Finito. Done. Over. Caput. Resumes are so 2009.
It’s Friday night. With the baby in bed early, Greg and I watched Angels & Demons on Pay per View while I added blog tags to old posts from 2007 & 2008 working to update and perfect my blog and website. I’m the master of the multi-task.
And while I spent almost two hours of my life movie watching, tagging and saving, I was reminded again about the power personal branding using blogs as a resume alternative, I mean replacement. In the next 12-18 months, resumes will no longer be an acceptable type of professional representation or profile.
Your Resume is Dead.
Blogs and professional websites are a great representation of a person’s interests both professional and personal, and in my opinion are a form of a more organic and fluid resume. One can view my first ever blog post in September 2007 while also watching my professional progression as I made my way to entrepreneur. You can see who my influences are by reading my posts or by visiting my blog roll. Your blog is the way for employers, clients, and other professionals to learn more about you, your beliefs, and what is important to you.
Obviously someone who reads this blog post realizes how important it is for me to have my blog be professional, organized, and polished while on display to the world. Especially since I spent my Friday night at home in front of the laptop crafting and updating my brand. One might assume that I might also be the same in person as a professional who values things like work ethic, my personal and professional brand, and technology, gadgets, and information. Depending on the position or contract, these type of things are important to a potential employer or client.
I recommend most all clients, businesses, and candidates develop some sort of organic online profile or resume to present to employers in addition to your resume and LinkedIn profile. While hiring manager’s only spend 15 seconds viewing your resume to determine whether or not you receive an interview, employers will spend a substantial amount of time checking references, verifying employment, and viewing your online profiles to determine how you stack up to your competition. This is certainly the case when the hiring decision comes down between you and another candidate. Having a blog or other online profile, depending on your position and industry, is the future of how to stand out and differentiate yourself from the competition.
And for now, I still recommend maintaining a professionally crafted resume to use along with a blog and professional website as a way to expand on your skills, qualifications, interests, and experience. I do, however, strongly encourage you to start crafting and developing your professional blog to find your angle, voice, and niche.
In the next next year to 18 months, blogs and other online profiles will become more important and will replace a traditional resumes. I’ve already started to see this shift. Your social influence both online and offline which includes your blog will become more powerful and representative that any piece of traditional personal or professional marketing we use today in the job search.
So RIP resume. You will not be missed.
Photo Credit WaterMan99
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I am definitely bookmarking this page and sharing it with my friends.
I agree… a blog is way more organic and robust. My simple 2 page resume is the gateway to my online presence. I have so much work to do though (suddenly)… No longer with a large corporation has forced me to groom pretty much everything I’ve ever done online. Thanks for a great read, you’ve given me some good ideas…
I’m glad you saw value in the post, Rene. Large corporations will have to get used to the fact that their top talent is a human being with thoughts, lives, and feelings outside of the company they work for. If they don’t, they won’t be in business for long.
Thanks!
Jessica
I agree there is need to infuse more in your search and self promotion than just a resume. Visual appeal in text as well as proof of work is available online and essential to differentiate yourself. It’s a very competitive market right now which means if you want to win you have to be seen!
Jeff
CEO http://www.bragfolio.com
http://www.bragfolio.com/demo1
As an employer the problem I see with the old resume is just its lack of efficiency. Why would I want to read pages of analog static material when I could read a professional blog? Have you seen any platforms you’d recommend that I could have people use for applying to my company? I saw one for students that seemed to show promised http://studentgenius.com/.
This is one of the most ridiculous pieces of job hunting advice I’ve ever read! Do you really think employers who are innuadated with thousands of applicants for every job opening are going to take the time to wade through everyone’s self-serving blog posts as part of the selection process? If social media content is checked at all, it’s checked for negative content — references to execessive drinking and partying, for example. In other words, employers use your social media presence to screen you OUT, not in. And when the hiring decision comes down to you and another candidate, the employer doesn’t log on to check your blog posts — he or she calls you in for an interview which you’d better be ready to nail if you want to get hired. You get the job by impressing the employer with your value in a face to face interaction — not by creating even more self-referential content in the blogosphere.
Hi John,
The candidate selection process is broken and resumes electronically serve as a filing and storage tool instead of a marketing mechanism. Good candidates are getting lost in the process. It’s the reason why third party recruiters are still in high demand. Companies are having a hard time wading through the resumes and looking for a person to help provide them the best of the best. Candidates can do that themselves which is why the resume is dead. Most interactions are taking place online (hence this blog) and to make an impression one must use word of mouth tactics or go spend time where the recruiters which happens to be online through the power of social media.
Employers are checking online your online presence when evaluating candidates and having a blog and online resume can be a powerful tool to demonstrate to the hiring manager you are dedicated to staying current, developing, and continuing to learn about your industry or area of expertise. This blog in 2007 served as that for me, and it’s done me well. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand. . .
A closer look into your own online presence reveals you work with a video interviewing technology company that using technology as part of the job search and site that also has a blog which according to you is a waste of time. How could one create develop relationships with recruiters and HR professionals on the internet so why do it then? I take your comments with a grain of salt since you have 73 LinkedIn connections which says to me you don’t understand or likely care how to use social media.
Likely if this blog post results in a reaction such from you that its because it rings true. Good luck marketing your HR technology company without engagement where your target market is. I guess I’ll see you at the next trade show, eh?
JMM
Great post, Jessica. As time has progressed in my career, I’ve often looked at my resume and thought, “How in the world could these 2-3 pages ever come close to describing who I am as a contributor to an organization?” As much as you can try to add to it, a resume can only tell you so much about a person, particularly their personality and views.
That’s where social media provides an opportunity for people to get to know the candidate further, which is also where John has it dead wrong in using it as a way to weed out candidates. I think it’s ridiculous to use social media as a screening tool to discredit otherwise qualified candidates and if anything, recruiters have to wade through thousands of pieces of paper in a mindless apples-to-apples comparison with resumes that don’t tell the whole story. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that in addition to a resume, the candidate has created relevant-to-the-industry blog posts, YouTube videos, etc. as well as shared that content, which shows they are very knowledgeable about the subject matter at hand. Wow, suddenly I’ve learned some additional things about that person that are very useful – things that their resume didn’t tell me and causes me to look at them in a new light as a worthy candidate. I’ve learned that they are more than comfortable talking about certain aspects that tie into their qualifications and knowledge.
Does that really sound like a poor use of a hiring manager’s time? I don’t think so at all. But if you’re looking at social media with only the negatives in mind, you’re kind of missing the point.
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