Death of a Salesman's Resume
The old fashioned Word doc resume has gone the way of Willy Loman and is no longer a viable tool when looking for jobs. If you don't have a social presence (and actively use it), you might as well stop your job search and go find a manual labor job for minimum wage. Don't take my word for it, according to Jobvite.com, 83% of employers are currently using, or plan to use, social media networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for hiring in 2015. Not having a "social resume" is a death card dealt to you without you ever knowing it.
So what is the difference in a social resume and a traditional resume? In short, a social resume is more about who you ARE (your brand) and a traditional resume is about WHAT (your accomplishments) you did. As a recruiter, I want to know how you will "fit" into my client's culture. Therefore what you tweet about, blog about, post pictures of, and share are the contents of your social resume. Of course you need to have the background that my client needs and certain criteria they have requested. Moreover, you need to be where I can find you.
The traditional resume can only offer a one dimensional view of your career which limits you to listing accomplishments, company names, years of tenure, and your education. Online sites like LinkedIn offer the ability to list your accomplishments, post videos, obtain and display recommendations and endorsements, full company descriptions, and even attachments for download. Hiring managers and recruiters like myself can see other people you are connected with and what groups you belong to as well. All of this information tells me in a split second WHO you are in addition than WHAT you've done. Job seekers who have failed to build and maintain a strong social media presence, including older or less technically savvy workers, will almost certainly receive less job inquiries.
A social media presence allows you to reverse the recruiting process and in some ways take back control of your job search. Instead of submitting your resume through traditional means, it becomes a spotlight or billboard that can be searched on, shared, and distributed easily to hiring managers and recruiters. You are no longer subject to being weeded out by a computer program simply because one criteria was not acceptable. It is a place to tell your story, including what type of job and company you want to work for. Be careful though, to make sure your social resume agrees with your word doc resume perfectly. Dates of employment and other details on your social media profiles must exactly match those on your resume. Potential employers will pick up on any inconsistencies right away.
Now a word about blogging and videos and how they affect your social resume. When you write a blog you show your expertise or knowledge of a certain subject. It also allows you to convey to others a sense about your style. When you post (and share) a video on a source like YouTube, you show your attitude and actual presence to not only recruiters and hiring managers, but to other professionals that you might want to work with. Linking all of these different tools together creates your social resume.
If you are looking for a job today, you need to brand yourself just as much as the company you want to work for does. Don't be the greatest salesperson nobody has ever heard of. Use your network and social media to sell yourself. Don't be the next Willy Loman.
