Career Information Online

Should you post your resume online?  Many people will say that you shouldn’t post your resume.  You put all your personal information out there for anyone with a subscription to that resume database to see.  If your current employer has a subscription to that job board they might stumble across your resume and figure out you are on the market. 

But there is a way to post your resume while maintaining your privacy, and that is to select the “confidential” option if the job board offers it.  Monster offers the option to post your resume while blocking out your personal contact information, name of current employer and names of references.  Interested companies will contact you via email through the job board to let you know they want to have a conversation with you.

If you’re looking to move to another city or state, posting your resume online will give you exposure to employers in that geography.  You can select your preferred job locations when posting your job.  I would also suggest including an objective statement that says you want to obtain a job as X in the new city or state.  With a few minutes at home you can give yourself exposure to many potential employers.  If you were to research employers in your desired city or state it could be a long and arduous task.

Don’t just dismiss the idea of posting your resume online.  There are some benefits to doing so.

I was interviewing candidates for a secretarial position in my previous company a few years ago.  In the advertisement for employment I stated that attention to detail was a requirement for the successful person.  I can’t tell you how many resumes and cover letters I received that had blatant spelling errors or formatting mistakes on them.  No matter what the employment background of the candidate there was no way I would hire someone who made a spelling error on their resume, not in the age of spell check.

The argument can be made that while this might have been true in the case of a secretary, good spelling isn’t necessarily a requirement for a salesperson or a computer programmer.  I disagree.  Your resume and cover letter are the tools you need to get an interview.  They are the first impression that a potential employer is going to get of you.  You don’t want this person to think you are careless or sloppy.

Take the time and proofread your cover letter and resume before you send it anywhere.  Step away from it for an hour or so and look at it again with fresh eyes.  Print it out and ask a friend or family member to look at it for you.  If it helps, read your resume backwards so you’re looking at the actual words and not filling in the context.  No matter what use the spell check function in your email and word processing programs.  Finally, verify that you are sending the resume to the person named in the advertisement and if you use a template email for resume submissions that you change any information

On the bottom of almost every resume you seethe statement “references available upon request.”  You probably have it in the bottom of your resume.  But who should you use as a reference?  Unless you are a teenager trying to get your first job, the people you use should be known to you in a professional way.  (Unless, of course, the company requests a personal or character reference.)  If you’re currently employed you’ll probably want to refrain from using anyone at your current place of employment.  Here are a few suggestions of people you can use as a reference:

• A former co-worker at the same level as you.
• A former supervisor.
• An employee who you supervised.
• An employee of another firm with whom you worked on a joint project or venture.
• A former client who can attest to your skills and abilities.

Depending on the position, a potential employer might request a reference from a specific category.  Don’t be surprised if this happens. 

The easiest way to build a list of references is to continually ask people to be one.  Just as it’s a good idea to continually update your resume, it’s a good idea to have an updated list of references.  Ask people you’ve known professionally if they would mind serving as a reference.  Be sure to get all their contact information, including work phone, cell phone and email address.  Keep in touch with them from time to time to make sure their contact information is current and they are still willing to be a reference.

It might sound silly, but before you use a reference from your list ask them if you can do so.  Tell him/her the name of the company, position/title and name of the person who will be interviewing you.  If you have the opportunity to contact them after the interview you can tell your reference the specific duties and responsibilities that were explained to you so he/she can tailor their statements to the needs of the company.  You might think this sounds unethical, but think about this.  I’m not saying that anyone should lie about you and your background.  What I’m saying is this:  If expertise in a specific software program is an integral part of the position and your reference can comment on your abilities, if the reference knows this is important he/she can be sure to emphasize your experience in that area. 

References are an important part of the interview process.  Be sure to spend time in choosing the right references who can help you get the job.

When you’re searching for a job you have probably spent hours working to make your resume the best it can be.  Resumes are important.  A resume is probably the biggest factor in whether or not you get invited for an interview.  However, it is the person behind the resume who gets the job, not the piece of paper.

Don’t put all your time during a job search in resume preparation.  You need to spend time getting ready for each and every interview, whether it is researching the company, practicing common questions, or preparing a list of questions for the interview.  Relying too much on your resume is a common error job seekers make.  The interviewer has read it and knows what it contains.  They want to get to know the person behind the resume.  He/she needs to know you have the background listed and can actually do what you say you can do.

Don’t rely solely on your resume in an interview – put in some time in interview preparation as well.  Your resume isn’t going to do the talking during the interview – that’s going to be up to you.

In my previous life in staffing I would see individuals apply for positions they are no way qualified for.  Often you would get a note on the cover letter saying “please consider me for any open positions” but when you have 100 or 200 resumes to look through you aren’t going to take the time (at that point) to contact this individual.  And people get busy, so that resume might be put over to the side and never contacted because of that.

