Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-CVs and Posting Your CV Online

The ECV or e-resume, short for electronic CV or Resume, is a vital tool for today's job-searcher.

But what exactly is an electronic cv, ECV or resume? Even among career experts, opinions vary about what is or is not an electronic cv. It's a broadly used term that covers several types of cvs. What ties these cv types together is mode of delivery. Rather than traditional modes of cv delivery - snail-mail, faxing, and hand-delivery - ECVs are delivered electronically - via e-mail, submitted to Internet job boards, or residing on their own Web page. Then there are sort of middle-tech cousins of e-cvs, scannable cvs - used less and less frequently these days - that are in print format but are ready to become electronic cvs through optical scanning.

1. You absolutely MUST have one.

A job-searcher simply cannot succeed these days with just the traditional formatted cv intended to be printed out as a visually pleasing marketing piece. The formatted "print" cv is still important, but it can no longer be the only tool in your kit!

More than 80 percent of employers are now placing cvs directly into searchable databases and an equal percentage of employers prefer to receive cvs electronically. All these stats mean that you need an electronic version of your cv that can go directly into a keyword-searchable database with no obstacles. Use our ecv builder to develop a one page cv in a WORD format that can be sent via email to anybody anywhere in the world. You can also use our POWER SEND facility to select and send to large database of UK recruitment consultants. (international POWER SEND – coming soon!)

Sending your cv in text-based or WORD format directly in the body of an e-mail message removes all barriers to an employer's placing your cv right into a searchable database. Some employers still prefer the formatted document version of your cv attached to an e-mail message, while others won't open attachments because of concerns about viruses and incompatibilities among word-processing programs. And since the formatted version of your cv is often delivered electronically as an attachment, it too can be considered a type of electronic cv.

The formatted "print" cv is still vital because the employer may wish to visually review your cv, especially once the database search has narrowed down the candidates, and the formatted, print version will be more reader-friendly than the text-based version. You'll also want to have a print version of your cv on hand to take to interviews and career fairs and for occasions when employers request cvs in "old-fashioned" ways -- by mail or fax.

So, at the bare minimum, you need a formatted, print version of your cv and a text-based (ASCII) ECV. To cover every contingency, you might also want to have a Rich Text (RTF) version, a Portable Document Format (PDF) version, our Web-based (HTML) version, and a scannable version.

2. Your ECV must be loaded with keywords.

This advice really relates to all cvs in the era of the keyword-searchable database, but it's especially important for ECVs. Job-hunting today increasingly revolves around the mysterious world of keywords. Employers' use and eventual dependence on keywords to find the job candidates they want to interview has come about in recent years because of technology. Inundated by resumes from job-searchers, employers have increasingly relied on digitising job-seeker cvs, placing those cvs in keyword-searchable databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords that relate to job vacancies.

Most top companies, in fact, and many smaller companies now use these technologies. In addition, many employers search the databases of third-party job-posting and cv-posting boards on the Internet.

The bottom line is that if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your cv doesn't have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much out of luck.

3. Your e-cv must be achievements-driven.

Again, this advice applies to all cvs. Achievements are the points that really help sell you to an employer - much more so than everyday job duties. In fact, there's a direct relationship between keywords and achievements in that keywords can be tied to achievements rather than job duties, so a good way to make the leap from keyword to a nice, contextual bullet point is to take each keyword you've identified as critical to the job and list an achievement that tells how you've used the skill represented by that keyword.

4. Technically speaking, an ECV is not too difficult to create.

It's surprisingly easy to create an e-cv once you get the hang of it. There's more that one way to create a text-based ECV, but the most common method involves saving your word-processed (usually Word) resume in text (.txt) format, re-opening it in a text editor program, such as Wordpad, Notepad, or Mac's Simple Text, and then making a few adjustments in it.

5. Text-based ECV are pretty ugly, but you can dress them up a bit.

Job-seekers and cv writers have strived for years to develop ways to make cvs visually appealing and graphically interesting - through font choices, bold and italic type, rule lines, bullets, centering, indents, and more - only to have all that formatting thrown out the window in the e-cv world. Text-based e-cvs are the antitheses of the gorgeous documents that job-seekers hand to employers at interviews and career fairs. The fact is that most e-cvs aren't intended to be visually attractive because their main function is not to be seen but to be searched in keyword-searchable databases.

Still, they may be seen at some point. Employers may see the cv you've posted on an online job board. Their primary interest is whether the content of your cv (indicated largely by keywords) shows you to be qualified for the opening you've applied for and/or for which the employer is searching the database. But once the match has been made, the employer may actually look at your cv. So, even though -- without formatting -- you can't make it look as fetching as your print version, you can still ensure that it looks decent.

Now, one type of e-cv that is meant to look good is the HTML or Web-based cv. This type of cv resides on a Web page, in part, so it can be seen, so it should be visually pleasing. While it's not too difficult to make an HTML CV look attractive, the more you know about Web design, the better you can make the cv look. You can also transform your Web CV into a Web Portfolio that extensively shows off your skills and accomplishments. If you're not confident of your skills, you might want to enlist a Web Designer or Career Coach in this process. A really good example of a Web portfolio can be found at www.willetts.info Thanks Dave.

