Tips For Posting Your Resume Online

This week, I interviewed a career professional to get the inside scoop on posting resumes online.

The rules for this seem to change almost daily. What can you expect when you post your resume on a job board like CollegeRecruiter.com? What should you avoid doing? And what about privacy?

I posed these and other questions to Rob Thomas, of Haas and Associates, an Urbana, IL-based career management firm. Here's the text of that interview ...

Kevin: What's the one mistake most people make when posting their resumes online?

Rob: Formatting is the primary issue. You must convert your resume to a plain text format first. If you're using MS Word, save the document as "text only," or copy and it into a text editor, such as Notepad. Don't center the text -- align it to the left margin.

Second, carefully proofread the plain text version, because some characters can show up as question marks. It's a good idea to replace bullet points with asterisks (*), for example.

Kevin: Are there any other areas to watch out for?

Rob: Many resume sites will ask you about salary. Consider putting your requested salary at or even slightly below your present rate. Although everybody wants to make more money in their next job, don't knock yourself out of the running by asking for twice what you're making now. You can always negotiate that later.

Kevin: What about privacy issues?

Rob: About 90% of resume Web sites let you control who sees your data. You can always use a fictitious name, omit your phone number or change the name of your company. But I've found that the more information you leave off, the lower your response will be. It's best to carefully investigate each site and its privacy policies before posting your resume.

Kevin: What kind of results should people expect from posting their resume online?

Rob: The more high-tech and in-demand your skills are, the more calls you'll get, of course. My research tells me about 30-35% of high-tech professionals find jobs online, while it's about 10% for most other people.

You can increase your response by offering to relocate. And try posting on a site that's specific to your industry -- I've found resume Web sites for almost every profession, and that can really make a difference.

Best of luck to you!

-- Kevin Donlin is the author of "Resume and Cover Letter Secrets Revealed," a do-it-yourself manual that will help you find a job in 30 days ... or your money back. For more information, please visit http://www.CollegeRecruiter.com/1dayresumes.html