How
to Use
Your CareerFoli0 Web Resume
Your
CareerFolio Web resume can be used to support or drive your
career marketing efforts.
First
of all, a Web resume can play a key role in optimizing your
Web presence. With more and more employers using sites like
Google and LinkedIn to check out
potential employees, having a "web presence" is of
critical importance. I am real if I cant
be found in Google? The web has - more and more - become
the medium of choice in the world of business. As such, we need
to recognize it as a marketing platform for candidates.
Cover
Letters
Why
You Should Build a Web Presence
Keyword
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Apply
for Posted Jobs
When responding to advertised jobs, the first thing to remember
is this:
Always
send the requested resume format. Never send a Web resume
URL in lieu of requested format.
Here's one way to respond to an advertised job when an ASCII
resume is requested:
Paste ASCII cover letter into e-mail window
Paste ASCII resume below cover letter
Add a URL (live link to Web resume) to the cover letter.
Related Links:
Sample ASCII Letter with Link to Web Resume
How to Create an ASCII Resume
ASCII Cover Letters
What is ASCII?
O P T I M I Z E
Your Efforts!
Be
sure to include an ASCII download on your Web
resume. An easily accessible download increases the
likelihood that your resume will be captured for database input.
Passive
Job Searching
If
you forward your resume to recruiters, there's a good chance
it will be processed electronically – and categorized,
archived, and selected as 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. What
every job seeker should know about keywords.
Career
Correspondence
During
a non-confidential job search, you can promote your Web resume
when communicating with networking contacts, responding to
inquiries from employers, or forwarding your resume to recruiters:
- Regular
Mail:
Include your Web resume URL (if it's short) on the "letterhead"
portion of your resume and cover letter.
- Fax:
Include your Web Resume URL (if it's short) on your fax
cover sheet.
-
eMail:
Add the URL to your e-mail signature line:
Jonathan Newton
www.careerfolio.com/jonnewton
- Make
it Live: Many e-mail programs allow you to add
or create a live hyperlink from your e-mail to your Web
resume. Ideally, this link is placed near the top of the
cover letter (sample) so that your readers see it immediately.
Cover
Letter Strategies
Cover
Letters for the Wired Job Market
ASCII cover letter templates, samples with hyperlinks, and
strategies for keyword-loading. Includes examples of ASCII
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. This is the reader's
incentive. You don't want to overdo it, but your objective
is to motivate the reader to read further. More cover letter
tips
Direct
Contact the Electronic Way
Using
a combined-format strategy (ASCII with HTML link) is a great
approach, because it satisfies employers' needs either way
– and it provides additional exposure for your Web resume.
Obviously, when contacting employers directly, you are not
limited to sending a particular format (check the company's
Web site for format instructions), but it's always smart to
include an ASCII version.
How
to Promote a Web Resume with ASCII Cover Letter
Paste
ASCII cover letter and ASCII resume into e-mail window. Add
a notation about your Web resume, including linked URL, near
the beginning of the cover letter.
ASCII cover letter with URL to Web resume; URL placement near
top, within text, and/or URL in P.S. at end of letter. Include
an ASCII download on the Web resume.
ASCII cover letter with URL / live link to Web resume; MS
Word resume as attachment. Include an ASCII download on the
Web resume.
Additional Information:
Cover Letters for the Wired Job Market
Get
the Word Out!
If
your Web resume's URL is short and easy-to-remember, be sure
to mention it to networking contacts and recruiters. If your
URL is complicated or too long, your marketing efforts will
suffer the consequences.
Keyword
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Before
launching any kind of personal marketing campaign, you need
to make sure your resume is market-ready.
Since
most resumes are processed electronically (based on their
keyword content) your goal is to figure out what those keywords
are and then build them into your resume. How to Research
Your Job Target Keywords
Recruiters
and employers use various kinds of applications and systems
to find Web resumes, as most believe that they harbor the
best "untapped" candidates. Regardless of the software
or system, the strategy is the same:
Maximize
Your Keywords = Maximize Your Results
Use
a Search Agent
If
you sign up for a Personal Search Agent, keyword-matched
jobs are delivered to you by e-mail. You should always respond
to these jobs using the requested format. However, you can
include a live link to your Web resume at the top of the cover
letter.
Guard Your Privacy
If
you have privacy concerns – or need to ensure that your
job search is not discovered by your current employer –
remove the identifiers from your resume and change the document
name and title (Confidential
Sample). Once you've taken these precautionary steps,
you can actively market your resume.
Caution!
A Web resume offers some level of privacy but unless it's
hosted in a private non-searchable database, the search engine
"spiders" will eventually find it and index it.
Related
Articles
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How
Employers and Recruiters Use Google and LinkedIn
