3 reasons even “social media types” still need a resume

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Remember Elle Woods and her scented, pink-paper resume in Legally Blonde? She’d be an anomoly today, as most people don’t print paper resumes anymore. But despite lamentations that “Google is the new resume” or “Resumes are useless in the Internet age,” you still need one if you plan to apply for a position at a large company. Even a social media position.

While those of us who blog, tweet, post, message and tag each other all day long would like to think that our online presence is enough to stand on its own as a testament to how smart and savvy we are, the human resources department is still going to want you to submit a formal application, which often includes uploading a resume. If you’re trying to land a job with a funky little start-up or a tiny shop with a handful of employees, then the resume matters less and all of your other online work will likely be a bigger factor. But if you’re looking for a job with a big brand or company, have it ready.

I’ve worked very closely with the HR department in some of my previous jobs, so I’ve had the chance to observe some of the machinations that go along with trying to hire someone at a large company. Here are three reasons why, no matter how sexy your blog, Posterous, Facebook page, LinkedIn profile or “personal brand’ might be, you still need to have a resume:

1. Your blog can’t be entered into a corporate resume database

There are several reasons big corporations use resume database-systems like BrassRing or HireGround. Probably the most important one is compliance. In order to be in compliance with myraid hiring laws with acronyms like OFCCP, EEO, and FLSA, companies with more than 100 employees need to show ratios of applicants to interviewees to hires, show that they have consistent hiring practices across the company, and show that they actively sought out diverse candidates.

Making each candidate go through an online hiring system, which usually includes a resume upload and screening questions, allows for easy data collection for compliance purposes. Companies can’t run your blog or Google profile through its screening processes when it comes time to file compliance reports each year.

2. The first cut of candidates may be made by someone who doesn’t know what a blog is

Often an HR associate sorts through the company resume database– sometimes arbitrarily, sometimes by keyword– to find an initial group of candidates to screen. This is where networking is huge. If you submit your resume online, it can be a total crapshoot whether it even gets viewed. But if you know the hiring manager or someone who can pass your resume along and help it move to the top of the pile, you’re in a much better position.

In all likelihood, however, the HR associate probably isn’t going to find and read your blog. It would be extremely time consuming to do that for each candidate in an initial screen. They may check you out on Google or LinkedIn in a cursory manner, but their goal is to fill the role as quickly as possible. That’s their metric. So unless someone tells them to flag your resume, you’re at the mercy of whether or not you appear in the database search results (so make sure you have the appropriate keywords in your resume).

3. Many companies still aren’t comfortable with social media for the hiring process

The mere fact that a company would hire for a social media position is a step in the right direction, but if they’re looking for someone with expertise in the area, it’s because they lack it. The hiring manager may not know where or how to start screening candidates based on their social presence. Should they be looking for quantity or quality of blog posts? Does number of Twitter followers matter? How many LinkedIn connections should the candidate have? Why aren’t they on FriendFeed? What is FriendFeed? Corporate HR and hiring managers are used to resumes, comfortable with resumes, and still expect resumes. They’re not quite sure yet how to integrate social media into established hiring practices.

Even a company like BestBuy, ahead of the curve on social media adoption, didn’t quite know how to structure a traditional job posting for its Emerging Media Manager role. Kudos to them for reaching out to the community and crowdsourcing ideas for key skills and requirements for the position. But anyone who applies  for the role must do so by submitting an application and uploading a resume via BestBuy’s corporate career site.

Yes, it would be great if someday we could all just let our work stand on its on merit wherever it happens to live online and not have to put together verbose and formal resumes. You certainly should mention and even highlight your online outposts on your resume (at least your blog and LinkedIn profile), and as you move further along in the hiring process there’s a greater chance that someone in the hiring process will take the time to look at your work. Just don’t expect the traditional resume to disappear any time soon.

34 thoughts on “3 reasons even “social media types” still need a resume”

  1. Great points, Amy. I think it’s easy to forget just how important a resume still is. Most people think of resumes as the boring old two-sheets that tell tales about your school and work records… ;-)

    Get something like Visual CV, however, and you can really have a great portfolio that can be printed as well. And like you rightly say, it’s not just tech and media companies operating in the social space – make sure you’re visible for all sides of the business coin.

    • Danny – Visual CV is a good tool tool to help you keep your resume online for quick sharing but also in the traditional format in case you need to upload or email it. Having a Visual CV online also forces you to keep it updated a little more often than a file sitting on your computer. Great suggestion.

