Case Study in Using Web-based Resume Builders

Case Study in Using Web-based Resume Builders

by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

This article accompanies our main article, New Web-Based Twists on Resumes: Best Ways to Construct a Resume.

Chris Perry provides a useful case study of the best uses of the kind of Web-based resume builders discussed here. "I actually used a number of the tools you mentioned in my own MBA job search last year," said Perry, who is an associate brand manager at Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in New Jersey, as well as founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog. Here's how he describes the value of these products:

"In my job search, beyond my traditional hard-copy paper resume, I created and continue to maintain resume profiles on LinkedIn, VisualCV, Brazen Careerist, and even on my own personal website/blog. However, it is important to note that I literally, in most cases, took exactly what I have on my hard-copy resume and copy/pasted it into the resume builder on each of these profiles/sites.

"While VisualCV, for example, allows you to include portfolio items, and while LinkedIn, for example, allows you multiple sections and applications for feeding in your blog posts, sharing your tweets or featuring your past presentations, these are just enhancements of your traditional hard-copy resume. As a result, I actually referred mainly to my personal website and my LinkedIn profile in all of my job searching and networking.

"The value that I see in these services is that they create another outpost of online presence for the job-seeker. Obviously, the more sites that feature a person and his/her information, the more potential results Google will generate for a search of that person's name. That means that an employer will have a better chance of finding your professional information and credentials if you have them posted across multiple resume profiles and networks.

"I don't believe that using these services negates the need for writing your resume or soliciting the assistance of a professional resume writer. These services provide you with an easy-input builder and an attractive layout that helps present all of your information effectively; however, the actual copy, including your summary, your personal branding statement/objective and your responsibilities/accomplishments under each of your roles, still needs to be engaging, attractive and well-written. You may be able to do this yourself, but I would also recommend getting a professional resume consultation to offer additional feedback and insight for improving your resume."

See our main article, New Web-Based Twists on Resumes: Best Ways to Construct a 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.

Katharine Hansen, PhD, QuintCareers.com Creative Director

Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers, is an educator, author, and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and blogs about storytelling in the job search at A Storied Career. Katharine, who earned her PhD in organizational behavior from Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH, is author of Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates and A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market (both published by Ten Speed Press), as well as Top Notch Executive Resumes (Career Press); and with Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters, Write Your Way to a Higher GPA (Ten Speed), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Study Skills (Alpha). Visit her personal Website or reach her by e-mail at kathy(at)quintcareers.com.

Have you taken advantage of all the many free resume tools, articles, samples, and more that we have in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers?

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