1) Cost: The cost of postage keeps increasing and multiply that cost by the number of cover letters and resumes you send out; really adds up. An email with a formal introduction and an attached Word document, PDF, or link costs nothing each time you send it, since it’s already included in the internet fees you wouldn’t dare do without. Also, think about how many copies you would have to make, which add up at Kinkos or Pro-Copy.

2) Timeliness: Resume submission via the US Postal Service can take days to arrive. Submitting an online resume to one prospective employer or even twenty potential employers – minutes.

3) You’re more likely to get a response: With a snail-mailed resume, the recipient will have to call or email you if they’re interested. The recipient has every intention of calling you, but then has two hours of paperwork that he has to do before he can even think of calling you, which will take 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, all you have to do is hit the ‘reply’ button, acknowledge that you’ve received your resume, and poof, the lines of communication are open and you’ve saved yourself time and hassle!

4) More applicable to networking: Have you ever gone to an event, got a business card, and never heard from anyone again? Or did you fully intend to email the person but didn’t know how to follow up? Hopefully, you mentioned that you’re looking for a job, and hopefully you’ll listen to this advice: Attach your resume to your email or insert a link in your email signature. Putting it in your signature is a very subtle way to make your resume accessible and available. And all your contact has to do is hit the “forward” button to put you in touch with your boss or a colleague.

5) Environmentally Friendly: In addition to the financial costs, resumes and resume folders can take up a lot of paper, especially when you send them to more than twenty companies. While the internet uses electricity, the impact is much greater on trees: replenishing the global supply of trees can take years.

6) Instant Accessibility: Two of the mega-giants in online job posting and resume posting, CareerBuilder and Monster let you post your resume online for virtually anyone to see. If a company needs to hire someone quickly, they probably won’t bother to place an ad in the local newspaper. They probably won’t waste a lot of time waiting for resumes to pile up either. Be the quick fix they are looking for. And who knows, even if this job doesn’t work out, another company might find it.

7) Friends and Family – As mentioned in number four, networking is invaluable when job hunting. By giving your friends and family copies of your resume, they can help you spread the word about your skill set to the people they know. Do you think Aunt Margie or your best friend Jerry will take a copy of your resume to Starbucks? Probably not. But Aunt Margie has a friend in Seattle who is going through entry-level resumes and student resumes in an attempt to hire an intern. And Jerry may know of an opening at the school he works for. Email your resume or send a link and let them help you.

8) Most Applicable to Social Media – If you haven’t joined at least one professional social networking site like LinkedIn, shame on you! You can meet like-minded professionals who can review your resume and you can view theirs. Perhaps you have an idea of ​​ways you can better market yourself, you may meet someone you can start a new company with, and you’ll receive notifications about workshops and industry-related social events. People will start to identify you as “Joe the IT Pro” instead of just “Joe.”

9) Keeps content up to date – Simply submit your sales resume to a leading medical equipment sales company in your area. She then received notice that a two-week medical equipment sales workshop was taking place in her area, which she attended. This additional training makes you more knowledgeable and more qualified for a job with this company, but you already submitted your resume. By posting an update online and notifying the business of the update via email, you keep the lines of communication open and express a desire to improve whenever the opportunity arises.

10) Potential Freelance Opportunities – Most companies can hire a temporary or freelance worker from time to time, but don’t want to spend money advertising for a position that may only last two weeks to two months. If you’re unemployed or looking for additional experience, temp work is a perfect way to stay in the game, hone new skills, and network within a company. Posting your resume online instantly opens up this avenue, which many candidates often don’t consider. The key with this, and with all elements of the job search, is to stay one, two, and even three steps ahead of the game.

If you’re interested in posting a resume online but don’t know where to start, it may help to check out an online resume site with free resume samples and free resume samples. You’ll get tutorials on how to create a resume and effective resume ideas that have been proven to work.