Having an electronic resume is a must in today’s ever-changing society. It’s the fastest and most efficient way to present your occupational history and accomplishments with prospective employers. There are so many ways you can tailor your resume to reach your target audience that you never could before the internet. But these luxuries may come with a price.
First of all, you should load your resume with “keywords.” While writing your previous job descriptions, use words like “organized” and “managed”, and use words like “initiative” and “surpassed” in regards to your accomplishments. This makes your resume easily searched by computers. You can use a website like www.enetsc.com to help choose the right keywords for you.
The next thing you want to do while writing your resume is make sure you focus on your accomplishments. Most of the keywords you’ll be using are directly related to your performance in activities rather than the job responsibilities themselves.
Once you’ve completed the writing of your resume, your next task is to determine where to post or send it. If you’re taking advantage of the convenience of a website like Monster.com and posting it for employers to search, your number one concern should be privacy. A reputable site like Monster will protect your personal information and disclose only what’s necessary to prospective employers. Generally speaking, you can select what information to release yourself. Make sure to read the Privacy Policy on the site before you post anything. And if it doesn’t have one, abandon ship! This is not a place where you want to post your life’s story to the general public. In addition to protecting yourself online, you want to protect your references as well. Don’t include them in your resume when it’s posted openly on the web. If the prospective employer is interested and you have your references’ consent, then you can send the information along in a private message to the employer. If you are unfortunate in your job search and you become a victim of identity theft, consult www.worldprivacyforum.org and send in a complaint.
If you are going to e-mail your resume directly to a company, you want to ensure you have a relevant and effective cover letter. Whether or not the person you are e-mailing is expecting it, you have to use that cover letter to introduce yourself and explain how you can contribute to their company. Unless it is specified, you should always place your resume into the body of the e-mail, and not as an attachment. If they have to open another document to read more about you, they might just drag your e-mail into the trash before you got your foot in the door. Put it where they can see it immediately, and make it as attractive as possible. Even though a text-based resume isn’t the most visually appealing document to send out, you can be creative and utilize characters like hyphens and asterisks to get the job done.
If you use your spell-check, make use of all the references you need and be smart about it, posting you resume online can be a fantastic way to ensure you’ve utilized every outlet in your job search. And, if done correctly, it will get you one step closer to the job you’ve always dreamed of.
