Being a curious fellow about the growth of the Linux market, I occasionally browse job lists looking to see what companies are seeking related to Linux skills. More often than not there are several job listings seeking people with “strong Linux administration” and other skills that are specific to or most often found with Linux and Unix “guru” types. Then at the bottom of the employer’s list of requirements one will often see something like, “Qualified candidates should forward their Word formatted resume …” What?! Word? As in Microsoft Word? Are they looking for Linux experts or not?
When are human resources (HR) people going to realize that most Linux folk are not Microsoft fanatics nor Microsoft serfs? The true Linux guru will most likely be able to use Word just fine, if he has it at all. Sure, he can pull up his resume’ written with LaTeX or OpenOffice.org and Save as Word format. I know this. But is it not showing foul ignorance and grotesque insensitivity on the part of these HR people to insist on Word format? There are so many open and pseudo-open standards to use, why ask for a closed, moving target like Microsoft Word format? It can be seen as, and has been seen as, an insult to the person with hard earned GNU/Linux skills.
What I see when I read these requests for Word format documents is ignorance. Gigantic, pimple on the nose of HR, ignorance. Which I find tragic in this day of a growing Linux job market. HR people, here is a clue for you. With the “free” OpenOffice.org Writer, LaTeX or many other open source document creation tools on a GNU/Linux system the GNU/Linux guru you seek can create a PDF for you. At this point PDF is a well understood, fairly static, document format that has “free” viewers across almost all operating systems. All one need do to get a viewer for this format on the typical HR Microsoft desktop is go to Adobe’s web site and click on the button seen below:
Click it now!
Why not ask for plain ASCII text? That is a file format that will not change at Microsoft’s whim with the next release of Microsoft Word. After all, a resume’ has a fairly standard layout that can easily be duplicated with a plain text document. Any decent word processor, or even Microsoft Word, can open plain text documents.
For all you decision makers that are choosing Microsoft Word I will leave you with these thoughts. Using open standards or relatively unchanging formats for documents helps future proof one’s documents. There is no guarantee that Microsoft’s next release of Microsoft Word will be backward compatible with your documents written with an older version of Microsoft Word. The next release of Microsoft Word will certainly not create documents by default that are backward compatible with an older Microsoft Word. Adopt open standard file formats that are not under the control of a single entity. Then ask your Linux guru candidate for her resume’ in that open format. You will be seen more favorably as a place that “gets it” about GNU/Linux and as a good place to work if you do.
Edit Wed Mar 4 17:13:23 UTC 2009: Make counter visible.
Edit Wed Mar 4 20:35:53 UTC 2009: Add URL for Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols blog article at ComputerWorld Blogs.
Edit Thu Mar 5 01:11:55 UTC 2009: The gist of this article is “closed file format = bad in the long term, open file format = good in the long term”. The HR illustration is merely an amusing attention grabber.
This article has been accessed this many times:
| online mba programs |
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Hilarious!! But oh so True!!
Well said. Well said.
At the very least, these HR people should say word/openoffice(.doc) or .pdf format. Instead of calling on just the product name itself.
Like it or not, .doc is the defacto standard (for now), and I’m willing to recognize it for that. That being said, openoffice.org opens and writes to .doc just fine, and it exports to .pdf (an ISO standard format) just fine, so this is not such a bad thing.
But the real kicker is when people start assuming that the “Word” format means that .doc is the same as .docx(OOXML format)… That’s where the problems will start - at least until Openoffice.org and other ODF compatible word processing programs can do as much with OOXML(.docx) as they do with the defacto(.doc).
Wow. Document formats… Such a fun thing to talk about eh? It’s too bad it wasn’t more interesting to more government agencies in the U.S. - it certainly needs to be.
Go Freedom! Go GNU/Linux!!
Shannon VanWagner
Help promote Linux! Surf the web with it!
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Silly.
If HR were clued in enough to know not to ask for.doc format, they wouldn’t need to hire IT staff.
