by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Career experts suggest that job-seekers who are conducting a thorough job search
consider creating and publishing a Web resume. (Read
Maximize Your
Internet Job Search.) Besides the advantage of having your
resume available 24/7, developing a Web-based resume also gives you the opportunity
to build an online
portfolio
to showcase your best work (which you can then link to your online resume).
But there is a lot more involved than just slapping your current resume onto a Web page --
and you do not need to be a Web guru in order do everything you need to do to
create a successful Web resume. So how do you go about the process of creating a Web-resume?
We'll highlight the critical things you need to do to successfully publish your resume
on the Web -- and then promote it via key search engines and directories.
First, you'll need to find some Web space (if you don't already) and then develop your
Web resume. Go to this page of our Internet job-hunting tutorial to get more information:
Create and publish
your own Web page containing your resume.
Second, you'll need to learn a bit about three critical HTML commands (called meta tags) that can greatly
enhance your resume's positioning on search engines.
- The "title" command...where you have up to 60 characters to provide a title to
your document. Consider using your name and resume in the title. In my case,
"Randall S. Hansen's Resume."
- The "description" command...where you have up to 150 characters to provide a
description of your document. Make sure you use words that highlight your
experience and skills.
- The "keywords" command...where you have limited space to enter critical keywords.
Be sure to use keywords that you think employers and recruiters might use in
searching for the position you are seeking -- and make sure those keywords are
also listed at least once (perhaps in a "key accomplishments" section) in your
resume.
Third, create your Web resume... either from scratch by saving your Word document as an HTML
file (see this section of Quintessential Careers for help in this area:
Web Resources Page for Job-Seeker Web-based Resumes)
or by borrowing one of the templates we have already created in our
Sample Web Resumes section
of Quintessential Careers. (You may also want to review some of the key resume-writing tools
we have in our Resume Resources section.)
Fourth, after proofreading the entire document, publish it and check it to make
sure it is search engine ready. My favorite check is a free meta tag checker from
Scrub the Web.
Make any adjustments to your page, as necessary.
Fifth, it's finally time to submit your resume page(s) to the key search engines and
directories. You have a couple options here. You can either submit your resume to each
search engine and directory individually or you can use a free or fee-based resume
submission service.
Regardless of which method you use to submit your resume, you'll want to keep track
of your search engine registrations. Here are some tips:
- Keep a log of when, where, and how you submit your Web resume.
- If you haven't already, develop a list of keywords for your Web resume.
- Create a file that has the title of your Web site, the URL, the set of keywords,
and a short (about 20 words ) and long (under 50 words) description of your Web site.
When it comes time to enter this information, simply cut and paste from the one application
to the other.
- Proofread your entire submission carefully. Check for misspelling and typos.
Be sure to confirm the URL address and title and your email address.
- Be prepared to spend more time than you might expect. While it is faster
to a multiple submission service, the process can -- at times -- be tediously slow.
- Follow-up! Keep a log of where you have registered your Web resume...and then
go back some time later (within a month) and make sure your site is included in the
databases of all the places you have registered.
You can find other tips and resources in
Dr. Randall S. Hansen's
Web Promotion Resources.
One final thought. Remember that you can publish multiple versions of your resume on
your personal Web site -- a Web-based (HTML) resume, a text-based (ASCII) resume,
a PDF (Portable Document Format) resume, and a MS Word resume...
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers,
one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of
EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of
MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and
EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of
Quintessential Careers Press,
including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter,
QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a
published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He's often
quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is
also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his
personal Website or
reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.
Have you taken advantage of all of our
resume resources?
