Click here for a job.

You'll have to be creative to net a position online

Zalee Harris, a 25-year veteran of the telecommunications industry, was laid off from her job in December 1998. Rather than pound the pavement via the traditional route--want ads--she decided to let the Internet find her a job "while she slept." She posted a resume that emphasized her skills to several Internet job search engines.

But she didn't stop there. Harris, 44, also created a Web resume on a personal home page and registered it with several search engines. In three weeks, she was offered, and accepted, a position as a senior project manager for a global communications firm in northern Virginia. The recruiters said it was the combination of her skill-based resume on the databases and her own Web resume that helped her stand out.

Those who aren't embracing Internet technology risk losing out on many jobs, says Harris. According to Forrester Research, companies expect to increase spending for online recruiting by 52% through 2004. "The Internet is leading the edge. The trend of the 21st century is to go public on the Internet with your knowledge, skills, and abilities," says Harris.

Still, don't put all of your eggs in one Internet job search basket. While 75% of Web surfers have used the Internet to search for a job, only a tiny fraction (4%) have actually landed a job solely through Internet sites.

Thus, technology savvy candidates, like Harris, are supplementing their online job searches by creating their own Web resume home pages based on Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), a set of codes that control how the resume looks and acts on the Web.

"It's an emerging trend," says Pat Kendall, president of the National Resume Writers Association. The plain text (or ASCII) resumes, which are posted to resume data bases or sent to employers via e-mail, are a standard part of today's online job search, she says. But they are plain, not very attractive, and provide limited information on a candidate. Web or HTML resumes or portfolios, on the other hand, can be used as complete presentation pieces, says Kendall, author of Jumpstart Your Online Job Search in a Weekend (Prima Communications, $24.99) and co-author of the upcoming book, E-Resumes: How to Write, Design, and Deliver Your Resume Online (McGraw Hill, $11.95).

Just think. A Web resume gives you the opportunity to link potential employers to your entire professional portfolio--including visuals of articles you've written and awards you've won. Harris' Web resume has three parts--a cover letter giving a personal summary of her career; a detailed career history with key words appropriate to her industry; and a page highlighting her educational background, including professional development activities and community service. Web resumes and portfolios should also include an ASCII download for the employer, advises Kendall.

Like its traditional paper counterpart, a Web resume should leave no doubt in the employer's mind that you are the right person for the job. That said, Kendall outlines three advantages to creating your own Web resume site.

* Control/confidentiality. One of the downsides to submitting your plain-text resume to public online resume databases is that your employer could stumble across it. But only those who have your Website address can see your resume.

* Universal compatibility. Anyone with Web access can view your r6sum& No need to worry about compatibility or viruses. And it's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

* Attractive appearance. Web resumes, when designed properly, can project a professional, up-to-date image in virtually any style--whether conservative, distinctly professional, or cutting edge. "If your profession is image-oriented, high-tech, or creative, this feature alone makes the Web resume worthwhile," notes Kendall. Note: Resist the urge to use unnecessary technology. For instance, flashing symbols or multiple frames can make the resume or portfolio slow to download and cause the employer to lose interest.

For more on online resumes, read:

* Cyberspace Resume Kit 2001: How to Build and Launch an Online Resume by Mary B. Nemnich and Fred E. Jandt (Jist Works, $18.95)

* Internet Resume: Take the Net to Your Next Job by Peter D. Weddle (Impact Publishings, $14.95)