Market
Your CareerFolio
Use
Your CareerFolio Web Resume to Drive
your Career Marketing Efforts
With more employers using sites like Google and LinkedIn to
source candidates and "check out" potential
employees online, it's become critically important for job seekers
to build and maintain a positive Web presence. The Web has become
the medium of choice for candidate sourcing and recruiting and
can be equally effective as a platform for job seekers.
Use Your CareerFolio as a
Personal Marketing Tool
Promote Your Candidacy During
an Active Job Search
Leverage Your Career During
a Passive Job Search
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Cover
Letters
Be
sure to add your CareerFolio URL to your cover letter. Here
are some examples.
- Add
URL to your cover letter letterhead: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Include
the URL in context - pointing out a specific fact: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Included
in the PS
Why
You Should Build a Web Presence
In
short, you need a Web presence because 25-75% of your potential
employers will use Google and networking sites such as LinkedIn
or FaceBook to glean information about you. Related
articles
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Promoting
yourself online is one of the best, easiest, and fastest
ways
to build your personal brand.
Boris Mann, Web 2.0 and
Personal Brand Development |
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According
to a Harris Poll, 23% of people search the names of
business associates or colleagues on the Internet before
meeting them.
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5
Steps for Building a Web Presence:
- Google
Yourself: What
will potential employers find out if they Google you? Find
out!
- Create
a Careerfolio Web Resume: Web resumes are indexed
by Web spiders -- in other words, recruiters and employers
can find your resume through keyword searches.
- Optimize
Your Keywords:
Research your job target to determine the proper "keyword
mix" for your job level and targeted industry; incorporate
critical keywords into your resume. More..
- Get
LinkedIn / Sign up for Free Web Profile: Get
a profile on a "networking" site such as LinkedIn.com
and actively build your network of contacts.
- Blog:
If
you have excellent writing skills, consider blogging.
The
CareerFolio can be used as a short-term job search tool (to
supplement traditional resumes), but for many, the CareerFolio
provides maximum value when used as "long term"
personal marketing tool.
Apply
for Posted Jobs
When responding jobs that are advertised online, the first
thing to remember is this:
Always
send the requested resume format.
Never send your Web resume URL in lieu of a requested format.
How to respond to an advertised job when a text or Word resume
is requested:
-
Paste your text cover letter into e-mail window
-
Paste text resume below cover letter and/or attach MS Word
file
-
Add your CareerFolios' URL (web address) to the cover letter
as shown
here.
CareerFolios Checklist for Success
To
optimize your CareerFolio as a personal marketing tool:
- Include
a Text Download: This will increase the likelihood
that your resume will make it into employers' and recruiters'
databases
- "Keyword
Load" your
Resume:
If your resume speaks the same language (i.e., keywords)
as your potential employers, your CareerFolio will attract
the kind of attention you want. See Keyword
Loading
- Actively
Promote Your URL: See
Career Correspondence
- Manage
Your CareerFolio as a Long Term Marketing Tool:
Keep it updated, adjust content as your career progresses
and changes... And remember, it's always showtime!
- Include
a Link to Your LinkedIn Profile
- Add
Your CareerFolio URL to Your LinkedIn Profile
While the CareerFolio can be used
as a short-term job search tool (as an adjunct to traditional
resumes), for many, the CareerFolio provides maximum value
when used as "long term" marketing tool - along
with other "web brand building" activities.

Passive
Job Searching
If
you forward your resume to recruiters, there's a good chance
it will be processed electronically – and it will be
categorized, archived, and selected as a match (or not) based
on its keyword content. To ensure a high number of keyword
matches, your resume must include job target-specific keywords.
Career
Correspondence
During
a non-confidential job search, here are some ways to promote
your CareerFolio Web resume when communicating with networking
contacts, responding to inquiries from employers, or forwarding
your resume to recruiters:

Cover
Letter Strategies
Cover
Letters for the Wired Job Market by Pat Kendall
This "How to" article includes text cover letter
templates, samples with hyperlinks, strategies for keyword-loading,
and examples of text cover letters with links to Web resumes.
HOT
TIP: Entice the reader! In your cover letter, briefly refer
to "additional details" or "relevant projects"
that are fleshed out in your Web resume. Your objective
is to motivate the reader to follow the link and read further.

Direct
Contact the Electronic Way
Check
the company's Web site to see if they provide instructions
for resume submission. Carefully follow any instructions
listed on the Web site.
In
most cases, we recommend a "multiple format" approach.
It's wise to send multiple formats, as it allows the recipient
to view or capture whatever version of the resume they need.
-
Text Cover Letter: Paste text cover letter
into email.
- Text
Resume: Paste text resume below cover letter.
- Word
Resume:
Attach MS Word file.
- CareerFolio
Web Resume:
Include a live link to your CareerFolio Web resume in the
opening paragraph of your cover letter.

Get
the Word Out!
Because
your Web resume's URL is short and easy-to-remember, be sure
to mention it to networking contacts and recruiters when discussing
your candidacy.

Keyword
Loading
Before
launching any kind of personal marketing campaign, you need
to make sure your resume is market-ready. In short, to
work effectively your resume must speak the same language
as your potential employers.
Since
most resumes are scored and ranked based on their keyword
content your goal is to figure out which keywords employers
want to see - and then build them into your resume. How
to Research Your Job Target Keywords
Recruiters
and employers use various approaches and systems to find candidates
and most believe that Web resumes are the best source for
"untapped" candidates - i.e., passive job seekers.
Article
instructions
Maximize Your Keywords = Maximize Your Results

Use
a Search Agent
If
you sign up for a Personal Search Agent or Job
Agent (free on most sites), keyword-matched jobs will
be delivered to you by e-mail.
You
should always respond to advertised jobs by submitting the
requested resume format - typically Word or text.
To
promote your careerFolio, include a live link in the opening
paragraph of your cover letter as described here: How
to Respond to Posted Jobs

Guard Your Privacy
If
you have privacy concerns – or need to ensure that your
job search is not discovered by your current employer –
you should remove the identifiers from your resume, change
the document name and title, and (Confidential
Sample). Once you've taken these precautionary steps,
you can start marketing your resume.
Caution:
Unless you have a password protected entry page, search engine
"spiders" will find your CareerFolio and index it.

How
Employers and Recruiters Use Google and LinkedIn