Is the resume headed for extinction? And if so, could Google kill it off? The short answer – probably, but don’t write the obituary for the traditional resume just yet.
Career experts generally agree that the resume remains a requirement in a job seeker’s toolkit. That being said, the rise of the Internet, social networks, and all-things-digital has undoubtedly marginalized the once-mighty resume, which not so long ago was the only ticket to a job interview. These days, a job seeker’s online presence accessed through a Google search or social networks will likely be the key to finding and landing a job. Today that makes so much sense as the fastest way to find job postings or opportunities is a Google Search that can reveal a dizzying array of job boards and online job postings.
Millennial career expert and Forbes Magazine contributor, Dan Schawbel gave the resume a life-expectancy of decade before the Google-ized world makes it all but obsolete. The article, 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 Years, emphasizes the importance of creating and maintaining a digital profile that makes you attractive to employers.
“By building your online presence, employers can find you and thus you have more opportunities,” writes Schawbel, author of the soon-to-be released book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success. “If you don’t have an online presence, you won’t appear to be relevant and you will be passed over for more savvy applicants that have visibility.”
Developing that online presence starts with social networking sites – particularly LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, all of which are playing significant roles of connecting job seekers with employment opportunities in both formal and organic ways. LinkedIn, the preferred social network for business executives, in many ways has become the online “resume 2.0” of sorts, offering the ability to create a dynamic profile that helps you tell your story and sell your strengths.
Meanwhile Facebook, Twitter and other social media are fertile ground for networking, finding job opportunities, and promoting your skills, experience and personality. That being said, social media can also haunt job seekers that have posted questionable photos, content, or comments. Assume that a would-be employer is going to check you out – surveys reveal up to 69 percent of them do and an inappropriate posting could cost you the job.
Managing Your Online Presence is Important
Advanced online video capabilities are also altering the job search landscape. As this recent Adecco blog post highlights, more and more employers are conducing two-way video interviews using Skype, FaceTime or other technologies. They are also using one-way videos in which candidates pitch themselves in short video clips.
Another fast-developing trend is media-rich virtual resumes in which a job seeker can embed videos, images, audio, portfolio presentations or use QR codes creatively. Tech-savvy candidates can assemble their own virtual resume. There are also several firms that offer a range of options for creating a resume far more dynamic and interactive than the traditional piece of paper.
Victor Petit Uses QR Codes – http://vimeo.com/21228618Still, despite all of the new online ways to tell your story and pitch your skills and experience, for the foreseeable future you’re still going to need a printable resume. The traditional printed resume surely is headed for extinction, but until it dies off entirely serious job hunters still need one.
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#WaytoWork
As of January, the unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds was 13.1%. When you include the 1.7 million young adults who stopped looking for work, it was 16.2% – double the national average.
We want to change these numbers, and change the lives of young professionals throughout America. That’s why, on April 30, every Adecco office will be hosting Adecco Way to Work™ careerathons where we’ll be offering valuable resources about resume writing, interviewing, networking, your digital footprint and other critical topics.
To sign up and learn more, go here.
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