E-Resume: The Online Curriculum Vitae

In this day and age, it isn't quite enough that you mail your resume and application to the desired company that you would like to work in. Aside from the pen and ink treatment, you have to email your papers as well. And it doesn't stop there. If you have applied for a job through some online job agency then you have to create an e-resume as well. What is an e-resume? Simply, it's a resume on the Internet. It's what you have on the e-resume that's the tricky part.

You need one

If you are looking to working these days, you absolutely need to have an e-resume. It's not that because they are all the rave and fashion. It's for the basic understanding that all companies now do a lump of their hiring over the Internet, whether it's through their own company email or through an Online Job Agency. An e-resume compliments the old-fashioned printed one. Once you have one, it is included in a database that is searchable by companies worldwide, increasing your chances of being hired by not just one company but probably a dozen others on an international scale. Companies these days expect people to respond via electronic mail and this is why it is important that you have an e-resume ready in case that they ask for one. This will save you the time from re-typing what you have on paper already.

The magic is in the keywords

Since the e-resume will be included in a database with hundreds of other e-resumes out there, you have to make your special. Gone are the days that you could use perfumed ink or some fancy stationary. Now, the rave is about including the right keywords so that when a company searches for individuals to hire, it is made easier for them if you included keywords that they typed out in the search. For example, if you are looking into working for the automobile industry, try to use keywords that describe your desired job and also include words that mention things that companies want to read about. Companies these days seek out for very specific individuals with very specific skills. If you don't include every keyword that describes what you are capable of, your chances of getting hired will be close to null.

Accomplishments

A resume usually shows what you have done, what experience you have gained in other companies and includes a few references of people who can vouch for your performance. The e-resume is different. It should be based on what accomplishments you have already met and should show the promise of success that you as an individual can achieve. Again, these accomplishments can actually be the keywords that you use for employers to find you on online databases. Companies do not want to see what you have done but they want to see what you can do and what you promise to fulfill as a hardworking employee.

E-resumes are flexible

The nice thing about an electronic resume is that it can be used in all sorts of ways and not just be dumped into a database with millions of others. Your e-resume can be posted just about anywhere. You can place it on online forums, job billboards, blogs, and websites. When required, you can also post only pieces of the e-resume that people may want to read. You can email it if that is what is requested, send it as an attachment, and if an employer wants the old-fashioned resume, you can print it out.

An e-resume is probably the most practical thing to have in the jobs market. You don't have to worry about losing it if you have a saved copy of it on your computer or USB drive. Also, you don't have to print it if you don't need to yet, saving you time and also the use of paper.