Is The Resume Dead? Not Exactly….
Posted by Sabrina | Posted in Human Resources, Job Search, Management | Posted on 08-02-2012
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photo credit: ConorLuddy
In late January, this article ran in the WSJ discussing a few companies who are moving away from traditional resumes and asking candidates to submit their qualifications in other formats – mainly social media. There has been some discussion over the past few years about whether Linkedin will eventually eliminate the need for resumes and now this article seems to suggest that the resume might be going the way of paper applications.
I don’t really think so…..
While more and more companies are moving towards using social media for recruitment and candidate selection purposes, there are still a significant number not jumping on the bandwagon. The area that I live in is heavy manufacturing and when I talk to some of my clients about using social media or present them a candidate I found on Twitter, they look at me like I have two heads. Resume is still king with them – and I’m not in small town USA so it isn’t that. Even my clients who are more hip to SM still, at the end of the day, want the resume. Regardless of how good the Linkedin profile looks, they want the paper (that says nearly the same thing as the profile).
What I do think this article tells us is that job seekers need to be prepared for a variety of selection processes. While traditional resumes are essential, the move of some companies using strictly social media proves that job seekers have to be versatile – and they have to be out there, on the interwebs with a strong, professional presence. A job seeker who was social media adverse would have failed miserably had they applied at one of the companies mentioned in the article. While I don’t believe that this complete move to social media will happen for a very long time, if ever, I do believe that more companies will at least experiment with it and candidates need to be prepared.
So that is my take away from the article. The resume isn’t dead, but social media isn’t going away either. Integration is happening more and more and therefore job seekers have to be prepared for a selection process that involves it. One more reason to start tweeting…….now!
Flexibility is key. Have all possibilities available – cast a wide net. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Be all things to all people. What other aphorisms can I use here? Just be prepared for all eventualities or you will lose out.