Electronic Resumes, or e-Resumes are now making its mark in the fast-paced and innovative job market. One thing that is so good about this new way of applying for a job is that you don’t have to spend time and money to travel to your prospective employer. However, this innovation is yet to be proven convenient for applicants. Most of job seekers are still clueless on how to make this technology work to their advantage.
The Nature of E-Resume
Like Google and Yahoo, online papers are being sifted according to keywords. Not surprising really, computers cannot understand and analyze human language. The point here is just to make your application keyword rich. If you’re applying for a job in as a marketing agent, then you have to submit an online application with related keywords like ‘marketing’, ‘sales’, and ‘customer service’.
Unfortunately however, we still don’t have the gizmo to detect what keyword does the HR input in the filtering computer, but you can be sure that it has something to do with the job post that you’re applying to. Better if you do your research about the company. Read their job posting carefully because more likely than not, your magic keyword can be seen somewhere in their qualifications and job descriptions.
The very nature of the document is mechanical. The good news is that you are assured that you won’t undergo any bias in the elimination process. The bad news is that unlike human resource personnel, computers cannot correct mistakes or interpret data if you’ve made even the slightest lapse.
Consider Formatting Too
And since we are dealing with computers here, like it or not, I have to give you technical pointers to ensure your success when it comes to online application.
The first jargon here is called ASCII. Simply put, ASCII is the purest form of computer text. ASCII is the type of language used by most of these computerized online readers. This means that no matter how you embellish your application with fancy font and bold or italics, it will always appear as plain text. One trick to check how your text will look like once you pass it: Copy-paste them from Word to Notepad.
Now you got the concept, remember that you have to be careful with using tabs and paragraph alignment. The ASCII cannot read those settings and your text might turn into an alien box language you can’t understand in the notepad. So make sure that you remove unreadable elements first. Delete tabs, symbols and special characters. Justify alignment. Remove bullets and replace them with asterisks. All set? Now you’re ready to copy-paste.
The Bottomline
Applying with an e-resume that can both pass computers and impress humans is not impossible as you thought. Using plain text is a reminder that the content is always more important than the layout and formatting of your application paper. Start writing purely, mean every word, and without even being aware of it, you have already written your perfect electronic application document. Know what obstacles to remove in your professional resume and successfully land a job interview in no time.
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