Preparing your CV for the Internet

Increasingly organisations are using computerised methods to process CVs so you may find that your paper CV is converted to an electronic version by scanning or you may be asked to submit an electronic version by e-mail or via an organisation's web based system. For organisations handling a large number of CVs - large corporations or recruitment companies - electronic systems offer a huge cost and time saving. CV management systems can scan 30,000 CVs in as little as 6 seconds!

Many people think that with the advancement of scanning, CV management systems, and keyword searching on the Internet that you must develop a different CV from the one you have prepared to send to contacts via traditional methods. This is not true! You are not creating a different CV, you are merely altering the presentation format for the Internet.

When done properly, your well-written, well-prepared CV will contain all of the necessary elements to attract attention whether it is being read by a recruiter or employer, scanned and searched in a management system like ResTrac or Resumix, or indexed on an Internet site.

Create your CV as normal, but alter the presentation for each of these mediums. You will have one CV in three formats, namely:

Traditional Mail Version, highly designed with bulleted lists, italicised text, and other highlights, printed and ready to send to potential contacts;

Scannable Version, still word-processed, but without italics and other fancy design highlights. Bulleted lists are fine, but that's about the limit. This should be written in a standard font such as Arial, Verdana or Times and printed on white or ivory paper for sending to those employers and recruiters who are known to use CV management systems; and

Internet Version, a plain text document which can be sent through e-mail or cut-and-pasted into online forms for submission into databases.

This is the same document, you just make three copies of it and edit each accordingly.

Why Should I Prepare My CV for the Internet?

Why go through the added effort of preparing an Internet CV?

it's the fastest way to contact a potential employer or networking contact;

e-mail can be forwarded, distributed, copied or printed quickly and easily - it is more flexible than a faxed document;

look at the classifieds - recruiters and employers are now requesting CVs via e-mail.

It is almost instinctive to send your CV as a Microsoft Word attachment. However, this is not necessarily the best course of action!  Why?

version: you don't know what version of Word they may have;

attachment issues: you don't know if they can receive Word attachments - many organisations have introduced strict policies on the receipt of Word attachments through e-mail as they are the primary source of virus attacks;

formatting: Word has a huge range of customisation and formatting options and the default settings can easily be changed. Your CV can pick up the settings of the PC on which it is opened which could be quite different from the PC on which it was created.  Margin settings, fonts and text enhancements are especially vulnerable;

compatibility: you don't always know if they have Word?! Despite Word's incredible market share, a number of large organisations use other software such as Lotus Wordpro.

The only way to ensure your document can be read at the other end and retains the style and formatting you created is to actually take this down to basics and format your CV into a plain text version.

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This will also make posting or pasting your CV into an online form much easier. Many sites allow you to build your CV on their pages by cutting-and-pasting it into a form they provide. Having your CV in plain text not only makes this easier, it means you will be able to respond quickly to any leads you find.

Step-by-Step: Preparing Your CV for the Internet

This is not difficult. Most word processors and CV-writing programs will let you save a file to text only, or they might call it ASCII or DOS text. Any one of these will work.

Check it for spelling and grammar, and read it over carefully to identify any errors the computer missed.

Save and print a copy of the completed CV, and then make a copy of the file.

Since your first CV file is CV.doc, name the copy CV.txt. To do this in Word:

Open your CV.doc file.

Pull down the File menu and click on Save As...

At the bottom of the Save window, go down to Save File as Type....

Click the down arrow and choose Text only. Make sure Word changes the filename from CV.doc to CV.txt

Click on "OK"

You now have 2 copies of your CV file, a Word document and a plain text document.

Close the CV.txt file.

You might get warning messages about destroying the format or other alarming consequences - ignore these and say "Yes, I want to save the file to text.

Re-open the CV.txt file in Word and edit its appearance to resemble your printed CV as much as possible while still working for e-mail.

Word will ask if you want to convert this document from plain text - you do. What you will see will be your CV in plain text, probably Courier font size 10, and all of your lines will begin on the left margin. Word will have also changed your bulleted lists to asterisks (*). However, this is not a true plain text copy of your CV, and you must still edit it.

The problem is Word is still wrapping your lines and formatting some things which need to be corrected. There are four major things to do to this document in preparation for sending it via e-mail and posting it online.

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Eliminate any lists that Word converted for you. Although inconvenient, Word is not doing you any favours here. As soon as you begin editing the document, it will begin controlling your format again. You can't allow this since it will alter the way your CV is working. Sorry - go down the page and delete all of them.

Alter the margins of your Internet CV to only 65 characters across the screen. You could sit there and count each letter and space to 65 or you can place your cursor at the end of each line, and check the position according to Word.

If you look at the bottom of the Word screen, you'll see notes on where you are in your document. The second section from the left tells you how far down the page you are in inches (say, 2.4"), what line of the page you are on (Ln 10), and what Column you are at (maybe 71). The Column is your character position.

