Applying for Work Via the Internet

The Internet has created many new ways to find work opportunities and let employers know that you have the skills they need. For example, you can

• use e-mail to apply for work more quickly and efficiently than ever before
• use e-mail, newsgroups and chat rooms to network
• use keyword searches to identify employers in your field
• use company websites to learn about potential employers (e.g. company structure, values, products, services, key personnel and contact information)
• search websites that have job listings from employers all over the world, and
• post your résumé in online databases.

The guidelines for what you should tell employers are the same no matter whether you are applying for work via the Internet or by regular mail. It's only how you format and deliver your message that's different.

Applying by E-mail

• If you are responding to an ad (in a newspaper or on the Internet), the subject line of your e-mail message should include the job title and/or job competition number.
• Start your message with what you would normally say in a covering letter and conclude with your résumé. Unless a job ad states differently, it's generally not recommended to send your résumé as an attachment.
• Résumés usually have bullets, italics or other formatting features that may not look the same on an employer's computer system as they do on your system. Therefore, create and save a copy of your résumé as a plain text document (e.g. ASCII, Text Only, DOS text), then copy and paste sections of your plain text résumé into your e-mail message. Since plain text documents do not allow fancy formatting (bold, underlining, bullets), use spaces or a series of dashes to separate sections and a character such as * or + for lists.
• Résumés usually have bullets, italics or other formatting features that may not look the same on an employer's computer system as they do on your system. Therefore, create and save a copy of your résumé as a plain text document (e.g. ASCII, Text Only, DOS text), then copy and paste sections of your plain text résumé into your e-mail message. Since plain text documents do not allow fancy formatting (bold, underlining, bullets), use spaces or a series of dashes to separate sections and a character such as * or + for lists.
  
• Make your e-mail address, mailing address and telephone number easy to find, so employers can get back to you by whatever method is most convenient. Depending on the e-mail reader you are using and how you have it set up, your contact information may be included in a "signature" that is automatically added to the bottom of all outgoing messages.
• Ask if employers would like a printed copy of your résumé for their files. If so, you can use regular mail to follow up with a more professional-looking copy of your résumé.

• Send a draft of your e-mail message to yourself and to friends who have different types of e-mail readers. If your message looks essentially the same when viewed on different readers (and your friends don't find any spelling, grammar or punctuation errors), you are ready to send your message to an employer.

• Save a copy of your message, so you can modify it when responding to other work opportunities, instead of starting over from scratch.
  
  

Posting Your Résumé on the Internet

Some work search sites allow you to add your résumé to an online database that employers can search when they are looking for job applicants who have specific qualifications. Some sites offer the service for free, while others may charge you a fee.

Before you post your résumé on the Internet, consider the following points.

• The information in your résumé (e.g. your address and telephone number) will be made public. The fact that you are looking for work may also become public knowledge - do you want your current boss to know?
• Post your résumé where employers in your field are most likely to see it. In other words, post your résumé on sites that have job listings for the type of work you want.

• Check website policies to find out if you can update your résumé, and if you will be notified when your résumé is forwarded to an employer. Look for websites that allow an unlimited number of updates, or delete your résumé within three months.

Increasingly, people are reporting success by using the Internet as a tool to find work opportunities!