Resume Posting: Tips for Jobseekers
By William Werksman
Posted Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Recruiting firms, like most businesses today, must embrace technology in order to prosper. Part of modern recruiting is understanding the value and benefit of internet job boards. They give recruiters and HR professionals the ability to both publicize potential job opportunities and search through large databases of prospective candidates. In order to best serve our clients and maximize our time each day, we employ very bright people called “RA’s”, short for Research Assistants. RA’s spend a considerable amount of time each day scouring the databases of high profile job boards for potential candidate sources. Most of the time their efforts pay off in the end by either leading us to a suitable candidate through direct contact or referrals to suitable candidates. For those considering posting their resume online, here are a few tips directly from the RA’s:
1. Resume Title: Stay away from silly or smart aleck resume titles. We’re looking for serious and committed candidates, not comedians. Give them a brief, 5 word maximum resume title that's factual and not hyped. Start the job search process correctly with an accurate resume title.
2. Contact info: The pet peeve of every RA and professional recruiter. How are we supposed to get in touch with you if we have no proper contact info? It's one thing to change telephone numbers or jobs, but keep one constant avenue of communication where people can reach you. It doesn’t even have to cost you a dime. Sign up for a free email service such as yahoo or hotmail. If you are uncomfortable providing telephone numbers and addressers, keep the contact info initially restricted to a free email account. At the very least, be certain prospective employers or recruiters can reach you through some means.
3. Geographical preferences: If you're open to relocation, that's great. If you're not or your relocation preferences are limited, say so. Don't check “Open” for relocation or select a laundry list of potential locations unless you have mentally committed to going. No one wants to waste time calling you if you are not serious about your relocation preferences.
4. Personal Hobbies: Like Badminton, stamp collecting and mountain biking. Super! But keep this information off your resume. It has nothing, repeat nothing, to do with your career and where your career is heading. Tell us the meat; give us the ammunition that we need to see why you are an excellent candidate. You’ll have plenty of time to share all those wonderful tidbits and personal hobbies with future co-workers, but focus on getting the job first. Keep only relevant data on your resume.
5. Visa or Sponsorship: Some companies will sponsor qualified candidates for their jobs. Others will not. Most job boards do you give the ability to make the selection as to your citizenship and visa status. Be clear and direct here. There is nothing more frustrating than going through the entire pre-screening interview only to discover the candidate needs visa sponsorship you or the client company cannot provide.
Online job boards are an excellent source for both candidates and employers/recruiters to connect. Be certain to follow these 4 quick resume posting hints for a better chance of success in the electronic job search world.
About the Author
Executive recruiter William Werksman is a frequent columnist to job boards including (http://www.NevadaJobBoard.com) addressing both the candidate's and employer's perspective. Werksman's expertise has been featured in business magazines, national newspapers and television news segments. His firm, Resource Partners, is recognized as the leading source of specialized and executive talent in the Casino and Gaming industry. He manages a staff of recruiters out of his firm's Las Vegas, Nevada headquarters. He may be reached at: Bill@CareerInsider.com or (702)248-1028.