  2. Great post Amy. I have to say I agree with you on many levels. I guess my main issue is that just because we do still need it, doesn’t mean that we SHOULD still need it. I think there are more effective ways of showing your expertise and more effective ways for hiring companies to find good candidates. True the system that is in place makes resumes very relevant, but does that mean we shouldn’t look at the relevance of the system itself?

    I’ve spent my entire student and professional career having people review my resume, nitpicking at every little detail, choosing out perfect words from a list of adjectives, etc… it just seems like such opaque bs that is closely tied to the issue or irrational formalities that USED to exist as requirements, which I discussed in my last post in “A Social Response to Corporate Indecency” http://davidspinks.com/2009/07/24/social-response-corporate-indecency/.

    We condemn blatant self promotion everywhere else, why is it okay to paint this “perfect” picture of yourself, making yourself seem as valuable as possible given what you have to work with. I know a lot of people that put anything on their resume and will spin it in any way possible just to make it look better. How is that efficient? How is that an acceptable practice? We now have the tools to show where we’ve had experience. We have recommendations from our peers that IMO go much farther than you talking yourself up.

    I’m going to stop rambling now because I’ll be working up a post tonight and will post either tonight or tomorrow, and I don’t want to run out of material haha…but you’ve definitely given me a lot more to think about on this topic.

    @DavidSpinks

  3. I agree with David. Just because large companies use giant hiring databases and generally operate in the most inefficient ways possible doesn’t mean they SHOULD or others should be sucked into such behaviors.

    Reducing the accomplishments and hard work of an individual to a bunch of numbers and bullet points on one sheet doesn’t seem like the best measurement, in my opinion. And I understand the argument that there’s hundreds or thousands of applicants so they need to be kept track of. But why not ask for something bigger and better than a resume, to weed out the hundreds who are going to get rejected anyway?

    • Tim – Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I’m not trying to argue that traditional resumes are necessarily the best means of measuring candidates, but effectively that’s what organizations are still using. I’ve seen too many people lately eschew the traditional resume and while it’s great to hope that someday companies will evolve past massive resume databases, I think people need to be realistic about what it really takes to be considered for a job at a big company. Right now, that means submitting a traditional resume.

  4. Good points and advice.

    I try to view social media and the internet as something to bolster my resume, rather than a resume in itself. The mere fact that I can point to a Twitter and LinkedIn account, a blog, and a general presence online may help put my resume over the top or set me apart from other interviewees as the pool gets smaller.

    Things may have changed and Google may play a much bigger part of the job application process than even five years ago, but certain things take longer to fully change, and the resume may be one of those things. Right now, it serves as a necessary medium for giving companies a quick rundown of your professional profile to see if they would like to see more of you.

    Thanks for a good post, Amy.

    Tom O’Keefe
    @tomokeefe1

    • Tom – Absolutely. Your social presence is a great complement to your resume and certainly something that can and will set you apart during later stages of the hiring process, when the hiring manager is really trying to decide between you and another candidate. Unfortunately, you probably won’t even get in the door to begin with if you have a social presence alone and neglect the traditional resume.

  5. Amy, I agree with your points. OFCCP is a huge issue that most job seekers are not aware of.

    David and Tim, I am not a fan of resumes at all but a process does need to be followed. You may not like it but think of it from the corporate side of things. Example: 3,000,000 people world wide applied to Best Buy in 2007. How would you manage that?

    While that is an extreme case also think about how a company of 100 would handle posting a job and getting 50 inquiries.

    I think resumes suck. I think the process sucks. But how else can it be done?

  6. Pingback: 3 Reasons Why Resumes SHOULD be Irrelevant « The Spinks Blog

    • David – glad we had the discussion on Twitter that sparked our posts! I’ll leave my thoughts about your post over on your blog, but regarding your earlier comments – I think that in some ways the hiring system at many companies is outdated. I also think that so many laws and regulations around hiring make it difficult to substantially overhaul.

      In your point about resumes being contrived and “perfect” – I really don’t think that’s too different from what happens elsewhere online. Sure, you may have lots of recommendations from people on LinkedIn, but I don’t take those too seriously because 1) you have to ask the person to write the recommendation for you 2) They know you’re going to see it and 2) You choose whether to display the reco in your profile. So even with just LinkedIn the candidate is already screening and filtering the information that appears – no different than perfecting a resume, in my opinion. And many HR reps I know are fairly good at sussing out resume BS – that’s why so many people never make it past a phone screen.

      But you’re right – there’s so much more information out there now about candidates that I’m sure there are ways HR could integrate those pieces of info into the decision making process to help get a fuller picture of a candidate (and not just from an “Oh wow, they have boozing-it-up pics of themselves on Facebook, guess we shouldn’t hire them” kind of way).

