Create Your Own Web Resume

With the ever-increasing popularity of the Web, it is advantageous for you to know how to design Web pages; better yet, to have your own. An excellent way to accomplish these feats while landing a job in the process, is by combining your technical job-searching endeavors with the creation of your own Web resume.

If you would like to publish your resume on the Web but don't have a clue, you've come to the right place. Even if you do have a clue, you may still find links to useful sites below. You don't need to know Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the behind-the-scenes programming that displays Web pages in your browser, because WYSIWYG HTML editors do it for you.

WYSIWYG ("wiz-e-wig") editors work much like word processors. If you know word processors, you already know WYSIWYG editors for the most part. In fact, many of today's word processors have Web-editing features built right in. For example, if you own a recent version of Microsoft Word, you already own a WYSIWYG HTML editor. (The Microsoft Office 97 CD also comes with a "light" version of FrontPage, a WYSIWYG editor.)

If you created your paper resume using a word processor or text editor, just copy and paste it into your WYSIWYG editor and you're already half way home! You may lose some formatting, but it's easy to restore or modify. The editor automatically creates the necessary HTML in the background, similar to the way your word processor hides its programming. However, in a WYSIWYG editor you may tweak the HTML directly if you wish, to supplement the capabilities of your editor. Sites that help you with HTML are below.

The rules have changed and you are no longer confined to the boundaries of a sheet of paper. Because it's a resume and a Web site, you have a little more freedom to express yourself. Feel free to use extras such as graphics, buttons and photos. But don't over do it to avoid a busy look, and to keep loading and reading time reasonable. Keep in mind that employers and recruiters typically scan resumes in about 10-20 seconds before reading them. Make it clean and brief, and grab their attention right off the bat on the first page. Don't include too many extras on the first page, but rather link to them.

Consider making your Web resume serve as a portfolio of sorts. Digitize and link to work samples, especially if you're in a creative occupation. You might even include your photo on a personal page, so employers may get to know you; e.g., your likes, hobbies, work ethics, etc. (But it's not a good idea to include certain personal details. Volunteering such might have consequences.) Ron Callari offers more elaborate ideas and suggests ways to promote your Web resume, in his article "Create Your Own Resume Website?"

If extras aren't for you, then a simple, Web version of your paper resume will do just fine. That's what many are.

To make your resume searchable on the Web, follow the same rules as you would for a keyword (scannable) resume, but also place the keywords in an HTML META tag.

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