They use Office, it’s all they know. I hate MS and HR like all good geeks, but shooting fish in a barrel is boring.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Shannon (comment #1), thank you for your comment. I think it is important to talk about document formats. Intelligent discussion of the problem is healthy and may lead to attitude changes about document formats across all industry, not just in IT.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Captain (comment #2), it is not “silly” to attempt to bring about discussion on document formats. HR is merely one example out of many I could use.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Heck, I’d be tickled if they would accept RTF. But I guess it is way to complicated importing alternative file formats into Word.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Why should HR deviate from the process they use for all their other positions just to cater to the biases (limitations?) of a subset of Linux administrators? Word is what they know, Word is what they use. It doesn’t even occur to them to ask for anything else, nor should it, since everybody–even Linux administrators–can generate Word-compatible documents. Chances are, you could send them a reasonably common alternative (e.g. plain text, or PDF) and they wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Of course, since they have the job to offer, they can ask for whatever format they want. If you want the job bad enough, you’ll find a way.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
You can run Word 97 to 2007 on Linux… I get your point butif you do need MS Office on Linux or BSD it’s pretty easy these days.
http://bordeauxgroup.com/
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
This is similar to job websites that only work in IE. Companies like Boeing who are looking for tech savy college students can’t expect everybody to be using IE.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
dveatch (comment #5) and Steve (comment #6), frankly using Microsoft Office (Word) is bad all around. It creates proprietary, closed format files by default. I am working for a sea change across all industry to drop closed, proprietary file formats for open file formats. Not just HR, but all business units that are suffering from Microsoft Office lock-in. The vast majority of business documents could be created with OpenOffice.org and saved in ODF. An open, non-proprietary file format. The less than 1% of Microsoft Office users calling themselves “power users” can keep using that if they just cannot become an OpenOffice.org “power user”.
HR is just one business unit that could benefit from open, non-proprietary file formats.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Tom (comment #7), I am aware of the tools to run Microsoft Windows based applications on GNU/Linux. I am not a fan of those tools. I am a “go cold turkey to get off the Microsoft heroin” person. There are many smart IT folk that can help a business figure out a cost effective way to get off proprietary tools and move to open tools. Word processor Document creation is one of the basics that can be switched relatively easily. We just need enough people to realize it needs to be done across all industry and then have the “guts” to do it. I am merely “picking on HR” because I notice it a lot in these job offerings.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Maybe it’s just me, but what sort of Linux expert isn’t able to fire up open office, abiword or the like to produce a word doc. If you can’t be bother to do that you really don’t need the job.
Lots of places run windows on the desktop, and linux in the back end. The last thing that will convert these sort of shops is a linux bigot who can’t even lower himself to use the “save as” menu on his word processor…. You convert these place by being the helpful guy who finds handy linux solutions, and converts them to open office before trying to convert to linux.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Ben (comment #8), the problem is a lot of industry does expect everyone to be using one proprietary Microsoft application or another. We need more writing and discussion about open formats and proof that moving to open formats can be cost effective and beneficial in the long term. I am attempting to add a little weight to the side of open formats here. The last paragraph of the article is the key to my argument.
My goal is not to change just HR, but to change all business units to open file formats.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Surloc (comment #11), you missed the point. The point is that closed, proprietary file formats that lock-in to a single vendor are bad for business. I use one example to illustrate that point. Sure, I state the obvious that it is insulting to many talented Linux folk to require “Word format” but that is not the gist of the article. The last paragraph is the key to the article.
I do not excuse HR or anyone for sticking with a closed, proprietary file format whatever the “reasons” given. In this day of “free” open file format software there is no valid excuse to stick with Microsoft’s closed file formats. Company’s and individuals do so due to inertia and because “everyone else does it”. If all your friends jumped off a cliff to die on the jagged rocks below I guess that is a good reason for you to do so. Correct?
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I now send resumes as PDFs.
Why? Well when I sent then as MS-Word I found some head-hunters and even some corporate recruiters were altering them.
Yes, PDFs can be altered, but it takes a lot more tech know-how.
And while the same .doc file may render and/or print differently with different versions of MS-Word (or event not open or no print!), the PDF looks just the same on heir screen and printer as it does on mine.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
The gist of this article is “closed file format = bad in the long term, open file format = good in the long term, and how to be a douche about”.
I’m kidding of course. HR people have no more control over their OS and backend tech than the rent-a-receptionist fielding the front desk. Most of the software in that domain is not only made for windows, but probably uses a MS backend to index the documents for full text and metadata enabled searches.
Wanna complain? Complain about war and famine, or to the authors of HR software, or write your own, or advocate an existing FOSS HR solution when you interview. Don’t advocate acrobat reader! HR specialists read resumes as much as you “read google”.
