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12 things you NEED to know.
Writing a résumé is a task that every job seeker needs to undertake, but it can be difficult condensing your life down to two pages. Writing a Web résumé is even tougher. Here's how to create a document that will put everyone on the same Web page.
What's in Your Résumé?
1. Think Nouns, not Verbs.
Career counselors used to advise job seekers to pepper their résumés with action verbs that would impress personnel managers who scan résumés with their eyeballs. Web résumés also get scanned but today a machine which is without emotional responses to verbs scans them. When a position opens within the company, personnel staff uses software that searches through résumés for words that signal job titles, technical skills, and levels of education or experience. Most of those words are nouns.
2. Think Buzzwords.
The more buzzwords, the better. Career counselors also used to advise clients to avoid buzzwords in their résumés. To have a successful web resume, buzzwords are necessary. "Applicant-tracking systems" rank résumés by the number of keywords in them. If a company is looking for a clerk with experience in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Simply Accounting, it can rank résumés according to which ones include all three programs, which have two of them, and so on. "Turn your experience into keywords," urges Margaret Riley Dikel, co-author of The Guide to Internet Job Searching "and maximize the number of them in your résumé."
3. Personal Attributes.
Don't forget to describe your personality and attitude. Just because most résumé searches are computerized doesn't mean that companies don't search for human qualities. A tracking system can identify behavioral traits - dependability, responsibility, and a high energy level - as easily as it can technical skills. "Be enthusiastic," says Yana Parker, author of Damn Good Resume Guide. "Let your passion show. Don't use tired language."
4. Personal Home Pages should be ALL Business.
Like many job seekers, you may want to include a link in your Web résumé to a personal Web page, where you can post detailed information about your career. But don't muck up your page with photos of you, your family, or your pets.
What Should Your Résumé Look Like?
5. It's not a Résumé - - it's a Movie Trailer.
Electronic résumés do eventually get read by real human beings - on a computer screen. You have about 20 lines to grab their attention. So don't waste precious real estate on details such as your address. Lead with your technical skills and personal qualities.
6. Break the One-Page Rule.
Limiting your résumé to what will fit on a single piece of paper doesn't mean much in the online world. If you can hold your readers' attention, they'll keep scrolling. But don't overdo it: At some point, most executives do print out résumés that they find interesting. The new rule of thumb is to create an electronic résumé that can be printed in three pages.
7. One Size Doesn't Fit All.
Online job search requires four different résumés: a word-processor document, an ASCII text-only file, an HTML-coded file, and a hard copy. The word-processor document can be printed, stored in an online database, or sent as an email attachment but see point 11 . The ASCII file is what you submit to job-related Web sites. An HTML-coded résumé can be posted as a Web page or submitted to job boards. And you still need a hard copy, printed on high-quality paper, for companies that use snail mail.
What Are the New Do's and Don'ts?
You've created a résumé with killer content and a cool design. You've got multiple electronic versions of it. What's left? Doing the little things right.
8. Not All Text is Created Equal.
Scanners work well with these typefaces: Helvetica, Courier, Futura, Optima, Palatino, New Century Schoolbook, and Times. And they work best with type sizes in the 10- to 14-point range.
9. Faxes are Fine.
If you're asked to fax your résumé, set the machine to the "fine" mode. That results in a higher-quality printout on the receiving end.
10. Don't send your Résumé as an Attachment.
Paste it into the body of an email message. Most employers ignore attachments. They worry about viruses, and they don't want to waste time with files that their computers can't translate.
11. Always Include a Subject Line.
If you're responding to a specific posting, put the reference number in the subject line. If you're submitting a résumé to a database, include a description of your skills in the subject line. "Sell yourself!" says Joyce Lain Kennedy, co-author of Electronic Resume Revolution. "It's not a subject line. It's a theater marquee."
12. Ask the Wizard.
These days, most word-processing programs come with good résumé templates and with "wizards" - step-by-step guides that walk you through the templates. If you're looking for a real wizard, visit the Professional Association of Résumé Writers: http://jobsearchcanada.about.com/aboutcanada/jobsearchcanada/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.parw.com