You might want to place a sticky note on the screen at 65 to remind you to change all the lines. You must end all lines with hard returns, aka carriage returns, using the enter key.

Use the space bar to redo the spacing and recreate the tabs from your original CV. You can use 2-space indents to keep your lists lined up and 4 or 5-space indents for more visible indenting in accomplishment lists.

Add bulleting characters to highlight your skills, etc., just like the original. (see highlighting tips below). Despite eliminating several which Word so nicely translated for you, Word didn't do you any favours here. You will need to go back and reconstruct the lists yourself.

When you are finished re-constructing the look of your CV, "Save" this copy onto your diskette.

Frustrations you may encounter using Word to edit a plain text document, namely Autoformatting:

Word has a lot of automated features and thinks you want help with those lists. So, you might want to turn this feature OFF.

Pull down the Tools menu
Click on AutoCorrect

Under AutoCorrect, AutoFormat as you Type, and AutoFormat, clear any boxes for things such as the list formatting and automatic capitalisation at the beginning of sentences. 

Once you have finished editing your CV in the text format, e-mail it to yourself or to a friend to see how it looks in e-mailed format. Problems frequently occur with learning how to best present your CV in plain text, so don't send it out to potential contacts without first e-mailing it to others who can comment on the layout and presentation for you.

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To add your CV to an e-mail message:

Open your CV.txt file in Word.

Open your e-mail programme.

Copy and paste your CV from Word into the body of the e-mail message.

Hold down the left mouse button as you scroll down your CV in Word, highlighting all of it. You can also place your cursor in the Word window, hit the Control and A keys at the same time to highlight all text in the document.

Hit the Control and C keys to copy the highlighted text.

Move to the e-mail message and put the cursor where you want to begin the e-mail message.

Hit the Control and V keys to paste your CV into the message.

Keep all copies of the files on a diskette so that CV is ready to edit, print, or e-mail on demand.

You need to know which file is which – try naming them along the lines of CV.doc (traditional), CV2.doc (scannable), and CV.txt.

Always work on CV.doc first and then make any necessary changes to the other 2 files. If you just do some minor editing, then you can easily open and edit the other two files. If you make major revisions to your CV, make new copies of the other two files and re-format them.

Tips for Highlighting in Your Internet CV

You cannot use bolds, underlines, or bullets in a plain text document, so consider using the following characters for substitutes:

bullets - use asterisks (*) or plus signs (+) at the beginning of lines

lines - use a series of dashes to separate sections. Don't try to underline text.

bold text - consider capital letters or use asterisks to surround the text.

For Example:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUALIFICATIONS
*ISO 9000 specialist
*Programming experience in C, C++, and Java
*Qualified Counsellor
*Chartered Accountant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't try to highlight text within your CV, but highlight the headers or titles of each section using all capital letters. While you are working on your own CV, check the CV database at Career Magazine on the internet to see what other job seekers have done, both good and bad, to present their information.

Things to Consider Before Posting Your CV on the Web

For some people, posting a CV has been a great way to get work. For others, there is the fear that someone will get their home address and phone number and some would prefer certain people or organizations not to have access their CV. Since control and confidentiality are concerns, here are some things to think about before taking this step:

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1. Do you want your CV public?

Once you have posted it, consider it a public document and out of your control. Anyone can look in the public databases and see what is there. Even the private CV databanks do not always let you dictate who can and cannot look at your CV.

Hint: Instead of putting your home address and phone number on the CV, consider renting a post office box and getting a voice mail account during your job search. Cancel both when your search is over.

Note: Many employers and recruiters still prefer to make contact by phone, and if you look like someone they can use, they want to talk to you now! If you don't include a phone number, you may be overlooked.

2. Check the confidentiality of the database/service where you are placing your CV.

Who can get access to this database? How is that access granted? Will you be notified if your CV is forwarded to an employer? Is it possible a former employer or colleague will see your CV?

According to a survey published by FirstPersonGlobal.com (a subsidiary of the recruiter, Harvey Nash) published in the Financial Times in October 2000, 80% of people do not check how their CV will be used before placing it on an online job site.

Ask these questions, and if the answers you get make you the least bit uncomfortable, consider another service or consider not posting at all.

3. Once your CV is listed in a database, can it be updated at no cost?

Some Internet services will let you post your CV at no cost, but they will charge you for updates. You don't want an old CV out there, but you also don't want to pay for updates. Look for an unlimited number of updates, even if it is only to correct a typo or to reword something a little better. Avoid any service that charges for updates or severely limits your updates.

4. How long will your CV be in the databank?

Again, you don't want an old CV out there, and once you find a new position, you don't want to be getting calls from other employers two months or more after acceptance. A good database will delete your CV in 3 to 4 months unless otherwise instructed by you.

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