1) Cost – The cost of postage keeps rising, and multiply that cost by the number of Cover Letters and Resumes you send out – it really adds up. An email with a formal introduction, and an attached word document, PDF, or link costs nothing each time you send since it’s already included in internet fees that you wouldn’t dare go without. Plus think of how many copies you’d have to make, which adds up at Kinkos or Pro-Copy.
2) Timeliness – Sending a resume through the U.S. postal service can take days to arrive. Sending an Online Resume out to a prospective employer or even twenty prospective employers – minutes.
3) More likely to Generate a Response – With a resume sent via postal mail, the recipient is going to have to call or email you if there’s interest. The recipient has every intention of calling you, but then he’s got two hours of paperwork he has to get to before he can even thinking of calling you, which will take anywhere from 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, all he has to do is hit the ‘reply’ button, acknowledge that he received your resume, and poof, the lines of communication are open, and it saved you both time and hassle!
4) More Applicable to Networking – Ever go to an event, get a business card, and never hear back from someone again? Or, did you have every intent of emailing the person but didn’t know how to follow up? Hopefully you mentioned you’re looking for work, and hopefully you’ll heed this advice – attach your resume to your email or imbed a link to it in your email signature. Putting it in your signature is a very subtle way of making your resume accessible and available. And all your contact has to do is hit the “forward” button to put you in touch with his boss or a colleague.
5) Eco-friendly – Aside from the costs financially, resumes and resume portfolios can take up a lot of paper, especially when you send them out to twenty-plus companies. While the internet does use electricity, the impact is far greater on trees – replenishing the supply of trees globally can take years.
6) Instantly Accessibility – CareerBuilder and Monster, two of the mega-giants in job posting and Online Resume Posting allow you to post your resume online so virtually anyone can see it. If a company needs to hire someone fast, they probably won’t go through the trouble of posting an ad in the local paper. They also probably won’t waste much time waiting for resumes to pile in. Be the speedy-solution they’re looking for. And who knows, even if this job doesn’t pan out, another company may just find you.
7) Friends and Family-Friendly – As mentioned in number-four, networking is so valuable when looking for a job. By giving your friends and family copies of your resume, they can help you put the word out about your skill-set to people they know. Do you think Aunt Margie or your best friend Jerry is going to carry a copy of your resume with them to Starbucks? Probably not. But Aunt Margie does have a friend in Seattle who is looking through entry level resumes and student resumes in attempts to hire an intern. And Jerry may know of an opening at the school he works for. Email your resume or send a link, and let them help you.
9) Keeps Content Fresh – You just sent out your sales resume to a leading medical equipment sales company in your area. You then received notice that a two-week long medical equipment sales workshop is coming to your area, which you attended. This additional training makes you more knowledgeable and more qualified for a job with this company, but you already submitted your resume. By posting an online update, and notifying the company of the update via email, you’re keeping the lines of communication open and expressing a desire to better yourself whenever the opportunity arises.
10) Potential for Freelance Opportunities – Most companies can use a temp or freelancer from time to time, but don’t want to spend money advertising for a position that may only last two weeks to two months. If you’re unemployed or looking for extra experience, temp work is a perfect way to keep yourself in the game, hone new skills, and make contacts within a company. Posting your resume online instantly opens up this avenue, which many job candidates often don’t consider. The key with this, and all elements of job hunting, is to be one, two, and even three steps ahead of the game.
If you’re interested in posting an online resume but don’t know where to begin, it can be helpful to refer to an online resume site with Free Resume Samples and Free Resume Examples. You’ll get tutorials on how to create a resume and ideas from effective resumes that have proven to work.
