Dear Joyce: What is a "virtual" address on a résumé? Thanks. -- C.J.S.

Dear C.J.S.: Résumé superpro Susan Ireland answers that question and eight more new-style puzzlers from readers. Ireland, who reviews and writes résumés professionally, is the author of the popular "Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Résumé."

I live in California and work virtually in Pennsylvania. Which state do I list next to my employer's name?

To avoid confusion, list the company's Web address instead of its geographic address. The URL will take up less space than explaining why two states are involved.

Will I look like a loser with three dot-coms in my work history?

Not at all. If you're staying in the dot-com world, use the chronological format, highlight your achievements and hint at lessons you learned, e.g., "Gained insight into the sensitive relationship between media coverage and stockholder activity." If you're leaving the dot-com world, use a functional résumé to highlight your achievements while listing your employers at the bottom of the page.

What, if any, role does a hard-copy résumé play, if I've already sent mine electronically?

That beautiful hard-copy résumé you created with lines, indents and bold text is still a valuable tool. Take two copies to your job interview -- one for the employer, the other for you.

What's the best way to send my résumé -- postal mail, fax, e-mail or online posting?

The quickest way to get a résumé into the company's database is to apply through the company's Web site. The site's e-form is built to accommodate the company's database. For instance, if a database doesn't accept answers in all caps, the e-form automatically changes the text to upper and lower case, making it database-ready. Résumés sent via mail, fax or e-mail require data entry people to convert, clean up and move text into the database fields, all of which eats up valuable time.

If I e-mail my résumé, should I also snail mail or fax a hard-copy version?

No, because if your e-mailed résumé is in the database, it might get replaced by the hard-copy version. Why might that be a problem? In order to turn your hard-copy résumé into an electronic résumé for the database, it must be put through a résumé scanner. Résumé scanning almost always inserts errors into the text -- errors that did not appear in your e-mailed résumé.

If a job ad says "fax or e-mail résumé," which is best?

E-mail! Your e-mailed résumé will bypass the error-ridden résumé scanner (which your faxed résumé would have been subjected to) and will get into the résumé database accurately.

Why do most online résumé banks say to copy and paste a Text Only version?

Résumé banks don't accept HTML, PageMaker or other snazzy formats. Although the online system accepts word-processed documents such as those in MS Word, it's to your advantage to convert your résumé to Text Only or Notepad before dropping it into the résumé bank. This enables you to easily identify and make adjustments. For instance, because tables or columns you used in the MS Word résumé collapse in Text Only, you can rearrange them into sentences. Because Text Only eliminates bold type, you may want to put important words in all caps.

Some job boards ask that you pick a job to apply for. Won't that limit other possibilities?

Choosing a job will only increase your exposure since your résumé will be searched by the recruiter assigned to that job, as well as by all recruiters searching the database by keywords.