MyPlace or YourSpace – Online Writing Resume Tips

There are many ways to get yourself “noticed” these days,  both offline and online. One of the questions that is often asked of me is whether a candidate should post his / her resume on a job board, social or professional communities, such as: LinkedIn or Facebook, or perhaps even create their own website. My resounding answer is always, “depends on who you want to network with and how you want to be portrayed”.

The reality is that many people put up profiles and resumes “just because” it’s there. Oftentimes, there is little thought given to target audience, consistency, accuracy and the like. For example, if you’re looking for a career as an attorney at a prestigious law firm, you’d probably want to make sure that your online presence is not in conflict with the resume that you’ve sent in.

Jane is a high powered real estate attorney. Her resume reads like a “who’s who”, having worked for the best law firms and represented the top luminaries in the industry. She’s young and on the move. She also has a fun, personal side that really enjoys socializing. She puts up an online presence on Facebook or MySpace. The potential employer decides to check all available and public information about Jane and finds out something that they think is either inappropriate or “not up to their corporate standards”. Jane is not offered a job.

What’s wrong with this picture? Employers are increasingly going to the Internet to find out information about candidates. In fact, there is so much “public” information available now on the Internet many individuals are beginning to close their public profiles or at least reduce their visibility.

Is this good or bad? Does the employer really have the right to research your Internet profile? These are questions that are not my place to answer. But, as I started out saying in this blog, you should carefully consider to whom you are targeting and how you want to be portrayed and then reconcile that with your online profile.

Related posts:

1. Some Tips For Writing An eResume
2. Writing Your Resume, Where To Begin?
3. Answer Job Interview Questions
4. Finding People Through Social Networking Web Sites
5. Writing Sample For Finding Writing Work Online