From Alison Doyle,
Your Guide to Job Searching.
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Your resume is one of the most important job search tools you have. Getting your resume ready used to be relatively simple - write it, design it, format it, print it on good quality bond paper, and send it off to prospective employers. The tremendous growth of Internet recruiting has changed the process. Now job seekers need to be prepared to design a resume, send it via email or as an attachment to an email, post it to an employer web site or a resume database, and create a resume for the web.

The key factor, as in all resume writing, is to have a good, solid resume that reflects your skills and experiences and markets you as the ideal candidate for the job.

The first step is to start with a plain, simple resume you can edit into the various formats you'll need. Give up the fancy fonts and formatting and the expensive paper. Use a simple font like Arial or Times New Roman. Avoid columns and tabs and other spacing adjustments. Not sure what your resume should look like? Here are some samples:

Resume Samples
Review our collection of free sample resumes, cover letters, curriculum vitae, resignation letters, thank you letters, letters to accept, or decline a new job, and more career-related letters you can use for your job search correspondence.

Next, prepare a simple version of your resume to post online. While preparing keywords (nouns and phrases that highlight technical and professional skills) make sure you select keywords that adequately reflect your expertise and experience.

On some web sites, this process is simplified and you can keep the fancy fonts and formatting. On these sites, follow the instructions and you will be able to upload your resume directly from your word processing software with a few mouse clicks.

On others you may need to copy and paste your resume into text boxes and leave the formatting to the system. Don't worry about what it looks like, because it will be consistent with the other resumes in the database.

Need help? Sign up for our Resumes and Cover Letters That Work! free e-class to get more advice on writing a resume for the web.

Resume Resources

• How to Write a Resume
• Resume Samples
• Resumes and Cover Letters That Work!
• 10 Steps to a Killer Resume
• Posting Your Resume Online
• Resume Writing Software

Cover Letter Resources

• Cutting Edge Cover Letters
• Cover Letter Samples
• Email Cover Letters
• How to Write a Cover Letter