As part of your online jobs application, it is crucial for you to get an online job resume. Online jobs are actually real jobs for which you need to demonstrate real skills and capacities. And just like physical jobs, your online job resume should be competitive and distinguishing enough to make you stand out from the competition. Whether you’re looking for resume examples for jobs you can do from home or you need someone to help you spice up your existing resume and make it online friendly, this article will give you some tips that you can start with on your own to bring your resume to the next competitive level.

Are you ready?

Here are 8 savvy ways to spice up your online resume before applying for an online job! 

Spicing up the Content of your Online Job Resume 

#1: Optimize Your Online Job Resume for Keywords

When applying for online jobs, it is important that you optimize your resume using the keywords that the client included in the job description. This advice is applicable whether you are using freelancing platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer, or if you’re applying directly to companies that you found in my free remote jobs directory. There are 3 reasons why you should do this. First, the keywords that the clients are using in their online job description indicate the types of skills or abilities they are seeking in their next team member. 

Therefore, you need to use these keywords in your resume too. Secondly, on freelancing platforms like the ones I indicated above, clients (who are busy) often search for freelancers using specific keywords, and send them direct invitations to apply for different projects. So, if your resume or your online work profile is not optimized with keywords, the client will not find you and you will be missing out on an opportunity to actually be invited to apply for an online job. The third reason why you should optimize your online job resume with keywords is, when applying for jobs directly on companies websites (such as when you use my remote job directory), companies use a computerized filtering system (called an Applicant Tracking System – ATS) which automatically selects the applicants who meet the requirement (based on the keywords that the system picks), and discards those who do not. So, even if you meet the requirements for a job, unless your online resume has the keywords that the client uses, your resume will not even be picked from the pool of other applicants and will never be seen by the client.

#2: Use Words that Demonstrate your Remote/Online Work Skills

Since you are applying for online jobs, you need to show that you have experience working online. But I understand that seems like an impossible task if… you have no experience working online! So, how do you go about this?

Here are some tricks that I have taught my students, and that have worked for them. 

• Leverage your online learning experience: did you take an online course? A certificate course? Or started university online during the pandemic? Leverage that.
• Are you familiar with some online communication tools (Skype, Zoom, Google hangouts, etc.) highlight that!
• Did you teach online? Whether you gave a seminar or worked as a teacher (full or part time) during the pandemic, highlight that!
• Did you work remotely for a short period of time during the pandemic? Mention that too.

By showing all these experiences, you are unconsciously demonstrating to your intended client that you actually have a certain level of personal discipline. And keep in mind that discipline and self-management are two of the critical skills that any one who wants to work online or land a remote job needs to demonstrate.

#3: Opt for Action Words instead of Passive Words

Using active words in your resume shows that you have control, you take initiative, you are proactive and you get things done! And all these attributes are again, critical soft skills that you need to succeed as a freelancer or remote worker. Let me give you an example of how this plays out. Read the following two sentences, and comment (at the end of this post) which one screams “proactivity, capability, and self-dependence”.

A: I worked as a secretary at the state college and my tasks included paper filing, answering phone calls and responding to emails.

B: As the State College principal secretary, I took charge of paper filing, answering incoming phone calls and responding to emails.

If you picked B, you are correct. Certainly, I added some words to that sentence because while typing this article, I felt more empowered when I was typing that sentence. But if you ignore the additional words I added, the key active group of words here is “took charge”. And using active words when writing your resumes for online jobs subconsciously presents you as more in charge, more autonomous and more independent.  

#4: Make your Online Job Resume Results-driven for Each Job Category

This point is similar to point #3. When you are spicing up your professional resume for online job applications, you need to think in terms of highlighting the results that you provided for each company. Taking back the example of our two sentences A and B above, here is how this plays out:

Instead of saying: “As the State College principal secretary, I took charge of paper filing, answering incoming phone calls and responding to emails.”, think about this: what were the outcomes of you taking charge of paper filing? How did it make the state college better? How did it make your department better? How did it make your employer or customers better? A lot of people who are applying for online jobs DO NOT think that way, and including this in your online job resumes gives you the edge over all the other applicants who don’t.

Fortunately for you, this secret formula is included in my signature cover letter and resumes bundle, that will help you create banging resumes that get you noticed and get you hired!

#5: Make Your Online Job Resume Specific to the Job You are Applying for

Certainly, if you’re applying for online jobs, you need to use professional resume templates. However, you need to still customize each resume to the job you are applying for. Using an excellent resume template like the ones I have in my freelancer kickstart bundle give you an edge and helps you save time, but it does not remove the fact that you still need to adapt your online job resume to the specific online job you are applying to. 

Spicing up the Format of your Online Job Resume 

#6: Keep it Simple and “Online friendly”

The most professional resumes for online jobs are simple. Resist the temptation of cluttering your resume with extra colors, different fonts, images and all these things that you might see other people do online. Stylize your resume to the minimum and focus on the content. If you absolutely want to demonstrate your personality, or if you are in a creative field, then your online jobs portfolio can  be the tool you use to express your creativity.

#7: Use Text Elements Only

Going hand in hand with keeping your resume simple, you need to stick to text elements only. Avoid images, shapes and anything else that is not text. It might be too distracting for the client, and might make your resume difficult to navigate.

#8: Avoiding Graphics and Tables at All Costs!

Again,the simpler you keep your online job resume, the more professional your resume appears. Another reason to avoid graphics and tables at all costs is because if your resume goes through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), it will not be scanned by the system (as some of these systems only recognize text as a variable). And if your resume is not scanned by the system, there is no way the client is going to see it.

There you have it! My top 8 tips and savvy ways to spice up your online job resumes when looking for remote jobs. All this might seem exciting and daunting at the same time, I know.

Fortunately for you, I have developed the freelance kickstarting bundle that gives you 4 ready to use resumes and cover letter templates, that have already been optimized for online jobs!

Access the bundle now, and start applying to online jobs today!