| Commonly
asked questions...
How do I post my resume on the Web?
You have several options here. One is to visit the individual
companies web sites and post your resume directly on their site. There
is often a special page listing job opening, and you can email them directly,
attaching your resume to the email. Or they may ask you to paste your
resume into a box. In this case you will have to paste an ASCII version
of your resume as discussed below.
Another option is to utilize one of the many job search web sites that
allow you post your resume on their site, so employers can find you. Employers
search by job category and possibly keywords to identify suitable candidates.
The third option is to use a resume posting service. For a fee they will
post your resume on many different job search web sites.
What is an ASCII resume?
This is a text only version of your resume with all formatting
removed. It may be referred to as a "scannable" resume, or an
ASCII resume. These are very easy to create and a good resume service
will include it for free when you order a resume package. Only use the
ASCII version of your resume when posting into those little boxes on the
web. Use the better looking, formatted version whenever possible.
How effective is it to "blast" my resume?
"Blasting" is a service that will email your resume
to hundreds or even thousands of recruiters. I'm a little skeptical of
this shotgun approach. The good recruiters are going to be getting a lot
of emails this way, and yours could easily be deleted. Still, some swear
by this approach.
What format should I use when sending my resume as an email attachment?
Always use a good looking, properly formatted resume. People
prefer to receive resumes in PDF or MS Word.
I don't have MS Word. What should I do?
You can download the excellent and free OpenOffice
program. This suite of programs is similar to and compatible with MS Office.
OpenOffice Writer is the word processing program in that suite. It is
as good as - or better than - MS Word in almost every way. Also, updates
are free, and it lets you save your files as PDF. It is nice to send your
files as PDF because everyone should be able to easily open them and what
they will see is exactly as you created it - with no formatting glitches.
MS Word updates are expensive. Files written with the newer versions
of MS Word will sometimes not open on older versions of Word. You can't
create a PDF file with older versions of Word. Problems abound. I suggest
OpenOffice.
Should I still be sending paper copies of my resume?
Yes! Send in multiple formats if possible. Nothing beats a personally
addressed letter to the hiring manager, with a professional looking resume
and cover letter on crisp, medium to heavy weight bond paper.
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