# Should resumes be on special paper anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069 "2024-12-02T16:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/21 "2024-12-03T15:13:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, and I was told to do that, and it worked well- sometimes they call in another person, and he/she doesnt have a copy. Having a copy to give them shows preparedness. And yes, it was on plain copier paper. I agree it’s a good idea to bring some extras copies. The last time I was interviewed face-to-face I brought extra copies of my resume just in case. I just found some of my old resume paper at my mother’s house last month and brought it home. Not sure why. I’ll probably toss it. It’s got to be about 25 years old at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/22 "2024-12-03T15:47:36Z")
Re **DrDeth** ’s anecdote about HR specialists: I can relate, because I could never figure out what employers wanted…I once failed an interview because I use Post-Its (the interviewer actually asked if I use them, I said yes, and I clearly saw she wrote “Uses Post-Its” in her notes). But the last several times I interviewed, I took extra copies just in case, and I was usually asked for one, because the interviewer was unprepared. But I haven’t used special bond paper probably since the early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/23 "2024-12-03T17:04:10Z")
I remember in the early 90s having two different resume versions depending on the job for which I was applying. By the mid-90s I had a PC and could make changes to my resume to exactly tailor it to the job and that was the end of special paper. My last job interview was in 2005 and I am fairly certain that I had a couple of extra copies to hand out if needed. It would have been crazy not to have them just in case. It’s tough to get through HR. I was able to bypass that in nearly all of my successful jobs because I knew someone on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/24 "2024-12-03T17:06:51Z")
Why would you print a resume on paper at all, unless you heading to an in-person interview or applying for a job at a paper company? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/25 "2024-12-03T17:09:44Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > unless you heading to an in-person interview Literally everyone who said that they printed it was for this exact reason. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/26 "2024-12-03T17:16:39Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Literally everyone who said that they printed it was for this exact reason. Except the OP. He talked about having copies in case he were talking to someone and an opportunity arose. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/27 "2024-12-03T17:18:04Z")
I did a lot of interviewing job candidates for a while, and i always got a PDF of the resume from HR. I’ve needed resumes for job applications and volunteer applications recently, and I’ve emailed or uploaded a PDF. But when I’ve gone to a potential job site in person, I’ve brought a paper copy, just in case. I own a decent printer, so that’s very cheap insurance. I don’t think I’ve ever actually given that paper copy to anyone, though. I just print it on whatever paper is in my printer. Even if i hand a paper copy to someone, they are going to want the PDF, and that’s what they will be interacting with when they consider me. So no, i don’t use fancy paper, and if you print yours on fancy paper i will probably never even know that as an interviewer. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/28 "2024-12-03T17:19:27Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Except the OP. He talked about having copies in case he were talking to someone and an opportunity arose. I missed that. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/29 "2024-12-05T04:15:26Z")
I guess no harm in having paper resume’s handy in your work bag or car just in case you actually meet someone that cares? And if you’re going to that much trouble, then special stock paper might impress that one in a million that cares. It’s kinda like business cards. In the US, does anyone give out business cards these days unless it is some kind of sales thing? I’m not even sure if it’s a thing throughout asia any more. Much more prevalent would be having your resume on LinkedIn and there and there trading the info with the recipients. As I wrote upthread, there’s no harm in printing out a resume on special paper. 99.9% sure there’s no upside either. And, if you’re looking for a job, “no harm, pitiful upside” is a decent rule of thumb ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069/30 "2024-12-06T22:20:50Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Snail mailing in has about as good a chance as email junk mail of getting read. I suppose if you’re going to go through all the trouble of “cold” mailing in a resume on the off chance it may get read, the special paper cost is negligible in the grand scheme of things. It might buy an extra 5 seconds with the recipient, if it ever gets that far. The chance is slim to none. There was one professor I knew who insisted that his students send paper resumes. Bad move. To get it into the system I’d have to scan it and then send the pdf to HR. Unless the student was a superstar (none were) why would I bother with that? Ditto if someone gave me a resume out in real life. Much better to get a business card or email so you can email in the resume with a reminder of your meeting and some words about why they should be interested in you. I did read some years back that the exception would be for some sort of artistic design job, where the resume would serve as a work sample. I’ve never been involved with that. As for carrying them to interviews, it wouldn’t hurt, but whenever we added an interviewer at the last minute we sent the resume to them before they met the candidate. Gives time to think of questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-resumes-be-on-special-paper-anymore/1011069.md?page=1)