Question:
create Online Resume anyone can give free Experience ?
Answer:
When I created my first online resume, I decided that in order to make
myself stand out I needed to do something different. I concentrated on the
method rather than the content, as I had only limited experience in the
field I wanted to get into (IT).
At around the same time I was keen on learning HTML and designing my own
websites. I decided to combine my enjoyment of web design with the serious
exercise of promoting myself to potential employers in the form of an online
resume / online curriculum vitae.
Developing the web site
-----------------------
From start to finish it took about five days to develop the online resume
website with the aid of Dreamweaver 3, although it could really have been
done with Frontpage Express, Netscape Composer or, in fact, even Microsoft
Word, saved as a HTML document.
The actual online resume site itself is intentionally very basic. I was
determined not to go over the top with mouse rollover effects, pretty Java
applets, Flash or anything else which detracts from the site's content and
which would add page-download time, possibly turning off a potential
employer.
Once I had sorted the content for each of my four sections and tested it all
locally on my hard drive, it was then time to decide where I wanted my
online resume to be hosted.
I had essentially two choices; a free web hosting provider such as Fortune
City / Surfeu or investing in my own domain and web space.
I looked carefully at the pros and cons and decided on spending
approximately $60 a year on my own domain for about 5 MB web space, which
was more than enough. The reasoning behind my decision was that there is
normally a catch to free web hosting in that they will plaster your site
with advertising banners, or worse, have those annoying pop-ups which could
turn off a potential employer. Having said that, I believe that there now
exist free web hosting services that don't insist on banner advertising or
pop-ups, so you may not need to pay as I did.
I now had my resume online and submitted to the search engines and I was
reasonably happy with the site.
Potential employer identification
The next phase for me was to identify potential employers and entice them to
visit my online resume. This involved some simple online research.
It was then a matter of visiting web sites and making notes of email
addresses and perhaps the names of CEOs.
A search on a popular search machine using as a search term your branch plus
your town of interest is likely to give you ample selection of potential
employers.
Another source is still the job advertisement pages in the press.
The email campaign
Once I had approximately 40 email addresses, it was time to formulate the
email content.
I was aware that I should have a goal for each phase of my campaign, and the
goal for this particular phase was to create just enough curiosity and
interest for a potential employer to click on the link in my email. The
sending of 40 emails was really quite painless as the standard text did not
vary. I chose generic text which could be held in the clipboard and pasted
multiple times. It took less than a minute per email to send off.
The fruits of my labour
It is actually the second time I've used this method and I had approximately
the same amount of feedback as I did the first time round a year ago.
The emails were addressed to a mixture of potential employers in my area and
companies that have advertised positions in the local press. The following
results were achieved with a 3 week time span of sending my emails off.
* Eight job interviews from seven different companies.
* Two solid job offers.
* Still receiving on a regular basis to this date requests for interviews
although I signed a new contract on 19 June 2001 to start 1 July 2001.
The advantages of the online resume
1. Cost! All of my job applications went through email. I had no postage,
photo, folder and paper costs.
2. Printing out / photo copying numerous copies and using up expensive
printer ink.
3. It's unique! In my opinion it's very important to get noticed. The best
way to do that is to be different. Only around two percent of resume /
curriculum vitae submissions are done in the above manner, so it is more
likely you'll be given extra consideration.
4. It is easy. You do not need to know HTML programming. You can save a
Microsoft Word document as an HTML document (try the 'save as' option). It
may not be as pretty, but it will do the job.
5. It works. I have had eight job interviews for seven different companies
and two job offers. I don't attribute it to my experience and skills, but
rather to the fact that I am marketing myself online through my online
rresume and it gets me noticed.
My online resume can be found at http://www.lebenslauf-cv.de
It is pretty bland, but up to date.
