ProMatch - Profile Guidelines

Profile Guidelines and How to Use HTML Tags

This section briefly discusses how to make your ProMatch Profile more readable and user-friendly through the use of HTML tags (click here for a printer-friendly version of these guidelines). Please only use tags in the Skills, Qualifications, and Education/Training sections of the Profile template - do not use HTML tags in the Name, Email, Phone, and Desired Position sections. For more information about HTML tags, please consult your local public library for HTML books and resources, or talk to ProMatch members who are familiar with creating HTML profiles.

To create a profile using HTML tags, please:

Go to the "Member Profiles" section of the ProMatch web site.
Please click the "Member Profiles" button, which is to the left of this page. Click on the link that either reads "Add a new profile" or, if you have already created a profile, "Edit an existing profile".

If you are creating a new profile, enter a user name or password.
Please DO NOT use your social security number for the user name or password. Read the instructions carefully. Remember not to leave any blank spaces when creating your user name or password, and only use letters or numbers - special characters (for example, $) and spaces between words will not be allowed by the system.

Trim down your resume.
Your profile length should be between a business card and a resume - aim for half a page total between skills, experience (qualification) and education. Use PSRs wherever applicable, but remember that your PSRs need to be concise. Use the most effective and focused PSRs for a desired position. Try to keep bulleted PSRs to 2 lines, and paragraphs to 3 lines.

Spell check your profile.
Easy, simple, quick, and often forgotten. Have someone proofread your profile before having staff make your profile "live".

Add HTML tags.
The table below explains several HTML tags. As mentioned above, these tags should only be used in the Skills, Qualifications and/or Education sections of the Profile template - do not use them in the Name, Email, Phone and Desired Position sections. Tags are highlighted in blue. To insert HTML tags into text that will be used in the Skills, Qualifications and/or Education sections, you may want to use Notepad. Once you create information in Notepad, you can copy and paste the information into the appropriate sections.

HTML Tags	Example Result
To drop a text line down one full space, use the "start paragraph" tag <p> at the beginning of the line and, at the end of the line, an "end paragraph" tag. </p> EXAMPLE - Separate each skill by one full space: <p>DreamWeaver</p><p>FileMaker Pro</p><p>PowerPoint</p>	DreamWeaver FileMaker Pro PowerPoint
The "line break" tag <br> drops text down to the next line. You do not need an "end break" tag for the line break tag. EXAMPLE - List each skill directly below one another: DreamWeaver<br>FileMaker Pro<br>PowerPoint<br>	DreamWeaver FileMaker Pro PowerPoint
To bold text, place the "start bold" tag <b> at the beginning of the text you want bolded. When you no longer want text bolded, place an "end bold" tag </b> at the end of the text. EXAMPLE - Bold the degree but not the school name: <b>Bachelor of Arts in Psychology</b>, University of California, Davis	Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of California, Davis
To Italicize text, use the "start italics" tag <i> at the beginning of the text, and an "end italics" tag </i> at the end of the text. (note: italicizing text is not recommended, as the text may be hard to read) EXAMPLE - Italicize the school name but not the degree: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, <i>University of California, Davis</i>	Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of California, Davis
To underline text, use the "start underline" tag <u> at the beginning of the text, and an "end underline" tag </u> at the end of the text. (note: underlining text is not recommended, as profile viewers may believe that underlined text is a link to information) EXAMPLE - Underline the word "Psychology" only: Bachelor of Arts in <u>Psychology</u>, University of California, Davis	Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of California, Davis
If you want to create a bulleted list of items, you can use non-sequential or "unordered list" tags. Lists are started by the "start unordered list" tag <ul>. Each item in a list is then preceded by a "start list item" tag <li> and followed with an "end list item" tag </li>. When the list of items is complete, remember to end an unordered list with an "end unordered list" tag </ul>. Please note that list items will drop down one full space at the beginning of the list, as you will see in the following example. EXAMPLE - Create a list of skills with bullets next to each item: Extensive experience with the following software packages:<ul><li>Microsoft Office 2000</li><li>DreamWeaver</li><li>FileMaker Pro</li><li>QuarkXPress</li></ul>	Extensive experience with the following software packages: Microsoft Office 2000 DreamWeaver FileMaker Pro QuarkXPress

Edit your Profile.
When you click on the "Edit an Existing Profile" link, a window will appear that will ask for your user name and password. When you enter your user name and password, you will be taken to a page that allows you to edit your profile.

Note: ProMatch policy is that all new members must submit a signed copy of their profiles within 2 weeks of enrollment, otherwise membership will be revoked. Additionally, ProMatch staff will delete profiles of members who are on a "Leave of Absence" for more than 2 months, and for those who have "Returned to Work". We do not keep profiles of members who have graduated from ProMatch, or who have been dropped from ProMatch. It is advisable to save a soft copy (a diskette) of your profile.

The following profile fields must be completed before you submit your profile:

At least one method of contact must be provided.
Do not mark more than 2 occupational codes in the template.
Copy and paste the HTML-encoded Skills, Qualification and/or Education/Training sections that you worked on using notepad.

When you click on the "Add Record" button on the template, it works as a submit button - it shows the final profile the way it will look on the web. If, after previewing your edited profile, you want to make further edits, click on the "Back" button of your browser, which takes you back to the template. Make your changes and click on the "Add Record" button.

Remember: When you create a new profile, you must print your profile, sign and date it, and submit it to ProMatch in order to make your profile active and viewable. If, however, you are editing an existing profile, you do not need to submit a signed copy to staff for reactivation, as your profile automatically updates with your new information and remains active.

- Top of Page -