Posted by: William W. (Woody) WilliamsOver the past 12 or 13 years, every job offer I accepted came about as a direct result of using online tools. That's a bold statement but it's true. Others tell different tales about their on line experiences but this story is about a 100% success rate.
Online tools are not the only resources used, or useful, and they are not the only key to success. I don't recommend relying solely on online tools. That said, online tools are quite important, especially when synchronized with offline networking, face time, and other activities.
Having been a project manager for ten years or so, there's a reliance in my personal life on repeatable methods and processes. I treat searching for employment opportunities in the same manner as any other project. After all: Why not? It works.
What follows is a distillation / summary in three parts of some successful working methods and processes.
Online Job Search: Recommendations for Success (I)
Online, Public, Searchable Resumes: The Job Boards
First Agonizing Reality: There is No Common Ground
An agonizing reality faced by every job seeker playing the online "resume roulette" game, is the multitude of format requirements across different sites and venues. Job boards, networking sites, recruiters, and employers all require something a little different in profiles or resumes.
Resume File Size
In the resume department, there are sites cutting off uploads at 100K (HotJobs is one), others cut off at 200K (CareerBuilder is one), and still others that accept any file size we throw at them.
For the successful online job seeker, several resume file sizes may be needed and, regardless of file size, all must be crafted to convey the same message and communicate virtually the same information. It's a challenge and it requires a full time approach and careful attention to detail.
Smaller file size requirements obviously favor the "no more than one" or "no more than three" page approach to creating resumes. For recent grads and folks with less than five years experience, that's simple enough. For the contractor or consultant with 10 gigs in the last five years, or folks with 10 or more years experience, creating a resume in MS Word with a file size less than 100K is daunting.
The simplest approach is probably the best and, in this case, simpler means less "version control" across multiple resumes. That could mean one version (.doc, .pdf, or other document format) at less than 100k used for submissions and uploads everywhere. A more realistic approach involving minimal version control is creating two versions: One at less than 100K and the other at less than 200K.
Use the less than 100K file for submissions to sites with restrictive upload limits and the less than 200K file for everything else.
Resume file format
Some boards require resumes in plain text only, others take MS Word, Rich Text, and/or PDF. Some accept HTML and others: No way.
Some job boards reformat resumes sent as documents into HTML for on-line display. These sites have various formatting requirements (some stated; some not) to help manage that conversion in a relatively friendly fashion.
Most sites have a link to information on how to optimize the resume format for submissions. Do not ignore that link: Use it if they offer it and customize the resume format for optimal results. Optimal is always the better choice.
For better results, create three versions: MS Word, Adobe PDF, and plain text. Don't forget that each of these three versions needs to meet the file size criteria previously discussed. That could mean, given both less than 100K and less than 200k file size versions, creating each in a different file type as well. Fortunately, that usually isn't required.
For one thing, plain text versions rarely present issues with file size constraints. A 200K MS Word resume, for example, saved as plain text should be easily less than 30K and submit without issue to just about any site that accepts plain text. It won't be pretty, but it will upload.
Plain text resumes may not display well when converted to HTML compared to more sophisticated formats. They also lack formatting options that lead to easy reading. Plain text, on the plus side, easily scans into databases used by job boards, employers, and recruiters. Job seekers must have a plain text resume version but it shouldn't be the only version.
Converting or printing to Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) usually reduces the file size of an MS Word document. At the very least, it won't be a larger file size. Another advantage to PDF is that conversion to HTML is usually pretty smooth. However, PDF documents scan to some but not all databases. In a case where it is known that a resume is going to a database (recruiters, most large HR departments), it's better to send MS Word, RTF, or Plain Text instead of PDF.
PDF is an excellent format for personal email since file size is smaller, formatting is retained, changes are not allowed, and almost everyone has the capability to view PDF documents. Job seekers should have this file type but remember it's not scannable into all databases.
MS Word documents get big fairly quickly, especially if colors, multiple fonts, and a lot of formatting options are added. For a short resume ( 1 - 3 pages), this shouldn't represent a file size issue. If the resume is five pages, it's probably north of 100K. If the resume is eight to ten pages, it's probably north of 200K. When creating a resume in Word, keep a close watch on the file size and choice of formatting options.
One MS Word formatting option worth mentioning concerns tables vs columns. Most job boards that convert resumes to HTML render tables as expected -- the same way it looks in Word. Columns, however, do not render the same -- the columns are lost, becoming long paragraphs.
On the other hand, converting a Word document with tables into other formats (Rich Text or Plain Text) requires a lot of manual clean-up. Not so with columns. Some job boards recommend against tables for this reason.
Using tabs or spaces to create table-like sections in MS Word is not recommended. They rarely render well or convert easily.
There are open source options for document creation that get away from relying on MS Word.Google Docs is one "cloud" or on line example. Open Office is another, downloadable, runs-from-the-desktop option. Most open source applications allow saving in MS Word, PDF, and other formats.
For job seekers without MS Word, cloud and open source applications may represent the best solution. It may be a good option for any job seeker wanting to maintain one source file with multiple compatibility options.
No matter which or how many sites or job boards used or their file formats, focus on consistency in content and message across all.
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