Peace out,
F
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Steve (comment #6) yes it’s true that HR can ask for whatever format they want, but if they are looking for Linux experts then HR should allow the applicants to submit their resumes in a format that is easily created in Linux. And as the article mentions that HR wants Word formatted resume, Word is not a document format, it is an application name. Heck .txt is a Word format, I would send that just to make a point. HR should be specific on what formats they want, not the application it was used to created it.
on Mar 4th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I know a fair amount of Windows users who don’t use word or office //*go Linux*/.
myself, i wrote my resume with vi in html, looks nicer, and you can do more with it + everyone can view it. .doc is for the average “inmate” who can’t see through their “longhorn” conditioning.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 12:07 am
The word doc thing always made me chuckle/sigh/fume (depending on my mood), but it’s no big deal. What really irritates me is how many “linux admin” jobs list requirements like active directories expertise or MSSQL experience. How many platforms do I need to master? Never mind that I have to have mastered every scripting language O’Reilly ever published a book on…
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 3:02 am
um… txt files won’t work. 2 words. line endings. If I’m on a *nix box they’ll be different from windows. and although most *nix editors are smart enough to read both, the same is not true of windows.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Of course, PDF *is* actually an “open” and publicly available ISO standard since July 2008: ISO 32000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pdf
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 4:10 am
They want .doc because it’s easier to modify than .pdf.
And why do they need to modify it? That’s easy: they remove all your personal information from it and forward it to companies who might be interested. That’s how recruiters make themselves “necessary” and that’s how they get their money.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Interesting, but the world does not always do what you want, BETA Video’s were technically better than VHS but VHS became the defacto standard. Why ? Because most, the vast majority used it.
Open Standards i a nice idea, but the “industry standard” like it or not is MS Office.
As has been pointed out before its easy to go after the HR people they are an easy “soft” target.
But expecting the world to adopt any standard for any other reason apart from its popularity is a losing battle.
And if you cant get a Open Source office package like OO.o to create a .doc file mabey you should not be applying for the job in the first place.
Move on, nothing to see here time to get over trying to convince people to do wha you want them to do and.
Good or not people will use what people use, its the way of the world.
But crying because some HR person is not a open source freak (99% of the world ar not) is well kinda shallow.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Part of the problem, beyond the obvious “we’ve always just asked for ‘word’” inertia and “we had no idea that there was anything beyond word” myopia, is HR dept’s that value formatting over content. When asking for “word”, the real request is “we want a neatly formatted, well laid out resume, that is visually appealing”.
This is the same problem that results in pointy haired bosses everywere sending a memo as a word document or worse yet powerpoint presentation, resulting in a 500K email to 4000+ individuals, when the sum total of the content of the email is about 500 ascii characters and could have easily been a plain text email. But the plain text email did not “look” important enough, so…..
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 8:18 am
I sent a resume to Red Hat in Abiword format from their distribution release and their HR department complained that it was not a Microsoft Word .doc file. I have a friend, who works there, that was in the loop and he converted it for them. Now that I find a little retarded.
But on the whole HR departments are not trained in knowing what formats are what. If there was an open standard that would be nice, but MS Word gets the business because they all use it.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 8:27 am
A job application, resume or CV is a read-only document to anyone who receives it. On that basis alone, it should never be submitted as a word processor file. That such files can contain “comments” and “old drafts” that a skilled person can interrogate makes the word processor format an even worse choice. Even if one accepts that word processor files are marked up content, there is no error-free way to use the markup of resume as a database. The XML markup languages designed for job applications (such as XML Resume Library) are infinitely better suited for that task.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 8:40 am
#14 Says:
\I now send resumes as PDFs.
Why? Well when I sent then as MS-Word I found some head-hunters and even some corporate recruiters were altering them.\
And if they insist on MS Word. I ask why.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Caleb (comment #19), Sure plain text will work. Take a look at these two commands: unix2dos, dos2unix. After creating your ASCII text file on Linux with vim just run it through unix2dos to turn the LF endings into CR+LF endings.
Edit Thu Mar 5 15:11:21 UTC 2009: I forgot about the GUI nedit editor. One can use that to create the plain text resume’, or any other plain text document, then use its Save feature to save the text in DOS, Unix or “Macintosh” text format. It even has a feature to “Add line breaks where wrapped” during save.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Aww, Check your spam filter. I had a cute and meaningful comment but used “the german word for shower”. Lost forever due to a lame filter.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 11:39 am
While I understand the irony, here, I also see why (practically speaking) requests like this are likely.
First, you have to leave aside the issue of OOXML being cancerous, and people continuing to blindly ask for things using Microsoft-specific product names rather than file formats. Yes, it’s a bad practice, but it misses the point, if we’re talking about “Why does this happen”, which seemed to be the reason for your post.
If the question is the one I just mentioned, then it’s easy to see why it happens. You have a boss asking a non-technologist to collect documents from random people. He or she will have to review them, forward them, and read them. He or she knows that MS Word is what people use to write their resume’s, so that’s what they ask for.
