Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Resume Writing in the Digital Age

Is your resume state of the art enough? Is it e-mail friendly? If it is not designed to be friendly with the internet, you are only making you job search more difficult. Not to speak of the frustration when you don’t even get a response to the resume you sent on the e-mail. Well, your resume may need to be optimized before it becomes suitable for the internet.

When you upload your resume in the internet, it may need a little modification. Follow the tips given below and you can’t go wrong—

Use of E-mail

If the method of sending it in the e-mail has been specified, follow the instructions. If nothing is specified, send it both in the mail body and as attachment. This way you can be sure that it will reach the employer, since attachments might get filtered by spam filters. Always keep a Text version of resume with yourself, and take care that it does not get distorted when you put it in the mail body. You can dare to be different and use the PDF format. Few resumes are made in that format, and it will make your resume stand out in the clutter.

Keep it Simple

Keeping the resume simple is a good idea in itself, more so when using it over the internet. Do not use fancy designs and colored backgrounds. Use an e-mail friendly font like Arial, 10 or 11 pt. And do not attach your photograph to the resume, even if you are very good looking. It will slow down the uploading process, and it will take time to download at the employer’s end.

Optimize for Keywords

You might have uploaded your resume in career sites like Monster and Hot Jobs. When prospective employers search for suitable candidates, they search from these sites. The search is made the same way you search for a topic using search engines like Google or MSN. That is, relevant keywords are used. Thus, it becomes all the more important to list down all the keywords in your resume. Read the job descriptions of all the similar jobs in these sites and make a list of the relevant keywords. Use them in your resume. Also, use specific titles. Instead of just saying “Familiar with various Accounting Software”, list down the specific software that you know or used. Use bullet points. Make it easy for the search engines to find you.

With the rapid advancement of internet, the business of job hunting has been largely computerized too. Virtual job search companies like Monster and Hot Jobs have revolutionized the job search in the sense that your resume can now be available to thousands of employers at the click of a button. Also, it means you can search jobs sitting comfortably in front of your computer. Use the above tips, and you will definitely succeed.

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