I have been registering with job search sites. I load up my CV, but most sites still take me from section to section, asking me to add in things like the job titles I’ve had, my key skills and companies I’ve worked for. Some even ask me to cut and paste the whole of the text of my CV into a text box, as well as uploading my CV as a file. Do I only have to fill these extra boxes in if I don’t upload a CV?
You should fill in every section in your profile, even if you feel as though you’re repeating yourself. To understand why, it helps to understand how this information is going to be used.
Recruiters access those same sites not only to post vacancies, but to actively search for potential candidates. They do this by word searching, which brings up profiles which match aspects of job vacancies, such as particular skills, qualifications or prior experience. The recruiter can then download the CVs of the best matches. However, the word search will only work on the terms you’ve put in the different fields on your profile: it won’t work on whole files you’ve uploaded, which is why you have to put so much of the information in twice.
