Everyone seems to be ready to put a dagger in the resume’s “heart.” Is the resume really “dead?” What resume tips are important to know?
I’m sure you’ve seen advice that tells you that the resume is dead. What’s the justification? It depends on the theme of the day:
Your Twitter profile is your resume.
Your LinkedIn profile is your resume.
It’s your entire online presence — don’t bother with a resume, all anyone cares about is what you’re doing online.
It goes on and on.
Resume Tips
Recently, David Schepp from AOL Jobs interviewed me about the latest story proclaiming “Twitter is your new resume” because an employer is planning to hire someone based on their tweets. My thoughts on the issue:
The lesson here is not really “the resume is dead.” (Because that’s clearly not true.) However, job seekers need to remember that social media is becoming more pervasive in hiring. I strongly believe your digital footprint is becoming more and more important for all professionals. You should expect your online presence to play a role in the job search which appears. That means you need to plan to have a presence on whatever networks make sense, such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn.
In other words, yes – your social networks make a difference, but they are not going to replace resumes in the very near future.
Need proof? Quintessential Careers recently posted about a poll conducted by Top Echelon Network, an elite network of highly specialized search firms. They asked executive recruiters if they believe the traditional resume is dead. 83 percent of the respondents believe the traditional resume is “just as important†as it was 10 years ago.
So, don’t ditch your resume, but don’t forget to build up a digital presence to support your skills and accomplishments. Cover all your bases and you’ll be better off as a result.
photo by Grufnik