First of all, what exactly is an online resume? It's a resume designed and developed specifically for the web. Having one can distinguish your resume from the masses and give you a distinct edge in any competitive job hunt. A proper online resume shows a flair for design and a comfort level with the Internet. And no matter what your career is, an eye for production and web savvy are very desirable traits.
There are several ways to post your resume on the web. The most common manner of uploading a resume on the Internet is with plain text-called ASCII, which stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. You can send this plain text resume in an e-mail or paste it into a text box on an online job site. The other way to format your resume is by using HTML, the Internet's online language. We're going to provide you with tips for both ASCII and HTML.
Some job sites allow you to post your resume in HTML format, but very few require it. When given the choice, most people choose to send their resume in plain text (ASCII). However, we recommend taking advantage of any HTML option is recommended; that's your chance to stand out. Take a look at the way a regular resume can look in plain ASCII--just the regular, standard resume on the web. Notice how the justification looks weird, and the layout of the resume distorts if the screen gets too small.
Now compare that plain (old) resume with Review.com's online resume. Notice how much more striking it is, and how it fits the screen, no matter what size you set it to. Check out the hyperlinks, which allow potential employers to learn about the companies you've worked for with one simple click. They'll appreciate the better presentation, and they'll value the ease with which they can research your background.
Or take a look at this second before and after resume.
If you insist on using plain text, your options are limited. But that doesn't mean your plain text resume has to be, well, plain. Here are five handy tips when creating a regular resume, whether it's for e-mail or an online database:
Delete any special formatting
ASCII does not understand underlining, italics, bold, bullets, links, or colors. Make sure to eliminate any of these fancy formatting features before uploading your plain text resume. You can use asterisks or tildas (~) in lieu of the standard bullets that you see in HTML (or a Word document).
Maintain a page width of 60 characters
Different e-mail readers will view your resume differently. Therefore, you have to play it safe, and assume that their screen can only view 60 characters per line. If you go over this limit, you run the risk of having your text spill over to the next line.
Eliminate abbreviations and symbols
Don't expect everyone to understand your career-specific abbreviations. Consider that many of the viewers of your online resume will be Human Relations personnel or headhunters, and they won't understand your job lingo. On the same note, never use &, %, or + in your online resume. Spell those characters out.
Remove all tabs
Any tabs that you have used to help format your resume in regular text may show up as a garbled gobbledygook. Replace your tabs with spaces, and your resume will look the same regardless of who is looking at it.
Review your resume first
If you're going to e-mail a resume to a potential employer, send a copy to a friend or to yourself first. That way you can review it first for typos, grammatical errors, and layout before anybody important sets their eyes on it. This point can't be stressed enough.
