JUNE - JULY 2001  

E-Résumés: Make Your Online Credentials Really Stand Out

by Robert Bellinger

By most accounts, it's a pretty good bet that the electronic resume or "e-résumé" is here to stay. And according to author, educator and web site founder Rebecca Smith, the rules for submitting electronic résumés are not the same as submitting traditional paper résumés.

Smith's expertise is in electronic communications and marketing résumés using Internet technology. She also teaches workshops online, where job seekers and career practitioners learn how to communicate within the context of applying for jobs electronically.

If the Web Fits…

While some IEEE members and other technical professionals out there might pooh-pooh the idea of e-résumés, Microsoft corporate recruiter Jeffery Banks begs to differ. "Candidates should think about where they are applying," he advises. "I would have to question a candidate's fit for this company if he or she cannot communicate with me electronically."

The engineering world lives on the web. Applying for a job on the Internet is practically a given, even if you find the job listing in newspaper classifieds.

Smith makes many recommendations in her books Electronic Résumés and Online Networking (Career Press, Second Edition, 2000) and The Official Guide to Getting a Job at Microsoft (McGraw-Hill, 2000). Additional tips can be found on her web site, www.eresumes.com. Among her recommendations are:

• Study the job announcement to which you are responding. Note the skills being sought and the keywords being used. This information will enable you to assess whether you have what the company is looking for and will help you determine how to prepare a résumé that supports the ad.

• Prepare and maintain a master résumé in both paper and electronic formats. This includes gathering every crumb of useful information about yourself and your career to date and organizing the data into chunks of information (e.g., employment data; personal data; education and training data; etc.).

• Extract keywords from these data chunks. For example, as you organize your data, you will see a distinction between job responsibilities and job accomplishments, as well as significant, recurring keywords that you should include in your keyword summary. The concept of keywords is critical for engineers and electrotechnical professionals because employers use these words to search for candidates electronically. For example, they type in "Java programming" or some other term and then can scan all résumés that list that term.

• Summarize your keywords and refine your objective statement. Refine your objective statement last, since it should summarize the content of your master résumé.

Don't Exaggerate Your Skills or Knowledge

"Engineering and other technical fields will not allow you to exaggerate your skills or abilities," Smith cautions. "You either know how to program in C++ or you don't." She recommends that engineers include a certificate number to show they have actually completed certification programs (e.g., MCSE).

E-Résumé or Bust?

Is paper dead? Smith hedges on this question. "Typically, the bigger the company or online job board, the greater the chance that an electronic résumé will win out over a paper one." she notes. "The reason is simple — it is efficient and cost-effective."

On the other hand, she adds, many hiring managers print hard copy versions of the electronic résumés they want to pursue further. And most companies — both large and small — provide applicants with the option to submit paper résumés.

"The web will never replace paper," she says, "just like the television never replaced radio."

Ed. Note: In the July - August issue, we will offer advice and tips for preparing your e-résumé in terms of style, format and appearance.

Bob Bellinger is a freelance editor and managing editor of IEEE-USA News and Views.