Job-seekers put it all on-line

Despite unemployment falling to 4.2 per cent in May, its lowest point in 32 years, many job seekers will tell you that trying to land a dream job seems as difficult as ever.

Some job seekers are going as far as creating video resumes and posting them on video-sharing websites such as YouTube in an attempt to differentiate themselves from the legions of other applicants in the market.

Link Recruitment Sydney general manager Andrew Williams says it's not the first time people have created multimedia resumes in a bid to be noticed.

"In the late 1990s and earlier this decade, when the internet revolution was hitting, there was a foray into resumes being sent on DVDs and videos, but it seemed to die out as quickly as it emerged," Mr Williams says.

"So whether this latest fad of YouTube [resumes] ones will go down the same path or develop into something of more substance I don't know, only time will tell."

The most widespread trend in resumes over the past decade was the shift from paper to electronic format, Mr Williams says. These days 99.9 per cent of resumes are electronic.

"All of our clients would expect to see resumes via electronic means, so if they're sent in via hard copy we just have to scan them and re-format them. In a competitive job market that is not going to be to the candidate's advantage," he says.

Despite people becoming increasingly computer savvy and having access to sophisticated software, the best resumes are often the simplest.

Fancy borders, images and backgrounds can ruin formatting once the resume is emailed, Mr Williams says.

"If you have a couple of gigabytes worth of resume with graphics, movies and pictures, you're probably just going to clog the inbox of the person you are sending it to and that's not going to help," he says.

Resumes that really stand out are those that most closely match the role people are applying for, he says.

"Almost every job you go for will require a different version of the resume so you need to tailor it and match your skills and experience against the position description or job advertisement."

There is now such a wealth of information online from recruitment companies and employment websites for job seekers looking to improve their resumes that there are no excuses for a poor resume.
Job hunters also have the option of paying someone to write a resume for them with a wide range of professional services available.

Aussie Resumes senior writer Tara West says one of the biggest advantages of using a professional service is the amount of time it can save a job seeker.

"It can take four to seven hours just for someone to research all their work history details," West says.

Clients undertake extensive consultation and a questionnaire process before being paired with a resume writer, she says.

"Generally you can spend an hour to two hours just drafting the questions to be put to the client," she says.

However, job seekers looking for the easy way out will be disappointed, Ms West says.

"If a client doesn't want to take part in the consultation process or just sends through their details and doesn't want anything more to do with it, we tell them we can't create a resume for them. It's our reputation on the line," she says.

Mr Williams is, however, sceptical of the benefit of some professional resume services.

"Without being overly cynical, you can sometimes tell if a resume has been professionally done, because it's long on gloss and short on content," he says.

"With all that help available online, if you can't put a decent resume together, you're probably not trying that hard."

Resume tips

• Contact details: Always put your name, age, address, phone number, mobile and email at the top of your resume. Only use a professional sounding email.
  
  
• Birth date and marital status: You are not legally obliged to include either detail. Including marital status is old-fashioned. Many recruiters recommend against including your date of birth as it can disadvantage you.
  
  
• Layout: Most people advise to keep it simple. Font style should be easy to read, such as 11 point Times New Roman or Arial. Don't use tiny font to get more on the page; this only makes it more difficult for the employer to read.
  
  
• Professional history: Outline your career history in reverse chronological order. The structure to follow for each role is: Job title, employer, dates, what you did, for whom and when.
  
  
• Length: For school leavers and people who have been in the workforce only a few years, two pages is fine. But for others three to five pages is advised.