A better way to approach this situation might be this:  If you see a position online that you don’t qualify for (maybe because of years of experience) but sounds interesting, call the contact person listed on that posting.  Tell him/her that you saw this position online but you don’t think your skills are an exact match BUT you do have these skills and would like to be considered for a position with their company.  Ask for a direct email address and/or direct fax number to get your resume over to this person for consideration for other jobs.  You’ll show some initiative by calling the person, and that person will be happy you aren’t another unqualified candidate blasting their resume to every open position on the job boards.

In this electronic age it’s a pretty safe bet that when you snail mail or drop off a copy of your resume at a career fair that it’s going to be scanned into that company’s computer system.  Make sure your resume is in a scanner-friendly format.  What this means is go easy on the fancy fonts, the borders, highlighting and shading.  Use a font like Times New Roman, Arial or another standard font.  Make your resume as professional looking as possible without going over the top.  Unless you’re going to interview for some sort of graphic design position, it will be the content of your resume that will get you the interview.  It goes without saying that your resume should be free of spelling and grammatical errors.  Make sure it is also scanner friendly.

It could be argued that human beings are self-serving by nature.  I don’t mean this as a criticism of the human race, merely as a strategy to employ when creating a cover letter to be used in your job search.  Instead of asking the question “what’s in it for me” ask the question “what’s in it for you” with the you being your potential new employer.

When you look at a job posting you’ll see what a company is looking for – skills they want the candidate to bring to the company so they can help the company become more successful.  In other words, what can you do for the company.  When you write your cover letter take this approach.  Utilize the keywords, skills and background described in the advertisement to “sell” yourself to the hiring manager.  Build upon your background as described in your resume and tweak it in the cover letter to better match what the company is looking for in a candidate.  Never lie or fabricate skills to better fit the requirements of a position, and don’t take verbiage from your resume and paste it in the cover letter.    Give some concrete reasons why your skill set would be worth considering based on what you can do for the company.

Think back to the last time you were looking for a new job and had to update your resume.  You might have had some difficulty in remembering everything you did in a previous job, and everything you’ve done in your current position.  My suggestion is this – always have a current updated resume on file.  If you complete a major project or get a promotion, add it to your resume right away.  If your duties and responsibilities change make sure to adjust your resume to reflect your new skill set.  Did you take a course that is relevant to your career, or become certified in something related to your job?  Add it to the education or certification sections of your resume.  When the time comes for you to search for a new job you won’t have to struggle to remember everything you’ve done over the past few years to add to your resume.  And here’s something else to think about.  You never know when a headhunter might call you up with the opportunity of a lifetime.  Do you want it to pass you by because you had to spend days updating your resume?  What if you run into an old acquaintance from college that tells you his/her company wants to hire someone with your exact skill set?  Do you want to miss out because you don’t have an updated resume to email to your acquaintance the next day?

Having an updated resume does not mean you’re actively on the job market, or that you are dissatisfied with your current job.  It’s just a smart move on your part to be ready to act when that opportunity you can’t pass up comes your way.

When a company posts a position online or in the classified ads they are probably going to get a lot of response to the ad.  Your resume might get lost in the pile.  Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone, ask for the contact person listed in the ad, and inquire if he/she received your resume.  If they say they’ve had too many submissions to go through them all, or if they can’t find yours ask for his/her direct email address or fax number and get another copy of your resume in front of them that day.  Often the resumes will go to a general email address for resume submissions and not directly to a person.  Asking for his/her direct email address will help to make sure you get your resume in front of the person who needs to review it.  If they tell you to send it over again, do that, and follow up again later the next day to see if they received it.  There’s a fine line between being persistent and being a pest.  Persistence can be a good quality in a potential new employee.  Just make sure you don’t become a pest as you follow up with the potential employer!  

A trend that I noticed on several resumes submitted via the internet was no phone number listed on the resume.  I’ve even seen a few resumes that don’t have a physical address.  These candidates thought that they could communicate via email with the potential new employer.  Bad idea.  There’s just something unsettling when you see a resume with only an email address as the contact information.  If you’re in between addresses or cell phones then use a family member’s address and phone number as your contact information, along with your email address.  You can explain to the hiring manager your situation when you get to the interview.  And there are some valid reasons why you might not have a permanent phone number or physical address - maybe you’ve just finished up your college education and are looking for an apartment at the same time you’re seeking employment.  Legitimate reasons for not having a permanent address and/or phone number.  People can become curious, or even suspicious, if you say you don’t have a phone number.  Avoid this pitfall and use the phone number of a family member or trusted friend.  They can change their greeting to state you’ve reached (fill in the blank) phone number and we are unable to take your call right now.  Please leave your name and number and we will return the call.  Just be sure to ask the person if you can use their phone number!