career Services gives us is the opposite. That's the standard when I was a recruiter as well.
If presentation can make a difference, it's not "stupid" to spend a few extra pennies. But what do I know, I got my job with an application via Fed-Ex packaging....

::shrug::

amyamy wrote:oh really, is it the custom?
In all my letters I folded my resume (unless I sent my writing sample as well).
my interview calls shoul dhave doubled if I had followed this custom ...

Well, like the OP, I've obtained most of my jobs without paper resumes - high tech companies tend to see paper resumes as quaint artifacts of a bygone era.

However, if the company or firm you're applying to requests a paper resume, then it should definitely be as presentable as possible. You don't absolutely have to follow those customs I outlined, but its a case of "can't hurt and can only help." Just like you don't HAVE to print your resume on top-quality paper, but it can't hurt.

Think of it this way - what is more compelling to you? A generic form letter blasted out from a school that addresses you as "Dear Applicant," or a letter that addresses you by name and is signed by an actual human being? Maybe you're one of those that treats each equally, in which case it didn't matter what method the school chose. More likely, you're one of those finds the less generic letter slightly more compelling, in which case it did matter which method the school chose.

Just as you're blasting out perhaps hundreds of resumes to numerous firms in the hopes of landing one job, each of those firms is reviewing hundreds and hundreds of resumes for the same position you're trying to get. Now, maybe a slightly higher quality paper and flat envelope isn't going to get you a job, and it may not even get you any more notice than any other applicant. But at some places, with some people, it can help - maybe it'll get your resume pulled first from the stack ahead of someone else with similar qualifications. With some people, it at least gives the impression (even if not truly genuine) that you are personally interested in that particular firm, and not just blasting out countless copies of your resume without caring which firm takes you.

It'll matter to those people and firms that it matters, and won't matter to those that it doesn't. Conversely, cheaping out on paper and envelope will matter (negatively) to some, and won't matter to those that don't care at all. Since you don't know the difference (and you definitely don't want to call up a firm and ask whether your paper quality and envelope size matter), pay a few extra dollars and get good quality paper (not necessarily the most expensive or absolutely highest quality) and good quality envelopes. (Seriously - after shelling out the tens of thousands of dollars to pay for your law education, not to mention the money you're planning to make once you get hired, paper and envelopes for your resume are not the right thing to start cutting corners on.) Make it look like you care about your application and resume, and care about how the firm perceives you. Because if you don't care how the firm perceives you, they may perceive you don't care about the firm.

Matching envelopes, special paper, no folding? Seriously? I sent all my resumes on regular paper, in regular old envelopes (pull-and-stick, even), folded up like a normal letter. I had no trouble getting a job.

I've also been responsible for hiring people before, and the resume and paper never helped anyone get a job. In fact, there were a few applications we thought were fairly comical because the applicant put so much effort into presentation when there was clearly no substance in the resume to back it up. Did they think we'd somehow be blinded by the quality envelope and not notice that they were completely unqualified? Even when the applicant wasn't unqualified, if their resume paper was fancy, we started with a rebuttable presumption (sorry, too much law school) that they were trying too hard to cover up some deficiency.

In other words, no one you want to work for is going to be impressed because you buy nice paper and don't fold your resume.

Tailoring your letters to the specific employer, however, matters a lot. It doesn't take that long to find out if the firm just won a big case or got voted "top products litigation firm" by some publication. Spend your time doing research instead of going to the paper store.

now I feel grateful ... to god, for helping to land the job I want the most...
I used ordinary, generic paper and envelops, and folded each letter twice (due to the envelop size)

(as biglaw is out of the question anyway)

I am convinced after your post...
and am glad that I realized it in my first year.

what about 2L job hunting -- do most firms prefer real paper?

I used ordinary paper and envelopes and, shockingly, it worked (for a judicial internship). I also tailored most of my letters, except for the judge who offered me a job, which was totally generic. Maybe they are nervous about stalkers...

I used generic paper in my letter to the jduge too!!!

amyamy wrote:now I feel grateful ... to god, for helping to land the job I want the most...
I used ordinary, generic paper and envelops, and folded each letter twice (due to the envelop size)

(as biglaw is out of the question anyway)

I am convinced after your post...
and am glad that I realized it in my first year.

what about 2L job hunting -- do most firms prefer real paper?

Again, you probably applied to a firm that didn't care about format. Substance over style, and that's good.

You can always call a prospective employer, without giving your name, and ask how they prefer resumes to be sent. If they say paper or electronic is acceptable and paper is preferred, you do paper - don't ever, ever, fall into the trap of using a non-preferred method even if they say it's okay. There's a reason they say "preferred." Same goes for "electronic submissions preferred" - this indicates that they have tools for scanning resumes for specific terms and phrases, and your paper submission is just going to require that they OCR it and/or have someone actually read through it that didn't want to read through it. You'll never hear anyone prefer faxed submissions - so don't even consider it.

If they genuinely don't have a preference for either paper or electronic submission, that likely indicates that an electronic submission is going to be printed out first and then handed to the person reviewing resumes. In which case, you may as well submit by paper and be able to control the quality of your submission.

Hitachi wrote:I used ordinary paper and envelopes and, shockingly, it worked (for a judicial internship). I also tailored most of my letters, except for the judge who offered me a job, which was totally generic. Maybe they are nervous about stalkers...

Just goes to show that there's a wide variety of preferences when it comes to hiring practices. Having done the job of reviewing resumes and selecting candidates for interviews, I can say that I wouldn't particularly care about paper quality or folding either. But that's MY preference and I would never advise anyone that what works for me is sufficient for anyone else out there in a hiring position.

It seems to me that everyone that says resume paper is really important are students and CSO's, while everyone saying that they don't really care are actual employers. If you do use resume paper just make sure it photocopies well.

Ever wondered why CSOs tend to get sweet consulting gigs in the resume paper industry after retiring?