A job seeker simply cannot succeed these days with just the traditional formatted resume intended to be printed out as a visually pleasing marketing piece. The formatted "print" resume is still important, but it can no longer be the only resume tool in your kit.

More than 80 percent of employers are now placing resumes directly into searchable databases and an equal percentage of employers prefer to receive resumes by e-mail. Eighty percent of Fortune 500 companies post jobs on their own Web sites -- and expect job seekers to respond electronically. All these stats mean that you need at least one other version of your resume that can go directly into a keyword-searchable database with no obstacles. Formatting that needs to be removed before the resume can be placed in a database is an example of such an obstacle.

Sending your resume in text-based format directly in the body of an e-mail message removes all barriers to an employer's placing your resume right into a searchable database. Some employers still prefer the formatted document version of your resume attached to an e-mail message, while others won't open attachments because of concerns about viruses and incompatibilities among word-processing programs. And since the formatted version of your resume is often delivered electronically as an attachment, it too can be considered a type of e-resume.

The formatted "print" resume is still vital because the employer may wish to visually review your resume, especially once the database search has narrowed down the candidates, and the formatted, print version will be more reader-friendly than the text-based version. You'll also want to have a print version of your resume on hand to take to interviews and career fairs and for occasions when employers request resumes in "old-fashioned" ways - by mail or fax.