      Thanks for sparking the thought for this post and for weighing in with your comment and response!

      • Totally agree Amy.

        There are a lot of walls that we have to leap over if we’re ever going to change the hiring process, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean to be done. Shame that it’s become so hard to change a system that desperately needs it.

        The system doesn’t have to be linkedin. I pretty sure other services exist, and we certainly have the capability to create more efficient technologies. Even with LI’s current downfalls though, I’d still say it provides a lot more value than a resume.

        @DavidSpinks

  8. David: I would like to see a LinkedIn, Visual CV or Emurse type site be how this process works but you are missing some key points like what happens to those without Internet access? Should factory and construction workers be on LinkedIn? Before you ask, I think they should but as someone who has been giving advice for 7+ years good luck getting them to act on it.

    What you are suggesting works fine (for the most) for white collar or college degree type positions but what about the majority of workers who do not fall in those categories?

    Another one comes to mind, what about those who do want their information or profile online?

    I have a new blog post one of you can take on (or maybe I will), how about the role of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) as a great tool for a recruiter but “black hole” for job seekers.

    • Paul – Appreciate that you stopped by here and were able to speak from a recruiting/HR perspective. You nailed one topic that I didn’t touch upon too much in my post – scale. When companies get thousands and thousands of resumes, there’s often just no good way to manage all of that information. I’m sure it’s even worse now as more and more people are looking for jobs. And the equality/fairness angle is a good one – some people may choose not to have an online presence and there need to be ways for them to apply for a job, too. Granted, if a company was hiring for a social media position an online presence is probably expected. But regs like OFCCP are pretty strict about how recruiting and hiring needs to happen to be in compliance – right down to the types of interview questions you can ask.

      I think we all agree that resumes aren’t fun, but it seems like companies have been unable to come up with a good alternative so far.

    • Good points Paul. I think that in this space we tend to speak about all things web, and sometimes forget, or just don’t specify that these issues should not be applied to ALL industries. I completely agree that for many industries, a resume is still the more effective and reasonable method for job applicants. Thanks.

  9. Great article, really excellent points. Look forward to more articles, I honestly think that people might start relying a bit too much on their social media profile.
    Great read!

  11. I agree, Amy. Might there be a reduced emphasis on the resume for some jobs? Yes. Can you abandon the resume altogether? In the vast majority of cases, no.

    As in most cases, social media is generally an enhancement, not a replacement – especially in large companies. In smaller organizations that may vary. What’s more valuable than online credentials, however, is the relationships you can build that can, in many cases, greatly improve your chances of successfully applying for a job.

    • In the end it’s all about who you know…sometimes, arbitrarily so. Sometimes it seems almost unfair that the kid who’s mother’s friend’s next door neighbor’s dad will get a job over someone who is more qualified and probably has even better connections, just not to that company. I think this could be another area where moving to a web based HR process could help.

      I’d like to point out too, that I’m not focusing on social media. Depending on your industry, yes you should be using social media. I’m talking about the use of resumes, and the BS mentality around what we consider an “effective” resume.

    • Dave – Excellent point – the relationships we build through our social media presence are often more important thatn the resume document itself. Those relationships are what can help people sometimes bypass the initial HR screen of the hiring process and move along in the process. Having great relationships can decrease the emphasis placed on your actual resume. The resume is a tool to get you an interview, and if you already have a relationship or reputation with the hiring manager, then the resume matters less because they’ll already want to interview you.

  12. Dave makes a great point that Social Media is never a replacement, whether it be for your marketing strategy or for HR’s hiring processes. Should HR become more *aware* of other avenues where our professional footprints reside in this digital age? Most definitely.

    I’ve spoken with HR people that understand that SM is changing the landscape of where our ‘true’ resume lies, they agree that the resume submission process is often flawed, but they also agree that it’s still needed – especially when hundreds of applicants are gunning for one job. The process itself could use some adjustment and made easier from a user-experience standpoint – as that’s a more realistic approach to streamlining the HR process versus telling them to dump the resume all together.

    • Sonny – I completely agree that user experience could definitely be improved from the applicant’s standpoint; regardless of what type of hiring process a company is using. The application process is often a person’s first experience with a company and too often it’s a negative one. Changing the applicant user experience would be a practical and realistic place to start trying to improve, versus completely ditching the resume.

  13. Amy

    Interesting take… guess it depends on the level in an organization at which you’re hiring in… after a certain point HR isn’t as involved (at least in Advertising biz)… they are part of the process but the actually hiring process seems to be more word-of-mouth with one person asking friends/associates for candidates that would fit a job description.

