Resume Tips for the Internet

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Rewire Your Résumé for the Internet
Tips

First and foremost, be meticulous. Never, ever submit your résumé with typos and other blatant mistakes. In researching for this site, I am shocked by the number of poorly-written résumés I find in databases. (But, I am even more shocked by résumé services that have typos on their Web sites!) They are eyesores that will be immediately trashed by employers. Your résumé is your calling card. It's your very first impression. You don't get a second chance.

If you can't write well or have doubts about writing your own résumé, that's okay. Hire a résumé writing service instead. (Preferably, one without typos on their Web site!) Fees range from just a few bucks to critique your résumé, up to $200 or more for consulting and writing packages. But, it's well worth it.

Create these résumés:

A generic, ASCII résumé for submitting to online, résumé databases for employers to search and download. By generic, I mean don't tailor it for a specific employer's ad. If you're using a form at an online service, paste this résumé into the form, then double check it.

Modify the ASCII résumé above when emailing it to employers, by tailoring it for each employer. For example, if an employer is looking for a Windows NT Administrator, then come right out with it: State in your résumé objective that you are specifically "seeking a career as a Windows NT Administrator" rather than "a position in the MIS department." Under appropriate headings in the remainder of your résumé, emphasize your Windows NT skills that are in tune with the employer's requirements, while only mentioning your remotely-related skills, where necessary.

A beautifully-formatted, crisply-printed résumé for FAXing, snail-mailing, and hand-carrying to job fairs and interviews. Tailor it when feasible, and offer it to interviewers in place of the résumés you emailed or FAXed, especially if it benefits you to show off your publishing skills. You may want to mention in your ASCII résumé that you have this one available.

Don't send the formatted résumé above to employers specifically requesting scannable résumés, if you have incorporated fancy fonts and other custom formatting. These days, it's a good idea to include both for all employers. This way you're covered, and offering the best of both worlds.

To replace the formatting you lose in your ASCII résumé, it is acceptable for you to spruce it up, but don't over do it. Try using:

All UPPERCASE letters in place of bold or underscoring, but only for headings
Create divisions with ------, ........, _____ or carriage returns (Enter key)
Spaces to align, center or indent
            like this. There's a line break after the line above,
            and after each of these lines. To get a line break,
            hold down the Ctrl key and press the Enter key.
* or - in place of • for list items. I don't know know about Macs, but on IBM-compatible PCs, you can hold down the Alt key and type 0149 on the numeric keypad (only) to get • in ASCII. Online forms sometimes convert them into circles when you you paste your résumé, but they still look okay.

Unless specified otherwise, include a cover letter, depending on how the site or employer processes your résumé. It's been a standard practice for eons, and it makes you look professional. Create versions for each of the matching résumés above.

If online forms provide space for your cover letter, just follow the instructions to type or paste it into the form.

If online forms don't provide space or instructions for including your cover letter, send an email to the sites and ask for specific instructions. If it's okay, but you don't receive instructions, paste or type your ASCII cover letter first. Create a division as mentioned above, then paste or type your ASCII résumé.

Include a cover letter as above when emailing résumés to sites or employers. Alternately, email your résumé as an ASCII attachment to your cover letter or email them separately. In the latter cases, note in your your cover letter how you emailed your résumé. But, these are just suggestions; again, it's a good idea to email for instructions first.

Submit your résumé to every appropriate career site, résumé database, and employer you can get your mouse pointer on. Employers won't advertise positions unless they have to. It costs money. Even if they aren't in immediate need of your services, they still may include your résumé in their database for six months or so. If down the road they need someone with your skills, you've got the jump on others. This is only one trick in tapping the hidden job market.

Lastly, as cool as it is, the Internet is wide open, worldwide, and unregulated. Some online résumé services, recruiters and job sites ensure your confidentiality, while others indiscreetly blast your personal information around the world, hoping to blindly score a hit or ten.

If you're worried about confidentiality, and you're certainly right to be, include your email address, but not your phone number or street and business addresses. (Consider using a temporary, free email address just for this purpose.) Don't worry: Every employer worth working for has email these days, and understands the privacy issue. If employers want to contact you for more information, they will by email. If you're submitting straight to an employer or a site that guarantees your privacy, then it's okay to include the typical, contact information that you'd include on your paper résumé.

To protect the privacy of your references, don't post them publicly on the Internet or you may not have them as references for long! Instead, include a statement in your cover letter that you'd be happy to provide references at some point, like during your first interview. Or simply type References available upon request at the bottom of your ASCII résumé. This is standard practice for all résumés and employers will understand.

For more tips about submitting your résumé via the Internet, see "Submitting Resumes."

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