APPLYING ON-LINE
According to a recent survey, more than 90% of employers prefer to receive resumes by email and the same amount
of employers place these resumes into a searchable database. In order to present a strong résumé and cover letter
on-line, here are a few tips to succeed.
BEFORE YOU START
Review your resources. Make sure that you have a professional email address, Internet access, and an
up-to-date résumé and cover letter.
Review industry trends. Some industries may prefer specific types of résumé styles and lengths. If you are
unsure what is best for your industry, connect with your contacts.
Read through a company’s job application process as it will be different for each employer. Some
companies may want you to complete an online employment test or copy and paste your résumé into the text
boxes provided. Other companies may only accept submit scannable résumés or may want you to apply through
a job portal site such as Monster or Career Builder.
Change the format of your résumé. Employers may use résumé scanning software to identify which
résumés meet their qualifications. To make sure your résumé can be recognized by this software, create a
scannable version or save your résumé in Rich Text Format (RTF) or Portable Document Format (PDF) so the
original format won’t change once it gets to the employer.
Save your résumé with a proper file name so that it is professional. Type your name and the position you
are applying for as the file name such as “ASmithCustomerServiceResume.pdf”.
Follow the instructions given by the employer as accurately as possible. Often, this is your first
connection with the employer and they will use this opportunity to gauge your ability to follow instructions and
assess your communication skills which are fundamental. Hiring managers generally reject applications that do
not adhere to their guidelines.
KEYWORDS
Embed keywords in both your resume and cover letter. Keywords can be related to your skills,
education, industry terminology, titles of past positions, and descriptive nouns found within the job posting, i.e.
“critical thinker”, “excellent communication skills”.
SCANNABLE RESUMES
A scannable résumé is formatted to make a standard résumé become electronically readable in a computer
database system. Many database systems used particularly by medium to large employers cannot read italics,
bullets, or underlines. Having your résumé and cover letter in a scannable format increases the likelihood that
your résumé will be seen by the employer. Remember to incorporate the following:
Use a size 12 font such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman.
Replace capital letters for fancy formatting.
Remove underline, italics, bullets, lines, columns, or graphics.
APPLYING FOR A JOB VIA PORTALS
Create a profile. Many portals enable you to create multiple profiles for yourself so you can look for various
types of jobs. This will help categorize the positions and employers you have applied to.
Use options for submitting information wisely. Some portals allow you to submit a list of your top skills.
Prioritize these skills according to the job requirements. Other portals will have questions for you to answer in a
text box in addition to submitting an actual résumé. Some questions are mandatory; others are optional. When a
question is optional, consider whether it is to your advantage to answer it. Answering questions about salary or
location requirements, for example, may be too limiting. Refrain from answering questions too literally.
Use portal features. Most reputable job boards allow you to create “job alerts” so that once a new job meets
your selected criteria, it will be sent to your email without you having to log into the job website frequently. Other
portal features allow you to protect your own privacy and confidentiality, control who sees your résumé, easily edit
and delete your résumé or change it from active to inactive. Privacy and confidentiality issues are important for
applying on-line as there are increasing reports of identity theft from applying for work online.
Customize your résumé. Although it may be easy to “cut and paste” your résumé to multiple jobs on-line,
remember that it is advantageous to customize your résumé to each employer to effectively demonstrate your
skills towards each position.
Keep a log of applications and follow up with the jobs you have applied for. A log will help you to
remember the date you applied, the name of the position and the employer. It is a good idea to follow up with the
employer to see if they have received your résumé. However, if an employer posts a statement that says
something along the lines of “only applicants selected will be contacted for an interview”, it is wise to respect this
and not follow up with the employer.
ILLEGAL QUESTIONS
It is very important to be aware of illegal questions that employers may ask of you. The Ontario Human Rights
Code states that “application forms should not have questions that ask directly or indirectly about race, ancestry,
place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, record of offences, age, marital
status, family status or disability”. Exemptions are possible but only if it is a bona fide requirement.
REFERENCES
Some online applications may ask you to list references. It is always a good idea to get permission from your
references first before you provide the employer with their name and contact information. If you are not
comfortable providing reference information, write something such as “will provide reference information during
interview process”.
CONTACT INFORMATION
CAREER CENTRE
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR
TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT:
Call: 905.721.8668 ext. 3824
Email: [email protected]
Website: uoit.ca/careercentre