The Internet has created many new opportunities for job seekers to
find, apply, and obtain a work-at-home job all online. Nevertheless,
simplified job searching capabilities and the ability to e-mail a prospective
employer in an instant do not change the basic rules and etiquette of
applying for jobs in the online arena. A quick e-mail note to an
employer letting him know you are interested in a posted job is not going to
get you hired.
In the cyber-world as in the real world, your resume and cover letter
are the first chance you have to make an impression on a potential
employer. A well-written resume shows that you have the experience and meet
the requirements of the job. Further, it will help you proceed to the
next step in the job hiring process. A resume that falls short in terms
of providing relevant information or a sense of professionalism will be
discarded. Do not let your work-at-home resume end up in the reject
pile.
Cyber- resumes differ only slightly from traditional resumes. You
should prepare a text-only resume that can be copied and pasted into an
email, as most companies will not open an attachment. Nevertheless, you
should have a formatted or “scannable” resume that you can send via snail
mail or as an attachment if the company asks for one.
Before sending your resume and cover letter to a potential employer,
check to make sure you follow the guidelines below:
Do:
1. Follow the job announcement’s instruction for applying to the job.
2. Limit your resume to one page.
3. Use 12-pt font size.
4. Avoid fancy style fonts and formats. Not all computers can
accurately decipher special fonts and formatting (i.e. bold, italics).
5. Spell out all abbreviations; even those that should be obvious to
everyone.
6. Include your full name, address, telephone number and e-mail in all
documents.
7. In your resume, outline relevant work experience using your most
recent occupation first.
8. If you are recent graduate, consider listing your education before
your work experience.
9. List other relevant experience such as volunteer work,
certifications, course work, etc.
10. Address your cover or introductory letter to a specific person. You
can get this from the job announcement or the company’s web site.
11. Your letter of introduction should include the position to which
you are applying and where you saw the position advertised.
12. Highlight your skills and experience that are specific to the job
in the body of your letter.
13. Proofread, proofread, and proofread your resume and letter of
introduction (cover letter) again.
Don’t:
1. List skills or experience that are unrelated to the position offered
in your resume or cover letter.
2. Exaggerate or falsify anything.
3. Give personal information such as marital status, age, etc.
4. Have any grammar or typographical errors.
5. Use a personal or buddy-like tone in your cover letter.
6. Send bulk, generic resumes and cover letters.
7. Sound desperate. Companies want the best person for the job. Your
financial situation will not sway a decision one way or another.
8. Be over enthusiastic. ‘Salesmen’ type hype does not impress
employers.
9. Refer to yourself in the third person in your cover letter. Instead,
use “I”, and “me”, etc.
10. Send your resume as an attachment unless you are told specifically
to do so. Most companies delete e-mail with attachments for security
purposes.
Finding a work-at-home job has become much easier with the growth of
the Internet but the time and effort in conducting a job search remains
the same. You can avoid getting a rejection letter by following the
rules and etiquette of applying to jobs that have endured since the
invention of the resume.
Leslie Truex is the author of Jobs At Home: A Complete Guide to Finding
or Creating a Work-At-Home Job
(http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/leslietruex01.html ). She created
and still maintains the Work-At-Home Success web site
(http://www.workathomesuccess), which provides free information and
resources about working at home. She has worked at home as a social worker,
a school program coordinator, a sales person, and a freelancer for
Internet-based companies doing research, writing documents,
and more.
If you have a web page and can write a classified ad, you stand to create massive traffic to your own site by joining
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