Create a Cover Letter and Résumé in One File with Word 97/2000

Job hunting electronically requires finesse. Keeping the cover letter with the résumé makes your Microsoft Word 97/2000 document easier to distribute and manage. It keeps the letter and résumé together (less chance of losing that impressive letter), and it's easier for your potential employer to print. This is one way to optimize your time and, maybe, impress your potential employer.

You can create the cover letter and résumé in two steps. The first step is to create separate sections for the letter and the résumé. The second step is to set the header and footer in the résumé to receive different information.

Note   You can use the same technique to create title pages, tables of contents, and other pages where you want different margins and headers and footers.

Create sections for a cover letter and résumé

Step 1 - Insert a section break

1. Click the place in your document where you want to insert a section break for the letter.
2. On the Insert menu, click Break.
3. Under Section break types (Section break in Word 97), click Next page.
   
   Tip   Click Show/Hide on the Standard toolbar to display the section breaks. This makes it easier to see where a section begins and to delete the section break.

Step 2 - Cancel Same as Previous in the header and footer

1. Click the first page of the résumé (section 2).
2. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
3. Click anywhere in the header, and then click the Same as Previous icon on the Header and Footer toolbar. (Same as Previous should disappear from the Header area.)
4. Repeat step 3 for the footer.

Once you set up separate sections, you can vary the layout from one page to the next and set different margins, page numbers, and other page formatting for the letter and the résumé. You can even apply different page settings on the same page if you divide the page into sections. When you set the margins and other page format settings, be sure you select the appropriate option (this section, this point forward, or whole document) in the Apply to box in Page Setup.

In this illustration, the cover letter uses a standard format for contact and other information (such as your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number) in the header and footer. The header and footer on the first page of the résumé are blank. The second page of the résumé includes the name of the applicant and the position sought in the header and the page number in the footer. Page 2 of the résumé is actually the third page in the document.

You can also visit the Microsoft Office Template Gallery - your resource for sample Word documents and templates. Choose from a variety of letters, résumés, and business forms that you can customize to fit your specific requirements.

"Keeping your cover letter and your résumé in one document makes good sense and is easy to do in Microsoft Word 97/2000. The trick is to create separate sections in the document for the letter and the résumé."

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