If (prior to getting hired), you let that get you irritated, and give them a plain-text version, they may see it as an example of unprofessionalism (warranted or not). Sure, it’s unfair, but if you’re looking for a job, it’s probably a good idea to demonstrate your willingness to provide what’s requested first.
Once you *have* the job, you can play the part of the advocate and start educating people. Casually mentioning the zero licensing cost of OpenOffice and the fact that you never have to worry about the BSA wanting to count the number of installed copies of MS Office can be a good ice-breaker.
As I said, I understand the ridiculousness, but we’re still not at a point where the people looking at your resume realize what they’re doing.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Frank (comment #28), you mean “dusche“? Your comment is here and uses the French word for shower my friend.
FYI, we do not have a “spam filter” on comments. All comments are held in a comment queue and approved or removed by a moderator. Obvious “spam” is sent to a spam blocker. If you had hit the spam blocker you would not even be able to create a comment here.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Lame. I nominate your article for a “wasted bandwidth of the day award”.
on Mar 5th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Paul (comment #31), thank you for such an insightful and thought provoking comment. Oh, wait, you just “wasted bandwidth” too did you not? Were you being ironic? No? Well, I am being sarcastic.
on Mar 6th, 2009 at 12:15 am
[...] Linux System Administrator Wanted - Send Word Resume’ – The ERACC Web Log When are human resources (HR) people going to realize that most Linux folk are not Microsoft fanatics nor Microsoft serfs? The true Linux guru will most likely be able to use Word just fine, if he has it at all. Sure, he can pull up his resume’ written with LaTeX or OpenOffice.org and Save as Word format. I know this. But is it not showing foul ignorance and grotesque insensitivity on the part of these HR people to insist on Word format? There are so many open and pseudo-open standards to use, why ask for a closed, moving target like Microsoft Word format? It can be seen as, and has been seen as, an insult to the person with hard earned GNU/Linux skills. (tags: linux windows openoffice.org word) [...]
on Mar 6th, 2009 at 7:23 am
[...] Linux System Administrator Wanted - Send Word Resume’ Being a curious fellow about the growth of the Linux market, I occasionally browse job lists looking to see what companies are seeking related to Linux skills. More often than not there are several job listings seeking people with “strong Linux administration” and other skills that are specific to or most often found with Linux and Unix “guru” types. Then at the bottom of the employer’s list of requirements one will often see something like, “Qualified candidates should forward their Word formatted resume …” What?! Word? As in Microsoft Word? Are they looking for Linux experts or not? [...]
on Mar 8th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I also find the insistence by HR and headhunters to supply resumes in Word format very irritating. However if you want to apply for jobs in Australia either supply in Word format or miss out. Its that simple.
HR people have no clue about anything outside of MS Office, and often their front-end systems can only cater for Word or rtf files for getting your resume into their database. They cannot even accept PDFs or plain text!
99% of the business world here is stuck in Microsoft desktops: sad and stupid, but true. As much as I hate it I have to accept it, as fighting it has only sent me broke.
on Mar 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Getnikar (comment #35), thanks for your comment. I am not advocating that GNU/Linux IT people refuse to create a Microsoft .doc file for the people that ask for it. I am advocating for a change in all of industry that relies on Microsoft Office to move away from Microsoft Office. Including the HR people I see asking for “Word” format. Vendor lock-in seen with products like Microsoft Office is very bad for business.
As for the HR front-end file parsers, if the parsing tools for HR only parse .doc and .rtf format then the tools are broken and need repair or replacement. I imagine one could create an FOSS parser that could handle much more than .doc and .rtf, don’t you? Just make it work with the known back-ends used for HR data storage. I would think at least .txt and .pdf should be able to be parsed for this as long as the parsed document used a known layout, like a typical resume’.
on Mar 26th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Joannah
on Mar 26th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Joannah (comment #37), thank you for the compliment.
For the record, if you want to advertise on ERA Computers & Consulting’s web property you can find a better way than stroking ego and posting a URL to your Google advertisement laden site.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
problem with HR people regarding linux is as follows
a) HR people don’t know that any linux person who had worked in RedHat enterprise ,fedora , can adopt suse ,debian on the fly ,they keep searching for a specific distribution expert
b) the HR people can’t judge the Linux skills ,majority of managers and HR people think that working in linux is same as working in windows servers etc
the fact is linux is not for everyone and linux need special type of skills which also required a flexible environment ,if any of the manager expect a linux person to configure and deploy apache ,mysql without doing his/her homework ,sorry guyz then you are wrong , linux needs googling , documentation , books etc , but who to tell this to your manager
its always a problem
the job posted on dice ,monster etc are types which there are hardly any qualified persons becoz they are asking too much .