Whitcomb, Susan Britton & Kendall, Pat eResumes: Everything You Need to Know About Using Electronic
Resumes to Tap into Today's Hot Job Market McGraw-Hill: New York, 2002
ISBN: 0-07-136399-8
Cost: $11.95 (softcover
>> Reviewed by Jeff Staples <<
Should I use PDF, RTF, or maybe ASCII for creating
my e-resume? Do I want to provide specific contact information or do I
want my e-resume to convey little contact-related information? These decisions
and many others such as the right keywords to use are addressed in eResumes.
The descriptive subtitle says it all: "Everything you need to know
about using electronic resumes."
This book provides something for all e-resume developers.
If you don't have an electronic resume, you should be able to find out
all you need to know to create one. If you have provided your resumes
to prospects via the Internet for some time, you might discover items
in this book that you haven't considered before, such as privacy concerns,
or find ideas for updating the look of your e-resume with the large array
of example resumes.
The authors have included a host of resources for
the e-resume developer, including effective writing strategies, visual
aids, and effective design templates. Start with the Preface for a quick
overview of the book. There you find a brief synopsis of each chapter
and its focus.
Chapter 1 provides interesting information on various
types of electronic resumes. However, much of the chapter focuses on why
you should take your resume online. Probably most people in today's job
market will not need any convincing on the value of providing their resume
to the wider market that the Internet can offer.
Chapter 2 focuses on keywords and the value they offer
in an e-resume that will probably be searched rather than read. You learn
that today a computer will probably be scanning your resume searching
for keywords to decide if you are a match for the position available.
The authors coin a new definition for ROI and consider it "the secret
to writing a winning eResume" (p.33). It's important to be familiar
with keywords in your particular industry, and the chapter offers a list
of keywords that recruiters say they typically look for and a number of
resources for finding applicable keywords.
Chapter 3 covers ASCII e-resumes. You learn coding
for ASCII characters and see various examples of what can go wrong when
characters are used incorrectly. There is a great discussion on formatting
resumes that are intended to go in e-mail messages and in e-forms on job-search
Web sites.If you have covered Chapter 3, then you have created an ASCII
resume.
Chapters 4 and 5 take you through the process of submitting
your ASCII resume into an e-form and attaching it to an e-mail message.
An important point of the chapter is to use the universal language-plain
text-when submitting your e-resume via e-mail and the Internet. Plain
text may not be pretty, but it will deliver something that is understandable
to the recipient. And don't forget the cover letter, or you run the risk
of being regarded as "a bit clueless."
Chapter 6 is basically for supplemental reading unless
you are unsure of the value inherent in an electronic resume or portfolio.
However, it does provide information on the differences between the Web
resume and a portfolio. There are good examples on how to enhance the
look of a Web-based resume.
Chapter 7 conveys options for getting external help
in creating your e-resume. No, you do not have to go it alone. Details
are provided on various options available such as hiring a professional
Web page designer and using Microsoft Word's Save as Web Page option.
In Chapter 8, the focus is on the effectiveness of
your e-resume. You will notice that many items that you focus on in your
printed resume such as typography and capturing an employer's attention
hold true for electronic resumes as well. In addition, an online resume
lets you consider items such as use of graphics and color. Good examples
of resumes are provided that demonstrate before-and-after effects on e-resumes
that use the techniques the authors recommend.
In contrast to Chapter 7 and its options for external
help, Chapter 9 is for the do-it-yourself individual. The focus is on
creating your own e-resume by working directly with the HTML code. You
get a brief overview of the basics of HTML and a reference to resources
that offer additional information.
Chapter 10 is a must read for even the seasoned e-resume
developer. Here you find a discussion of privacy issues associated with
posting and distributing e-resumes. In addition, several examples convey
how much or how little you want your resume to reveal. But the information
does not stop there. Now that you have created your electronic resume,
where do you send it? This chapter provides several suggestions on where
to post your resume, including career, recreation, and resume-distribution
Web sites.
The authors have assembled an array of information
that covers a multitude of items related to the creation and distribution
of e-resumes. This book should serve as a great starting point to compile
or enhance your electronic resume and a great reference in your technical
communication library.
Reprinted with permission. Originally appeared in STC Technical Communication,
February 2003. All rights reserved.
Jeff Staples is an Information Developer in Houston, where he creates online
and print documentation. Jeff is a past President of the STC Houston Chapter
and past Editor of the STC Quality SIG newsletter, DocQment.
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Volume
1 | Number 1 | Spring 2004