Evy also talks about resume analytics that help you measure and track your resume’s performance and how recruiters are using DoYouBuzz resumes in very innovative ways. Finally we find out how (well!) DoYouBuzz is performing in France in less than 3 years since inception.

Evy leaves us with some inspiring advice for all readers!

Interview with Evy Wilkins of DoYouBuzz – Part 3

"We've seen a lot of Users turn their DoYouBuzz Resume into their Own Company Website!" - COO Evy Wilkins with DoYouBuzz.com

Can you talk a little bit about the technology behind the website?  Like, are you guys using web standards like HR-XML?

We are.  We are using HR-XML.  That’s one of the really exciting things about DoYouBuzz: today all of the data that’s in a resume is highly structured, because it’s based on HR-XML and also Microformats.  And so what that means is that we are able to analyze a resume and match it with a job offer or a recruiter search.  So one thing we’re working on is coming out with a recruiting offering, so that recruiters can come and source candidates from DoYouBuzz.

And to do that, we are working with researchers in France on semantic search, because the idea is to use all of this information that’s in your resume—in a DoYouBuzz resume, you typically have twice, if not three times as much information as in a normal resume.  So we can use that information – well, there’s a lot more information to search within, and we can make matches between people, even if you don’t use the same words as the recruiter.

Oh, so it’s more relevant and more specialized, so if I’m a chef or someone and I use different words to describe my resume, I’d still get found if someone is looking for it.

If you are a developer and you don’t use the word database, and someone’s looking for database, you know, based on the technology you’ve used we can put your resume up there – this guy is right for the job, even though in typical search you would never find him, because he just didn’t use this word.  There are lots of examples on how this is really going to change how we search for people.

I see – Okay.  So is it possible to see who’s viewing my resume and stuff like that?  Like, you know, I’d want to know who is looking me up!

Definitely, we understand that.  Today we can tell you how many people have been visiting your resume, and how many pages they’re looking at.  Are they clicking through, or are they just coming to that home page and leaving?  So that helps you kind of decide, Is my resume up to par, do I need to work on it?  You can’t actually see today who these people are. We are working on more advanced statistics.

Great! Is this service only for people in technology and programming for geeks or can other people use it, too, like if I’m a chef or a baker?

Oh yes.

Or a truck-driver!

We have truck-drivers.  We have bakers.  Yes, we even have a clown that uses DoYouBuzz.  DoYouBuzz is really for everyone.

It’s simple enough for anyone to use.  I always say, if you can drag and drop, you will be just fine.  There is  no coding.  You don’t need to know HTML.  It’s really a fun tool to use to do something that was previous tedious, which is, you know, who likes doing their resume?

So, no, definitely very simple.

Okay, so I guess that answers my next question which was going to be: I don’t know any HTML or coding, so is it fairly easy for someone with basic technology of the internet and websites to build it on their own?

Definitely.  You know, to change designs, all you have to do is click on the design you want and it changes the whole thing immediately.  Editing is in real-time, so when you’re making your edits, you see what it will look like at the same time.

It’s very, very simple.  No need to understand web analytics or search engine optimization.  We do it all for you!

Okay, cool.  And then how do you compare to other sites?  I mean, I guess you should not be comparing because everybody offers a unique service, but how do you compare to other online resume sites or other people who seem to be providing a similar offering?

Okay, that’s a good question.  DoYouBuzz is different in many ways.  Number one, we have adapted the resume – as far as I know, we are the only ones who have really adapted the resume to the web.  A lot of people might offer a service where you have a one-page kind of site where it’s basically a Word document copied onto HTML, and it’s not structured data, and you don’t get any of the benefits that come from the web.  So, search engine optimization, for example, so you’re not – on some of these other sites you’re not showing up in results, because these websites were not properly formatted.

Other differences: definitely the design and the quality.  Why do you want just a white page or very limited designs?  It’s the web, right?  You need to take advantage of that and express your personality.  And so DoYouBuzz has put a lot of energy into giving professionals a lot of choice and high quality designs.

Okay, cool.  And are you noticing any change – like, are you guys getting user behavior feedback or do you know how both recruiters and job-seekers are using your website?

Right – definitely.  Job-seekers today are…one of the most interesting things, maybe, is that they’re tweeting the resume a lot.  Having that link to a great site is a great way to make a connection with someone.  So, just a simple 140 character tweet: “I’m really interested in working with you here’s my resume” – that’s totally different.  That wasn’t happening even a year ago.

That’s true.

Another thing, too, we’ve seen a lot of users really go the extra mile and turn their DoYouBuzz resume almost into their own company website.

Oh, like small business or service offering, like accountants, or –?

Exactly.  So they will use it very much as their only web presence for their company, and have a lot of examples of their work and things like that.  DoYouBuzz makes it so much easier to create a web presence.

Okay, awesome.

Oh, and then how are recruiters using it?

Recruiters - what they really like about DoYouBuzz is that the information is so easy to access.  It’s adapted to the screen.  So, instead of scrolling around through resumes and you’ve got 500 windows open, they go to the website and in 10 seconds – and that’s all the time they have - in 10 seconds, they can see on that home page is this person someone I need to spend more time on or not?

