The future of traditional resumes does not look good. And that is true for two reasons. One is the fact that most resumes for job openings are now accepted almost exclusively through electronic channels. Meaning, there is almost no way to standout right out the door regardless of how fancy or impressive a resume is. The more resumes are submitted for one job opening, the lesser the value or importance of any one resume out of the stack. The second reason why traditionals resumes are now irrelevant is because there are so many alternative that are more effective at landing a job seeker his dream job. Those alternatives work because they leverage the tools made available through the technological revolution we are experiencing. Here are 3 alternative to the traditional resume:
- LinkedIn Profile: A regularly updated and active LinkedIn public profile page will help in establishing yourself as a professional to your peers on the network. The key with LinkedIn is to stay active and regularly update your profile. Every change that you make to your LinkedIn profile is published to all the connections in your network. Have your friend, family and former colleagues give you feedback on your LinkedIn profile, just like you would have someone give you feedback on your traditional resume.
- Blogging: If you have experiences that will be valuable to organizations that could use your skills and knowledge, share those experiences at a regular frequency. A blog can serve as a way for you to express your creative genius. Organizations today only employ people with a good mix of logical skills and creative abilities. Starting a blog is free with WordPress.com or Blogger.com and if you don’t like writing and prefer videotaping yourself, a Youtube.com channel is the way to go. Authoring and publishing valuable content in your field of expertise will speak more highly of you than any traditional resume would.
- Start a business: Starting a business is almost 100% free. There are millions of resources available on the Internet and offline to help anyone who has an idea and wants to turn that into a business. A great resource you can use to start a business today is the $100 Startup book and its resources. If you are actively engaged in a job search, present yourself as a consultant with practical solutions instead of a job seeker who is looking for problems to solve. That will make a huge difference. Most consultants are not asked to provide a traditional resume by their employers, especially if they have an active LinkedIn profile and a regularly updated blog.
There are probably more alternatives to the traditional resume which I have not mentioned. As we progressively move toward a society in which everything is electronically connected to everything else, job seekers will have to get even more creative to land their dream jobs. In such our current highly competitive environment, can you think of any other traditional resume alternative?