Creating an internationally accessible resume

Now that you’ve made sure your resume is culturally acceptable, you need to make sure it’s accessible online to employers around the world.

As I’ve done, you can create your own online resume website, but employers won’t likely find it unless directed to it by an e-mail or cover letter.

A more “all-inclusive” approach would be to post your resume to a job hunt engine like Monster.com, which has an international job site where you can post your resume or CV.

There’s also Careerbuilder.com, which features four country-specific job sites and links to a number of country-specific partner sites that also allow you to post your resume online.

Making Yourself Accessible Through Online Video

If you intend to apply from here in the U.S., like me, you might consider providing an online video interview along with your resume. Personal interaction gives in-country applicants an edge, but a video can make you and your personality more accessible to the employer and thereby better your chances.

In Teaching English Abroad, Susan Griffith says that the effort and expense of sending a video abroad is not worth it unless “(a) a school has expressed some interest and (b) you can make a good impression on an amateur video” (105).

However, by posting it online, you eliminate the expense of sending a video abroad and the concern that it might get damaged. Also, with today’s technology, you can create a semi-professional looking video by taking advantage of video editing software like Final Cut Pro for Mac or Adobe Premiere for PC. They are both fairly user friendly and though expensive, they both offer trial versions for 30 days—long enough to complete a project such as this.

I also prefer the idea of posting a video online because in most countries, an employer can more easily watch your video at a computer in his or her office than he can sit down to watch it with a VCR or DVD player.

Yet another benefit is that you can link to your video from online resumes that you may post at sites like those discussed above. For hard copy resumes, I simply intend to cite the link in my cover letter and hope employers choose to visit it.

Look for my video interview, which I intend to post on my blog site within the next couple of weeks. Maybe it can give you ideas, or even better, you can send me ideas on how to improve it!

Print Sources

Griffith, Susan. Teaching English Abroad: Teach Your Way Around the World. 8th Edition. Oxford: Vacation Work, 2006.