And then when they say, Yes, this is someone who’s interesting, then they have all of this extra information, which can help them make that decision and, you know, do I call them or not?  What questions do I need to ask them?  Which is a lot more difficult when all you have is one page.

Okay, yeah, you can’t say much on one page.

No, you can’t.

So how are you guys doing in France since inception, in terms of number of people signing up and feedback from the users, positive, negative?

Feedback has been really great, especially in the last six months. DoYouBuzz is kind of entering into that phase where the general population is kind of getting to know who DoYouBuzz is.  I would say that it’s slowly becoming the norm, and this is how you do your resume now in France.  We have 45 thousands users in France.  So, that puts us – you know, just to give that a little bit of context – we’re getting into that group of some of the largest resume sites in France.

Oh, awesome.  Congratulations!

Yeah, that’s great news.  And we’re really excited, too, to be in the United States and start offering this service, too.

I’m sure you’ll do well.  So, is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Well, I would just like them to know that if they’re looking for a job, or if you are interested in your personal brand, you should come to DoYouBuzz, check out the service.

If you have any questions or get stuck, we’re there to help.  All you have to do is send us an e-mail and we’ll be in contact.  So, thank you.

Okay, awesome. Thank you.

In this Part 2 of the multi-part interview series, Evy tells us about the added value that DoYouBuzz brings to regular professionals like you and me and how DoYouBuzz can help us create and maintain a positive online presence. She also touches upon how DoYouBuzz, with it’s sophisticated search / keyword algorithms, is well positioned to bring your online resume up on top in relevant search engines results.

Then we learn that it takes less than 5 minutes to get started with creating our free online resumes on DoYouBuzz.com. Later, Evy talks about the Facebook integration that is built into DoYouBuzz and how you can network very effectively using all these services of DoYouBuzz to land that next job or gig that you have been dreaming about until now!

Interview with Evy Wilkins of DoYouBuzz – Part 2

So what is DoYouBuzz and what value does it provide to someone like me?

Okay, DoYouBuzz is about creating personal professional spaces for people on the web.  We offer a next-generation online resume to professionals.  That means it is a resume website.  So, each professional is equipped with very simple tools to create an entire website dedicated to their professional offering—their personal brand, for example.

The value that it brings to professionals is that there’s two major benefits: one is that you increase your visibility, both online and off, and secondly, you are much better able to promote yourself and your skills.

And why do I really need an online resume?

That’s a great question.  You know, today most resumes are still created on Microsoft Word, and they’re sent around as files.  And if you look at how people recruit today and where people are meeting, and where you are networking—sure, offline networking is very important, but a lot of what we do and a lot of what people think of us happens online today.  So, it might be your behavior online: how are you commenting on blogs and things like that, which networks are you active in?  All of this stuff creates an online identity, and so it’s important to manage that identity and control what people find.

So one way of doing that is to very attractively present your resume or your professional experience, or who you are online.  And what DoYouBuzz offers is a search engine optimized resume-website so that when someone looks you up, they find your resume immediately.  And that’s the first impression they get.

It’s like, when you meet someone, you want to shake their hand firmly.  Online you want to have a place where people can go and get the right information.

Yeah, because I noticed that a lot of employers are Googling and searching for people, potential candidates, on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn?

Yeah, definitely.  I believe about 77% of recruiters say that they will Google a candidate at some point during the recruitment process.  And they’re not really looking for bad pictures of you on Facebook and things like that; they’re trying to just get a better idea of who you are, which is easy today, because online, you know, we leave our opinions and our activity online so that people can learn more about us.

And so, while that might seem scary that people are looking us up, what’s interesting is that most recruiters say that a positive online presence is a big factor in a hiring decision.  So that could be something that you’ve done or created online could be that thing, that element that tips the balance in your favor.

That’s true – that makes sense.  So how do I go about creating a profile on DoYouBuzz?

It’s very simple, and in just about five minutes you can get set up—less than that.  You come to DoYouBuzz, create an account – DoYouBuzz.com – create an account.  We just need your e-mail address and a password.  And then you just start filling in the information.

If you already have a LinkedIn profile you can import it and kind of fill out the basic information on your resume, and then you can just go from there.  You can add video, you can add images, you can add documents.  And one thing that I really like to tell people: the benefit of an online resume is that you are no longer limited to that one page.

I think a lot of people, especially when they’re starting out in their career, they’re like, you know, How do I fit it all on one page? I have a lot to say, or I want to demonstrate what I’ve done.  On a online resume you use your first, your homepage, like your one-page resume, keep it short and to the point, and then you can build up your arguments – you know, explain a lot more in those secondary pages.

Okay, great.  And how much does it cost, and what are the different types of accounts you offer?

Sure! So, DoYouBuzz- it’s free!  We have a free account that gives you one resume that will also give you access to almost all of the features.  And that is free forever.  We also offer a premium account for 49 dollars a year.  And with this account you get, most notably, your own URL.  So you can have yourname.com, for example.  You can also have a larger portfolio and access to some of our more premium design templates.

