Are Resumes Still Relevant?
Find out what’s replacing the CV
By and large, nobody really likes looking for a job. If you’re a jobseeker, this means you are basically in one of two situations: You don’t have one or you’re unhappy in your current position. Either way, this can be a stressful situation, especially when you spend a lot of time updating, customizing, and sending out your resume, only to never hear back from anybody.
Fortunately, thanks to the non-stop march of technology, applying for jobs is much easier than it used to be. If you are of a certain age, perhaps you recall typing up your resume (maybe on a word processor or even a typewriter), printing it out, and putting it in the mail. Then it may have taken several days or longer to get where it was going, and you never quite knew exactly where it would land. These days, the process is much faster and you can usually email your resume directly to a hiring manager or a human resources department.
But even that may soon be changing. For the most part, resumes of the paper variety have pretty much gone the way of the Dodo, and the common digital version may soon be following. So, where are we headed?
Almost anyone who considers him or herself a professional is on LinkedIn. What began as a place for people looking for work has evolved into more of a networking site even for people who aren’t actively searching for a new job. Your LinkedIn profile is essentially your online resume, but it gives you a lot more leeway. Instead of just listing a job history and skills, you can get recommendations and endorsements and add much more content than what you could include on a traditional CV.
Personal website
Remember when a website used to be a very big deal and only companies had one? Well, that’s of course no longer the case. Anybody can create their own site affordably and easily now. And while many people choose to use them for personal reasons, such as to blog about what it’s like living with 14 cockatiels, professionals understand how their own website can be instrumental in a job search. In addition to having some form of a resume, a personal site can be a great place to include a portfolio of work, along with links to other relevant websites, such as social media networks.
Social media
Speaking of social media, prospective employers are probably looking for you there – and not necessarily to find a reason not to hire you. In fact, it could be quite the opposite. Companies want to see what you’re passionate about. If your social media networks are full of stuff that shows you love to do things related the position they’re hiring for, that makes you look appealing. Of course, an employer will still want to see your work history, which means they’ll probably be moseying over to LinkedIn too.
The resume as we know it is still an essential job-hunting tool but it’s evolving just like everything else. The key is to use it in conjunction with these new avenues to reach the widest audience.
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