You can do the time-honored thing and create a paper resume for your job hunt, but in today's very competitive environment, the paper resume is like a drop of water in the ocean - it's there, but it's hard to sort it out from every other drop.

You can take it further and create an online version. That makes it easier for people to get it, so you have convenience working in your favor, but you still have a problem - how do you make your resume stand out among millions of others?

The process of creating a resume has become so standardized, with certain accepted formats and practices, that the resume itself has evolved into a sleek, familiar form - so familiar that employers can have trouble sorting out one from another.

Many employers have actually automated the process - computers scan and sort resumes and applications before a human ever sees them.

Creating a unique, compelling resume that makes you more visible can move you front and center to the interview chair. And you can make that happen with a multimedia resume.

The classic resume is a relic from the past - a flat, passive vehicle carrying info about you. The old resume is like a black and white newspaper. The multimedia resume is the Web - interactive, colorful, deeper, with greater detail.

Too many people simply post a copy of their flat, tired resume online. But there's a lot more you can do, and since 2004, one woman has been exploring just how much you can do, posting a record of her experience for all to see. Her name is Dr. Helen Barrett, and you can check out the results of her work at http://electronicportfolios.org/.

What makes Helen's site so useful is that she provides examples of the multimedia resumes she created and details what tools she used to create them. This lets you see what can be done and tells you what you need to do it. You can do that here - Creating ePortfolios with Web 2.0 Tools.

Some of these solutions are free, some are not. Some are easy to learn, some require more effort. You can start with an approach you're comfortable with and take it from there.

Keep in mind that some of these formats can be copied to a CD or DVD. You can then mail them or even hand them out at job fairs or other networking events. There's also small disc format called Mini CD-R that's cheap and fits in a pocket - perfect for keeping handy when an unexpected opportunity arises.

As the name of Dr. Barrett's website suggests, the presentations you create are more than a resume - they're detailed portfolios, an in-depth look at who you are and what you can do. This is exactly what you need to give yourself a shine that will catch the eye of a potential employer.

There's another big benefit - when you take the time to do this for your job hunt, you also develop a skill that will can very useful on the job. Many jobs, at some point, will require you to convince someone, to sell an idea. Learning how to use these tools can make you much more effective at organizing and presenting ideas. When you build a personal, professional portfolio, you're essentially using these tools to sell your skills. But they also work just as well for selling ideas. This gives you a huge advantage when you're competing with others to promote a particular idea.

However you decide to do it, creating a multimedia resume does require more time and effort than a standard resume. That's the price you pay to increase your chances of getting the work you want. Investing extra effort now can create more choices and opportunity later.

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