I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the future of the resume. To be blunt, the traditional paper resume is under attack on many fronts from its digital cousin. Tools like Linkedin, about.me, Vizify and even my own company’s social resume platform can, in many cases, replace the paper resume altogether.
But to be realistic, the hiring world still runs on the paper resume. All the applicant tracking systems require you to upload one and it's still the best way to show the chronological order of your past experience. And to my knowledge there have never been as many resume writers as there are today. Something is keeping them in business.
I’m not sure when it started but in the past few years I have detected signs that the traditional way of applying is changing. If you think about it, your paper resume is what you did but your social resume is who you are - companies want to know what you are like in real life. So it makes sense that your social resume will play a part at some point in the hiring process. By reading your tweets and other posts it gives them a sense of your character.
As proof of your social media accounts being favored over the traditional resume, I’d like to offer the following stories and examples.
Vala Afshar, the Chief Marketing Officer of Boston based Enterasys hired someone in marketing by making them apply via Twitter. He didn’t ask for a resume, instead the candidates had to submit their social media links including their Klout score.
No Resume Required. The news blog Business Insider sometimes posts jobs requiring only a Linkedin profile and some writing samples. [link]
People are blogging for jobs. You can set up a personal blog and invite potential employers to contact you.
Social is trending. A recent study by Jobvite claims that candidates found through social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are more likely to be hired.
Companies like Shiftgig & JobOn are already storing your work history in the cloud.
For a growing number of roles, the web is certainly becoming your resume. IT people can now be found on sites like GitHub and StackOverflow while graphic designers can be sourced from Dribbble and Behance. There are even sites popping up for blue collar type workers to store their online profiles.
So what’s next for our paper friend? Well, I think its not going away anytime soon. But its relevancy is slowly being ripped away over time. In 5-10 years I believe there will be more and better alternatives to applying for a job. The phrase “send me your resume” will mean send me your digital profile complete with verified identity authentication among all your social profiles, work history and internet links.
One day in the future perhaps, paper resumes may even come back in style as the the next generation of candidates seek to stand out in a world flooded with digital resumes.
Wouldn’t that be something!
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The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
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