The Electronic Resume Explosion

        Every day job seekers are starting new positions that they discovered over the Internet. In the past five years the value of the Internet for job seekers has exploded. There are dozens of commercial sites where you can post your electronic resume, giving you the opportunity to be contacted by employers seeking someone with your background. From among tens of thousands of resumes within a resume databank, yours can be found in less than a minute.

        There are now thousands of employers that have their own company web sites. Many of them list and describe open positions. When you discover a desirable position, you can send your resume to them by e-mail or via a form on their web site.

        Because of all these technological developments, the electronic resume is having great impact on the way resumes are created and the way job seekers are finding jobs. Because the number of job seekers submitting their resumes electronically has grown so rapidly, and because so many employers are now using this technology, no solid job search would be complete without creating an electronic resume that will sell you. Keep in mind that the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that approximately 85% of all available jobs are never advertised, even on the web. While posting your electronic resume increases your chances of getting the job you want, do not rely on it as the answer to your job searching efforts.

        In the next pages I will show you how to make plain-text, scannable, and web resumes that can be used in your electronic job search.

TYPES OF RESUMES

        For your job search you should have three types of resumes: formatted, plain-text, and scannable. You may want a fourth type, the web resume.

        Formatted: The formatted resume is the resume you would create with MS Word, WordPerfect, or other word processors. Those programs allow you to use italics, bold type, bullets, columns, your choice of typefaces (fonts), and other features. These are the features that let you be creative and produce an attractive looking resume to print or to send as an e-mail attachment.

        Plain-Text: Plain-text, also known as text format and ASCII format (pro­nounced as-kee), is a universal format that virtually all computers with all operating systems can interpret and use. ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Your plain-text resume would be used whenever sending your resume as text within an e-mail message to an employer or storing it in a commercial resume databank.

        Scannable: The scannable resume is the paper resume you send to employers who scan resumes into resume databanks. Virtually all formatting features are removed, making the resume less attractive. The point to keep in mind is that no one else’s will look any more attractive than yours. It is important to create a resume in such a way that when it is scanned, all of your words will be properly interpreted by the optical character recognition (OCR) software.

        Web Resume: A web resume is a resume that has its own address on the web (instead of being stored as text in a commercial resume databank). It is possible to turn it into a portfolio resume, which includes samples of your written work, photographs, or audio and video clips. The use of web resumes is growing, but still uncommon. Employers can use search engines (using key words) to find web resumes. Often an employer would look at your web resume after having found your resume in a resume databank and then typing in the web address (URL) to find it.

HELPFUL HINTS AND DEFINITIONS FOR ELECTRONIC RESUMES

        The Internet and the World Wide Web: The Internet is a worldwide network of computers that can pass information back and forth. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and a network known as the backbone, with servers and routers, keep track of information and can reach the desired server to pull information from it. The World Wide Web (or “web”) is the graphical portion of the Internet that permits you to obtain graphically presented text with drawings, photographs, video, and audio. The Internet also permits messages, known as electronic mail or e-mail, to be sent from one computer to another in a matter of seconds.

        Resume Databank: A resume databank is any database that is designed to store resumes, with the ability to retrieve them through the use of key words. Resume databank and resume database are basically synonymous. There are commercial resume databanks that permit you to post your resume so that employers and recruiters can access the database and find people whose background fits what they are looking for. Most are free to the job seeker. Companies also have their own resume databanks, enabling you to submit your resume directly to them.

        URL: A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is also known as a web address. Each web site has a unique URL, enabling you to find and view that site. Most URLs are in lowercase and begin with http://www. followed by the domain name, such as cmr-mvp. This is followed by the extension, which indicates the type of organization it is. A commercial or business site uses .com. A school site uses .edu, while a nonprofit site uses .org, and a government entity uses .gov. Other extensions are used but these are the most common.

        Text Editors: A text editor, such as Notepad in MS Word, allows you to edit your plain-text (ASCII) resume or any other type of plain-text document. From a text editor you can copy and paste your resume or document into an e-mail message you are sending to an employer.

        Getting Connected: To get connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you first need a computer with a 486 or Pentium processor (or equivalent). If you have a Macintosh you’ll need a PowerPC or a 68000 processor or higher. A representative of an ISP or those who know computers can tell you if yours will be sufficient. Your computer also needs a modem. Your modem should provide speeds of at least 28.8 kb, meaning they can transfer data from a web site at up to 28,800 bytes per second. Most modems purchased in the last three years will be 56 kb, meaning they are twice as fast as the 28.8-kb modem. If you’ve heard about fast connections, you know the terms cable modem and DSL. Both types provide speeds five to twenty times faster than a 56-kb modem.

        You may have received a CD-ROM from AOL, MSN (Microsoft Network), or others asking you to connect with them. They then give you 50-250 hours of free access for one month. This can get you started and then you can decide whether you like the service. After your free month you can get unlimited monthly service for $20 to $25. You can also get limited monthly service for anywhere from free to $5.00 and up. Be careful of these plans. If you use more than your monthly allotted hours, a significant charge will incur on your bill for each hour over your limit. Finally, there are many ISP’s who will provide free Internet connections at unlimited or limited hourly service. A few of these are Juno at www.juno.com and Free I-Net at www.freeinet.com. Ask your friends and computer experts about their experience before signing on with an ISP. Try to stay away from an ISP that asks you to sign a three-year agreement. Three years in Internet time is a lifetime.

        The CD-ROM will come with a web browser, probably either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, and everything you need to get started. If you have trouble installing the software, you can call your ISP and they will walk you through the process by phone.

        Free E-Mail Services: Having an e-mail account is part of a successful online job search. It provides an easy means of sharing information with potential employers and job search contacts.

        Each of the services listed below offers free e-mail accounts that can be accessed through any computer connected to the Internet. It takes about 15 minutes to sign up and get your account.

        Yahoo Mail (www.yahoo.com)

        Hotmail (www.hotmail.com)

        NetAddress (www.netaddress.com)

        CoolMail (www.coolmail.com)

        ApexMail (www.apexmail.com)

        AltaVista Mail (www.altavista.com)

        SNAP Mail (www.snap.com)

        If You Don’t Have A Computer: Many libraries now offer Internet access. You have to sign up for a session, usually no more than an hour at a time, but you can accomplish a lot. If you use one of the free e-mail programs you can obtain your messages from any computer that has Internet access. If you’re unemployed you may have access to computers at your state Employment Security offices, often known as WorkSource Centers, One-Stop Centers, or Job Service Centers.

        Attachments: Attachments are files that can be added to an e-mail message. During a job search this would typically be a resume or cover letter. People often send MS Word attachments and most people’s computer systems can open them up and read them. Once opened, the resume can be saved as a Word document. People also attach plain-text resumes.