Traditional Resumes Giving Way to Online Profiles?
5 June 2008
The going advice for young job seekers (read: college grads) has been "keep a clean profile." Your online profile, that is. Be careful about what you post on your blog, in MySpace/facebook, on message boards, etc. The conventional wisdom has held that your paper resume is more important than whatever you’re doing online. Avoiding anything stupid or potentially incriminating in your online life, therefore, has been the norm but employers have been more interested in your resume.
You still want to avoid doing stupid things online, but the value of that online profile is increasing. Seth Godin’s internship contest emphasized the value of being remarkable. He was looking for more than just a good resume; he wanted to see candidates demonstrate–online–their qualifications. As Aaron Strout at Mzinga sought new employees, he emphatically stated: "No resumes." Again, show off your stuff online.
If I were a forward-thinking young person in this time of change, here’s what I’d do:
- Clean up the garbage in my facebook/MySpace profile. This is a bit like inviting others into your room or home. You wouldn’t invite someone over for dinner and leave a bunch of stuff lying around on the sofa, papers strewn about here and there, empty pop cans on the table. Get rid of all the cheesy facebook "apps," the silly–or worse–incriminating photos, the "poking." If you want to use facebook as an online playground, fine; just remember that it’s all public information and it may work against you some day.
- Read some books and get good at something I care about.
- Develop an online portfolio (by using a personal web site, blog, or podcast) that demonstrates my skills and knowledge related to that something I care about.
The value in this is that you might not have to look for a job. You might find that, by actively showcasing your interests and skills, somebody sees this and decides you’re the person they need. That’s the easiest way a person could possibly find work.
Filed under: Job Hunting, Work by Michael
Michael - thanks for the shout out. I also like your message to folks just joining the workforce. I had a related conversation with a friend recently i.e. there will be companies whose sole existence will be helping college grads clean up their social networking profiles (he’s an investor).
Best,
Aaron | @astrout
Sounds like a good business opportunity, Aaron. There’s definitely a need in the market!