Professional
Writing Program:
E-Resumes
E-Resumes
Introduction
- Purpose of electronic resume is to apply for jobs online
- There are three methods:
- Electronic mail
- Electronic forms (e-forms)
- Via the WWW (Web page)
How to Get Ready?
- Prepare four versions:
- A Paper Version, highly designed with bullets, italics, and other highlights
- A Scannable Version, still word-processed, but without bullets and the other design highlights
- An Internet Version, a plain text document which can be sent through electronic mail or cut-and-pasted into online forms
- A Hypertext Version, to advertise yourself online
Submitting to résumé database
- ASCII Plain Text Résumés
- Still most popular means to transfer résumés across computer networks
- Use text editors (SimpleText, Notepad)
- Disadvantages
- Plain text--no formatting
- Here the emphasis must be on the words you choose
ASCII Rich Text Formats
- Advantages
- Use a word-processor
- Permits formatting
- Disadvantages
- Destination computer may not recognize RTF
- RTF not supported by e-mail editors (sometimes these files get hidden by the mail programs or coded into the body of the message)
ASCII Hypertext Résumés
- Advantages
- HTML permits markup--formatting
- Permits a 3-D résumé
- Web Page Authoring Tools are available
- Use traditional résumé formatting
- Disadvantages
- Requires Web browser, Internet access, and knowledge of HTML or HTML program such as Claris HomePage
Keyword Résumés
- Advantages
- Keywords are a tool to quickly browse a database
- Employers and recruiters look for nouns and phrases that highlight technical and professional areas of expertise, industry related jargon, projects, achievements, and other distinctive features
- Disadvantages
- Selection/number of keywords is arbitrary and can discriminate
Scannable Résumés
- Scanning gets résumés into a database where original résumés are paper
- Data can be lost due to quality of text, formatting, and condition of paper
What This Means
- For example, a department manager may search the database for a candidate with 4 years of Teleconference Training or 8 years of JIST (Just-In-Time) Inventory Control (the words/numbers in bold would be those entered into the database).
- You are not creating a new resume; you are altering the one you have.
For more information, review the Resumes module in the English 3764 Instructional Site.