Since I started my resume writing business 14 years ago, I have helped many clients post resumes online, on electronic job boards like monsterjobs.com, careerbuilder.com, and usajobs.gov. When I first started this service, statistics said that only 30 percent of employers were recruiting online. This figure has recently increased to more than 80 percent.
how they work
Online recruiting reduces human effort and saves the employer time and resources. Recruiters can quickly search a database of thousands of resumes for job candidates by selecting keywords, a combination of criteria that represent qualifications, knowledge and strengths critical to job performance.
The job applicant chooses similar data elements such as industry, title, location, distance, and others, further tailoring the field with keywords such as sales, marketing, sales rep, Los Angeles, 50 miles, etc. – produce a report containing the desired job advertisements. You do not need to post a resume to take advantage of this job search tool and you can receive daily or weekly job postings to your email address.
TIPS: If you haven’t jumped on board the e-job board train yet, you should give it a try. Read these tips first to guide you generically through the top job boards, while avoiding some common mistakes and protecting yourself against identity theft.
Sign in and register
Congratulations on writing or hiring a certified professional resume writer to write an interview-winning resume. You’re ready to log in to Monster, Careerbuilder, or another job board after setting up a user ID and password combination.
TIPS: Keep your user ID and password in a safe place.
personal information
The first blocks of data in the registration process confront you with a request for personal information. Carefully review the job board’s privacy policy and be aware of who they allow to view your resume. Monster and Careerbuilder, fortunately, have processes by which you can limit who sees your resume and what data they see. With identity theft or phishing on the rise, there is some information you should never divulge:
(A) You should never post your true date of birth or social security number on an online application. One exception is when you apply for a federal job opening at usajobs.gov or other federal agencies. Note that the URL must end with “.gov” and you should see “https:” in front of the web address.
(B) In addition, your online resume must not show your home address or home phone number. Be sure to modify your resume header information to include only your name, cell phone, and/or disposable email address.
TIPS: You can set up these free accounts at msn.com, yahoo.com, and gmail.com.
Upload your summary
Once inside the job board, look for a link or tab that takes you to the online resume builder. This tool allows you to import a word or text document from your computer desktop. You will highlight a directory and filename on your PC and click download/import/or open the key. Within seconds, the job board has captured your resume.
You can also “copy and paste” the text of your document, block by block, into the resume builder.
TIPS: I prefer the Copy and Paste method, which allows you to constantly review the information you are posting, block by block. You can make revisions as you go, especially in the blocks titled name, address, work experience, and education. Use the following keyboard shortcuts on an MS Windows operating system: Ctl/A to highlight; Ctl/C to copy the text; & Ctl/V to paste).
TIPS: Be prepared to make minor formatting adjustments to fit your resume into the job board’s own template. Preview your entire resume to make sure it’s pleasing to the eye, free of typos, spacing, font size, highlighting, tab stops, or margin size.
optional information
Responding to optional blocks of information, such as age and nationality, can work against you. In fact, before responding to any data request, determine if the information could be used against you, saving these responses for the job interview and beyond.
Examples of optional information to avoid or carefully consider before posting:
- Behavioral Interview Questions – Behavioral interview questions like “what is your perfect job?” or “how would you solve this xxxxx?” Don’t answer these questions now, but definitely research and develop answers to these questions for your interview, emphasizing your strengths and intelligence. They are meant to disqualify those who are challenged by a lack of common sense or who do not easily adapt to pressure.
- Illegal Questions: Questions related to age, gender, children, race, national origin, religion, or disability should not be answered on these forms. Under US employment law, these are taboo interview questions; however, be prepared for an off the record surprise attack and try to respond to the interviewer’s concerns effectively.
- Availability: Never reply “immediately” if you are currently employed. You will not be considered a trusted employee if you can leave at such short notice.
- Skills – You should answer this in detail if you have particularly valuable skills. For example, indicate that you are an expert user of MS Word and Excel. Cite the individual components of MS Office, instead of just saying MS Office, unless you really master all of its programs.
- Salary – Try to leave salary questions unanswered. We certified job interview professionals and other job coaches recommend that you wait until you have reached the salary negotiation stage, when the employer makes you a job offer. If you must answer this question, do your homework with a quick salary research trip to Monster or Salary.com. Salary research sites will ask you to provide your target job title, target city, years of experience, and educational level. A salary range report matching these items will be presented, along with national and regional figures for comparison.
Additional Information
This is a good place to post your cover letter (if the job board doesn’t have a cover letter upload feature). Cross-functional strengths and additional experience can also be mentioned using keywords applicable to other industries/job titles that interest you. This will give you more “hits”.
Save, preview and print
At this point, you should “save” your work online, so local power or web server outages don’t destroy your work. Please continue to save your work frequently. You will have the opportunity to preview your resume before posting it for recruiters to see. You should also print a copy of your resume online on your personal printer, create a PDF file using the print command (with PDF software like Adobe), or “copy and paste” the online copy into your Word or notepad. text editor for later use.
Apply for jobs / Receive invitations to interviews
Once your resume is online, you can associate your resume with a job by viewing a job posting and clicking “apply.” Your resume will be sent to the company recruiter, or the recruiter will receive an email notification to view your resume online. The more positions you list, the more chances of interviews.