How to make a plain text resume that survives the paste.
The application form gives you a big empty box where the upload button should be, and your designed PDF is no use there. What it wants is a plain text resume: just your words in a clear order, with no fonts, colours or layout left to get mangled on the way in.
When a plain text resume is the right file
Plain text isn't your everyday resume. It's the version for three situations:
- The form asks you to paste your resume into a box instead of uploading a file.
- The form fills in its own fields from your resume and makes a mess of a designed file.
- A recruiter asks for your resume in the body of an email.
Paste your resume into an application form without it falling apart
A text box keeps the characters and drops everything else, so the structure has to come from the characters themselves.
- Put your name on the first line and your contact details on the next.
- Write headings such as EXPERIENCE, EDUCATION and SKILLS in capitals, on their own lines. Capitals survive any paste; bold doesn't.
- Start bullets with a hyphen. Fancy bullet symbols can turn into question marks or boxes in some forms.
- Leave one blank line between sections and between jobs. It's the only spacing you can rely on.
- Don't line things up with tabs or spaces, because columns collapse in a text box. Put the job title, employer and dates on separate lines instead.
- Don't press Enter at the end of every line. Let the box wrap the text, or your paragraphs break in odd places.
Read it in the box before you hit submit
Check your pasted resume in the form's preview, or in the box itself. Look for garbled quotes, dashes or accented letters, and retype any that came out wrong. Then make sure the box didn't cut you off: some have character limits they don't announce until you hit them.
Keep the content the same as your PDF or Word version, because plain text changes the look, not the wording. And if your resume reads clearly as plain text, its content is in good shape for a parser.
Download the .txt already tailored, not converted by hand
In CVMagnet, tailor your resume to a job, then choose plain text in the download menu, next to PDF and Word. You get the tailored version directly, instead of converting a Word document yourself. The file follows the rules above: name and contact details at the top, headings in capitals, bullets that start with a hyphen, and a blank line between sections.
Free for resumes, and no card to try it
The plain text export is free for resumes. The free plan includes 3 tailored resumes a month — each with the keyword match and a full rewrite — and needs no credit card. Tailor one for the form in front of you, then download the .txt.
Frequently asked.
How do I make a resume TXT format file from Word?
In Word, use Save As and choose Plain Text (.txt). Then open the file and add capital-letter headings, hyphen bullets and a blank line between sections. That last step has to be done by hand, because plain text has no layout left to show where one section ends and the next begins.
Should I upload a plain text resume or a PDF?
When a form lets you upload a file, send a PDF or Word document rather than plain text, since it keeps your layout for the person reading it. Save plain text for the boxes where uploading isn't an option. Plain text is the fallback, not the default.
In what order does the plain text export put my sections?
A fixed order: summary, experience, education, any extra sections such as projects, then skills and certifications. A section with nothing in it is left out, rather than printed as an empty heading. Skills come out as one comma-separated line.
Can I export my cover letter as plain text too?
Yes. A cover letter can be exported as plain text too, which suits application forms with a separate cover letter box. Cover letters, including their plain text export, are part of Pro. If a form only has a box for your resume, you won't need one.
Tailor your resume to your next job.
Start free — no credit card. Paste the posting, upload your resume, and see exactly what changes before you send it.
Tailor my resume — free