Okay, which probably makes it more professional looking?

Well, the personal – you know, that URL, that is very professional.  That can surprise people.  But otherwise, you know, with a free account, you’ll have a URL that’s http://DoYouBuzz.com/your-firstname-lastname

Okay, great.  And I noticed a Facebook feature or link in you site.  So, can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Yeah, it’s a really exciting feature, because Facebook is definitely a place to meet people and network.  Some people use it personally, some use it professionally.  If you do want to have a professional image on Facebook, which is a great idea, you can actually export your resume to your Facebook profile and we’ll create an extra tab, so you’ll have your wall, you’ll have your photos, and then it will say “Resume“.  And if you click on that, then you’ll see the homepage content.  And then if someone is looking at that, they can click on the link and go to your full resume as well.

Oh, that’s awesome.  Another way to network.

Yeah, it’s another way to network, it’s another way to just ensure that people are getting the right image—you know, that you’re projecting the right image, or at least the image you want to project.  And the other thing, too, is that resume is then synchronized, so you don’t have to update your Facebook resume; you just update your DoYouBuzz resume.

That’s great for lazy people like me!

The idea is to make it very simple.

Further Reading.

This ends Part 2 of our interview with DoYouBuzz COO for US Operations, Evy Wilkins. In the last of this series, in Part 3, we will learn more about the technology that powers DoYouBuzz, and in turn powers your postive online presence.

Meanwhile, do check out these articles in the new media that raise awareness about the importance of creating and maintaining a postive online presence using an online resume service like DoYouBuzz.

1. More Employers Use Social Networks to Check Out Applicants (NYTimes Blogs – 2009)
2. Job Applicants BEWARE: You’re Being Googled (Monster.com – 2007)
3. 45% Employers use Facebook-Twitter to screen job candidates (Oregon Business Report 2009)
4. Job candidates getting tripped up by Facebook (MSNBC – 2007)
5. For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Résumé (NYTimes – 2006)

Evy Wilkins, COO for the US Operations of DoYouBuzz, took time of her buzz’y schedule last week to talk to me about DoYouBuzz. We met at pariSoma – San Francisco’s hottest CoWorking Innovation Loft. She spoke at length about what DoYouBuzz is, how it was formed, what value it brings to professionals, who can benefit from it, how optimized it is for search engines and how anyone can create a free profile in under 5 minutes!

I will bring it all to you in a multi-part series, starting with this 1st interview, which is about DoYouBuzz, the Company.

Can’t wait for the rest to learn more about DoYouBuzz? Then just head over to DoYouBuzz.com and create your free professional online resume today!

Interview with Evy Wilkins of DoYouBuzz – Part 1

Opportunity Clicks Everyday! - COO Evy Wilkins with DoYouBuzz.com

So tell me a little bit about DoYouBuzz.  What is DoYouBuzz ? When and Where was the it formed?

Sure. DoYouBuzz is about creating personal professional spaces for people on the web.  We offer a next-generation online resume to professionals.  That means it is a resume website.  So, each professional is equipped with very simple tools to create an entire website dedicated to their professional offering—their personal brand, for example.

The company was founded in France in Nantes, which is on the West Coast of France, in 2007.  Our product, DoYouBuzz.com, went life in 2008.  And then just a few months ago—a month ago, actually, we launched DoYouBuzz in English here in the United States.

Who came up with the idea for DoYouBuzz and Why?

The company was created by Ludovic Simon—is our CEO.  He was working for a major media publisher in France, and he just knew that he wanted to kind of change directions a bit, and so he started looking for another job.  And like most people, he was sending his resume around as a Word document and not working and he was, like, “There’s gotta be a better way to do this.”  So, he created himself a resume website, and started sharing that with people online and people were really impressed.  And all of a sudden, he started getting more requests from people who wanted the same thing than from people who had jobs for him. So he said, “All right, I’m going to turn this into my job!”

And so he created DoYouBuzz!

That’s awesome.  Tell me a little bit about yourself and about your role at DoYouBuzz?

Sure.  So, I come from a communications and marketing background.  I used to work for the non-profit world, specifically for funds that invested in biodiversity conservation.  And over the last couple of years I’ve switched more into the technology world.

For DoYouBuzz, my role is, very simply, making DoYouBuzz work in the United States—bringing it to Americans!

So, create a lot of buzz around it?

Yes, my job is to say, “Yes, I buzz” every day and make that a reality.

So, who are the other key players in the company and what is their background, like your CEO, and—?

Right.  So, DoYouBuzz was founded by Ludovic Simon. There’s a founding team that includes three core people.  There is Julien Maleinge, Jeremie Pottier – oh, the names are really funny saying them with an American accent! – and Emmanuel Mazurier.

So amongst these three – there’s a marketing background, a technical background, and a project management background. All three of them bring those skill-sets to DoYouBuzz, and previously most of the founding team had worked together at this media publishing company in France.