I once lost out in a job competition to a candidate who had a personal website that included links to her twitter page, LinkedIn profile, had a blog,  and most impressively–her resume. I know this because a month after I lost out in the interview I snooped around the company website to find out who was hired. Creepy? Maybe, but it’s good to know your competition. It was also a valuable learning experience.  I’d lost the job to a candidate who had been much more competent at demonstrating her social media and online skills than me.

It pays to have a savvy online resume in the world of applicant tracking systems, and employers seeking candidates with advanced social media and web technology skills; or candidates who can, at the very least, prove they know how it all works. I have to admit that I was even impressed with my competitions online website and resume. If I were doing the hiring, I would have picked her too.

This is not to say that the traditional, and classic resume is passé. It’s still going strong, but employers, recruiters and candidates are increasingly looking for and creating online resumes that provide greater insight into skills and experience.

So how do you create such a masterpiece? It starts by having a blog or creating a website. There are a number of tools such as WordPress that can help you get started. Once you have that it is easy to either format a resume online or upload your resume to your site. Remember, domain name is very important. If you can, try to buy your name to use as your domain from a reputable domain website.

Once this is achieved the real fun begins.

One effective way to draw potential employers to your online resume is to include a QR code on your traditional resume. If you’re not familiar with QR codes, they are the little box full of squiggly black and white lines you see on magazines and newspapers. QR codes function like hyperlink barcodes. Your QR code will be the barcode to your online resume. An employer only requires a smartphone with a camera (I think it’s a safe bet every employer has one) and a barcode app to scan the QR code. Once scanned, voila–they have access to your website and online resume.

There are a number of ways you can enhance your online resume, so that it provides additional information to compliment your traditional resume. Your online resume can include media; pictures, video, and hyperlinks that demonstrate your skills in a way a traditional resume can’t.

Albeit the process may mean you reorganize the content of your traditional resume to keep it consistent with an online version, but when trying to stand out above the rest, your updated, savvy web version may just make all the difference. Take from someone who learned the hard way.