6. ECVs are highly versatile.

Once you have a text-based e-cv, you can do a lot with it, including:

• Post it in its entirety on many job boards.
• Paste it piece-by-piece into the profile forms of job boards, such as www.monster.com that have a rigid setup and don't allow cvs to be posted as is.
• Paste it into the body of an e-mail and send it to employers.
• Convert it to a Web-based HTML cv.
• Send it as an attachment to employers, although you'll probably also want to send your formatted version.
• Print it out and use as it a scannable cv

7. You must tailor the use of your ECV to each employer's or job board's instructions.

As you might have guessed from what you've read so far in this article, there is no universally accepted way to submit your ECV to an employer. Some employers want your cv as an attachment, usually as a Word document (but if no format is specified, and you can't find out, RTF is the safest bet). Others want your cv as text pasted into the body of an e-mail message. Still others want you to paste your resume into an online form.

If you absolutely cannot find out an employer's preference, the following is a fairly safe bet:

• A formatted, "print" cv in document or RTF form sent as an attachment to an e-mail message to the employer.
• A text-based ECV stripped of most formatting and pasted directly into the same e-mail message into which your print cv is attached. Since the employer has this text-based cv, he or she can choose whether or not to open the attached version, based on compatibility, virus protection, and company policy on opening attachments. For a truly complete e-mailable, electronic package, add a text-based cover letter stripped of formatting and pasted directly into the same e-mail message into which your print cv is attached. In your cover letter state: "I have attached an MS Word version of my CV, as well as pasted a plain-text version below. (If the plain-text version is sufficient for your database, it is not necessary to download the formatted attachment.)"

The same lack of universality goes for job boards. Some enable you to paste your cv into a form in any format, but the board automatically converts it to text. Others require that the cv be in text format to begin with before you can paste it into the form. These variations underscore the importance of having a text-based ECV.

A text-based ECV is not only vital for boards with a text-cv requirement - but also extremely helpful when the boards convert any cv to text. Just because a job board turns your cv into text doesn't mean it will look decent; it's better to have a text cv to begin with so you know it will look appropriate when pasted in.

Also note that some job boards/employers limit the number of words or the size of the file that you can paste into any one field. Others, such as Monster.com, have a very rigid format for constructing your cv/profile that does not allow for functional or chrono-functional resume formats, for example.

8. Take advantage of job-board features to protect yourself and get the most out of posting your ECV on the boards.

Most reputable job boards have features that enable you to protect your own privacy and confidentiality, control who sees your cv, mask the identity if your current employer (so your employer doesn't know you're looking), and easily edit and delete your cv or change it from active to inactive.

These privacy and confidentiality issues are more important than ever these days in light of recent revelations of identity theft of resume information. Many boards also enable you to create multiple profiles for yourself so you can look for various types of jobs. Some permit you to submit a list of your top skills. CV submission forms generally have questions in addition to a place to submit the actual cv. Some questions are mandatory; others are optional. When a question is optional, consider whether it is to your advantage to answer it. Answering questions about salary or location requirements, for example, may be too limiting. The resources in No. 7 above are helpful in taking advantage of the features of job boards.

9. A few finishing touches can increase your ECV's effectiveness.

Here are a few tips from the experts for getting more out of your e-cv:

• Use the "Properties" feature in MS Word to boost the keyword searchability of your attached Word cv. This feature, found under Word's File menu, enables you to insert keywords, comments, and a link to your Web-based cv if you have one. You can use the "Comments" field to enter geographic and relocation preferences.
• A similar trick applies to using HTML commands called meta tags in creating a Web-based cv. The "description" command, for example, gives you up to 150 characters to provide a description of your document. Make sure you use words that highlight your experience and skills. The "keywords" command gives you limited space to enter critical keywords. Be sure to use keywords that you think employers and recruiters might use in searching for the position you are seeking -- and make sure those keywords are also listed at least once (perhaps in a "key achievements" section) in your cv.
• Do some test runs of the formatted print cv you intend to send to employers as an attachment by sending it to the computers of a few friends to see if the formatting is consistent from computer to computer. Try to find testers who each have different versions of Windows (95, 98, 2000, XP), as well as a tester or two using Mac OS.
• It's best to include your cover letter in the body of your e-mail rather than as an additional attachment because some systems can't handle multiple attachments
• Use a specific subject line in your e-mail when transmitting your e-cv. The subject line might include the reference number for the job, your name, the name of the position, and a concise keyword-oriented selling point about you.

10. Use your common sense

Can you imagine how many cvs employers receive with files entitled "cv.doc" or "cv.rtf?" Use your name/date as part of the file name for your e-cv. Example: JamesVBrownCV0403.rtf and follow these Web CV rules:

• Have email link
• Link to online portfolio of projects
• Avoid using loud or busy background images
• Avoid flashing images and blinking text
• Limited use of all caps
• Normal usage of italics, bold, and underlining
• Keep use of colours to a minimum -- and use muted colours
• Do not have your favourite song playing (unless it's great)