With a national unemployment rate nearing 10%, people all over the country are looking for work. Employers are hounded with resumes in the mail each day, all from hungry applicants eager for income. These candidates are all highly skilled professionals with bachelor’s degrees, MBAs, and even PhDs. A few applicant resumes will get a second glance, and possibly a call-back, but the majority will find a home in the trash.
Such a talented, large field of applicants all submitting resumes that look exactly the same, in the same format – it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle! That’s why now, more than ever, job seekers need to separate themselves from the competition. That means utilizing new techniques to get prospective employers’ attention, techniques such as creating an online resume or online portfolio.
What is an online resume?
An online resume or ‘E-Resume’ is either an email version of your resume or a small website set-up so that with just a couple of clicks, you can send out your resume, either in the email, as an attachment, or as a link, to potential employers. Within seconds your potential employer will receive it in his or her email box, something visited far more frequently than a postal mailbox.
He or she can look it over and respond to you if there’s interest, or at least acknowledge receipt. That means no more waiting 3-5 days for it to be sent out through the mail, delivered to the office, sitting at the receptionist desk, then sitting at the HR desk, and finally getting to the head of the company, who may or may not get around to that stack of envelopes you’re buried underneath.
See the difference? Online resumes get the job done faster and more efficiently!
While there’s not really a How-to Guide for Resumes online, most Free Resume Help sites will tell you that online resumes should contain the same information in the same organizational structure as the traditional medium. The difference is that an E-Resume won’t spend a week as a coffee coaster.
If you choose to turn your Online resume into a website, you have the opportunity to showcase your personality, and if depending on the professional, examples of your work! Eye-catching colors and even a professional-looking photo of yourself can give your potential employer an idea of your personality and level of creativity. Just keep the site professional and simple. Use a home page as an introduction page, an ‘About’ page as you would a cover letter, a ‘Resume’ page that houses the same material as your actual resume, and a ‘Work Samples’ or ‘Portfolio’ page to showcase your work. You could also supply job references there.
There are several web hosting providers and even free blog sites out there that provide easy-to-use templates for websites that can be turned into online resumes. One of them is the NioPage website.
Just copy what you have on your computer from your hard-copy resume and paste it onto your new site. It’s best not to include your phone number or address on your online site though. An email address will suffice. If there’s interest, you’ll be contacted about arranging a job interview, either in person or over the phone. In fact, you’ll probably get the email while your fellow job seekers’ resumes are waiting in that ‘no-man’s land pile,’ beneath a coffee mug.