    That said, I’m a bit surprised LinkedIn doesn’t have a “Print as Resume” option.. would work well I think.
    @TomMartin

    • Tom – LinkedIn does allow you to download your resume as a PDF. It works pretty well but doesn’t let you change too much about the formatting.

  14. Great article Amy! I was reading a piece today re Call Centres in the travel industry, and the conclusion was that sub-25′s liked eMail, while over 45′s liked telephone. I think the same thing is pretty true about CV/resumes as well, with many good/final decision making HR professionals being older and hence more paper orientated.

    The other thing which many online advocates miss is that most jobs are written around your ability to undertake typically five core skills. Most people have more skills and talents than that, and probably a career which has been through at least two transitions. The employer doesn’t care you served McDonalds 10 years ago, just: do you have the five core skills they require? A CV/resume in what ever format answers that questions quickly and then expands on the application of those skills, where as most employers couldn’t be bothered to drag them out of your social media profile.

    Good Luck!

    • The resume does allow initial screeners to see if you have core skills – I agree that it might be harder to cull those from a myriad of social web sites. A resume is a good starting point, and if they like what they see there, then they can investigate further by checking out the candidate’s online presence to get a fuller picture.

  15. I agree with a lot of the points here. The resume process that we currently use is flawed but it’s probably the most efficient for handling a large number of applicants. I think the databases and systems that are used to collect and evaluate candidates are outdated and inefficient. That being said, there are so many tools available to job seekers to get around this process, social media being one of them. Social Media and your online presence is not a substitute for your resume, it’s a tool you can use to enhance your resume and a tool you can use to connect with people that can help move you through the application process. Basically, I agree with what Amy said like 20 minutes ago, the resume is a tool to get you an interview and social media is a tool to help you form relationships that can help de-emphasize the resume and move you through the process.

  16. If you scroll to the bottom of http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30484550/ you can see my thoughts on the issue. I cited an example of having a phone interview with a company when, until me, the HR woman had never talked to a prospective candidate without a traditional resume.

    Like Danny indicated, I started using VisualCV last fall and update it every few weeks.

    One more thing: Let’s not forget a resume is a tool. It’s no different than any other tool to get the job done–or to find that job. It’s not godly and shouldn’t be revered as such. Plenty of people are hired without resumes.

    • It’s weird. I’ve gotten job offers without the use of a resume, but I was still asked to give them my resume, just as a formality. It’s engraved into the system that even when you don’t need a resume, they still need it, just because…

      That’s not right. It can’t be.

  17. Pingback: DR. WHAW? – July 28, 2009 « One true sentence.

  18. Nicely written! Social networking will soon become the most effective way of building your professional career and creating a personal brand. In addition to spending time on it and learning by experience, I guess one can also begin by joining various tutorials available on the Internet itself.

    By the way, I am new to LinkedIn too and have found this resource quite useful. It is a new book called “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” by networking expert Jan Vermeiren. Check it out, you can find a free lite version at http://www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com/

  19. Just thought I’d chime in with a couple of thoughts from a hiring manager. Keep in mind that your resume isn’t designed to be the complete picture of your professional life. It’s a screening tool that lets me see at a glance whether or not you have the qualifications and experience I’m looking for. Other screening tools are also part of the process- and yes, I am checking you out on the SM sites.

    Is what your resume says about you important? Absolutely! In the last week I’ve received nearly 100 emails for an opening that I have. I typically open the email when I get it, flag it if it looks interesting and then file it until I have time to look in depth. If you’re not telling me right up front why I should be hiring you for the job you’re not going to get a second look.

    I don’t have time to look up all of these people on Linked In and read their friends recommendations. Your resume is your first chance to get in my door. And at the end of the day it’s all about getting in front of me and selling me on why you’re the right candidate.

    Your resume is a tool, but only one. If you’re serious about the job make sure you’re looking ME up on LI and Twitter. Better yet, pick up the phone and call. Just know that when you do, I’m asking you to send a resume.

  20. Wise words Amy – as someone who has extensively gone through and is still going through the hiring/interview process (being that I recently moved to Chicago) I can attest that, even in the marketing and PR world, there are a lot of firms out there who don’t take social media ‘seriously’ so to speak. It still remains extremely important to have a resume – and to have a resume that showcases tangible results you’ve brought to your previous employers (more on this in a post I have going up today actually).

    Great thoughts – first time coming by, won’t be my last (just subscribed). Love your writing style and overall layout here. Cheers!