| Current Job Search Trends | | | | in problem solving or communication skills. |
| Long gone are the days when you get hired by mailing | | | | If you have been out of work for a while, consider |
| out resumes on cream-colored paper. | | | | writing a skills-based resume or functional resume |
| With the job market tightly wound these days, you | | | | which will point out your proficiency instead of giving |
| need to digitally stand out from the rest. Here are a | | | | your work history. If you have been employed |
| few tips on creating your online persona so you can | | | | consistently, you can write the common chronological |
| get hired. | | | | resume. If your age is higher than the mean you may |
| Learn How to Market Yourself Online | | | | want to leave off your college graduation dates. |
| The job hunt rules have radically changed from years | | | | Your E-Mail Address |
| past. You have to learn how to market yourself online, | | | | "" might have seemed clever at one time, but you |
| which involves posting an attractive resume as well as | | | | would do much better to get yourself an email |
| polishing your online presence, and cleaning up your | | | | address that is more professional. Usually is sufficient. If |
| reputation. | | | | you have a professional blog or website, you can |
| The latest news indicates that 83 percent of | | | | include them as part of your contact information. |
| executive recruiters use search engines to find out all | | | | Your Photo |
| they can about those who have applied for a position | | | | Some recruiting companies find a photo on your |
| with their company. Do not be fooled - you will be | | | | resume to be unprofessional. It would be better if you |
| Googled! It is the new reference check. | | | | can direct the reader of your resume to your LinkedIn |
| In fact, you can start by Googling yourself (put your | | | | page or Web site where one is posted. Make sure |
| name in the Google search and enclose it in quotation | | | | your photo speaks energy and dignity. |
| marks). You might be surprised what pops up first, | | | | Your Own Website |
| second or third. Hopefully it sheds a positive light in | | | | Your personal URL should convey a positive message |
| your direction. | | | | about your level of success. It should be different from |
| Did it bring up a video of you and your friend that was | | | | what is on your resume. It should have case studies, |
| a blast putting together just for fun? How about news | | | | multimedia clips, customer testimonials or other |
| clips (hopefully nothing unlawful). Perhaps your Google | | | | demonstration of your skills and reputation. |
| results do show nothing at all. You need to fix that. | | | | If possible, buy and register a domain name that uses |
| Also, if you have joined Twitter, Facebook or other | | | | your own name - You can search for unclaimed |
| sites, what might a prospective employer be able to | | | | URLS at or which may cost you $20 or so a year. |
| discover about you? | | | | Then you will need a Web hosting service like or |
| If you take advantage of the opportunity to improve | | | | (about $20 a month or less). They have technical |
| your online presence, it may just land you that dream | | | | support that are very helpful to get you set up. |
| job you have been hoping for. So, here are a few tips | | | | If you have experience, you can build a site yourself |
| on getting your digital job search information up to par | | | | with template software. has a Sitebuilder, but the most |
| and even compelling, if you will. | | | | important thing is that is looks professional. If you |
| Your Resume | | | | prefer, you can hire someone who does Web sites all |
| The best source of new jobs come from web sites. In | | | | the time. They usually can add photos, text, multimedia |
| fact, 32 percent of external hires come from online job | | | | files and design it for you. If you have found a site that |
| boards, in comparison with 27 percent from referrals. | | | | you particularly like, you could point them to it as an |
| So, just to be safe, you should prepare your resume in | | | | example. |
| three formats: word or.doc, pdf, and.txt. | | | | Having a designer create your page could cost you up |
| There are plenty of online application forms where you | | | | to $500 or more depending on their experience. Be |
| can cut and paste your work history right out of Word. | | | | sure you are not held hostage by your Webmaster. |
| Make sure that you use a universal font which | | | | They may say that they are the only ones that can |
| reproduces well on any computer. These include Arial | | | | update it, and then you are stuck paying them for |
| and Times New Roman. Have a smart friend make | | | | every little change. A good web designer will provide |
| sure that your document opens properly on different | | | | you with the tools to edit it yourself. Ask them right up |
| computer systems just to be safe. | | | | front before they have created your site. |
| You can take your Word document and then convert | | | | An adequate professional site should have at least |
| your resume to a PDF file. This format opens on both | | | | three pages: |
| PC and Mac without changing the format. You can | | | | - Introduction (includes a brief summary of your |
| use Adobe Acrobat to change it or use a free | | | | experience) |
| converter from | | | | - Detailed Bio |
| Lastly, use Word to save your third resume version as | | | | - Evidence of your Performance (awards, testimonials, |
| unformatted text or .txt file which can be opened by | | | | work samples). |
| simple applications like Notepad. Do a save as.....plain | | | | Include your contact information, including your e-mail |
| text or text only. This eliminates the invisible coding that | | | | address and a physical address. |
| Word documents contain in case you have to cut and | | | | Blog |
| paste it into an online form. | | | | Your web site is useful for listing your |
| Objective lines on a resume are no longer appreciated | | | | accomplishments, but a blog can show that you are |
| - instead use a summary of qualification, or even | | | | involved in and stay up to date in your particular field. |
| better an executive summary. This is where you | | | | Blogs are now easy to set up with sites such as or |
| expound on what makes you distinctive. Whereas an | | | | They have improved the blogging software, and they |
| objective focuses mainly on what you want to get | | | | are generally easy to use. Once you start a blog, be |
| from a certain position, an executive summary will | | | | sure to add content on a regular basis, linking to |
| focus on what you can contribute to the mission of | | | | important sites and commenting on business related |
| the company. It could also shed light on your strengths | | | | news. |