Bye, Bye Resume…
Hello to Today’s Preferred Marketing Tools
I haven’t had a resume in, at least, 10 years!!
“Why?” …you ask.
Because…
I discovered that the resume was the best screening-out tool ever invented.
- I realized that prospective employers were only interested in what I could do for them – not what my history of work looked like – especially that history that no longer meets today’s needs.
- I found that current knowledge trumped past
- I developed multiple “sales” tools that worked better in certain situations.
Today, most resumes serve as the best screening-out tools ever devised. How fast can you count to 8? 6-8 seconds is the average amount of time a talent scout spends scanning your resume. And, that will drop as automated screening software takes over for human scouts. Today, many HR managers will admit that only 1 in 4 resumes makes it past the 6-8 second screen.
Ouch!
Says who?
Say Forbes and The Ladders.com just to name a few.
Now, what can someone tell about you in 6-8 seconds? Well, they can tell if your resume matches their stated needs, at least in a “keyword match” sense. Enough said.
Conclusion? Somewhere in the vast array of 21st century marketing tools, it is still true that you may need a resume or two but you must develop other tools that are clearly supportive of your summary of qualifications as well as your values.
What other marketing tools are absolutely critical to supporting successful career self-management today?
Hand’s down… LinkedIn ranks as #1. 
The recruiters with whom we are privileged to interact go right from your resume to this profile. Some are beginning to bypass the resume in favor of reading your LinkedIn summary before examining your resume in detail. Whether they read your LinkedIn summary first or second, count on the fact that it is a deal-maker or a deal-breaker, in terms of building their interest in you!
And, then, there are just a few more critically important written marketing tools to include in a targeted manner:
- Biographies and Branding Statements
- Peer Endorsements
- Knock it out of the park – Cover Letters and Follow-Up Letters
- Videos and Vimeos
- 140 Character attention grabbers, Apps…and more!
- Not to mention other social media… as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Blogs, etc.
There are NO one-size fits all documents any longer. The road to “finding work” or “developing a successful career” is constantly changing. How you develop and use new tools has become as vital to your toolkit as the ever-present resumes once were! However, the good news is…
If you do your marketing well, you’ll never have to sell!
When you begin to market yourself correctly and with the correct toolkits you will not have to sell yourself and what you can do, your Personal Brand will speak for YOU.
Need advice or help?
Ask the Workforce Wingmen, a team of emergent workforce specialists dedicated to helping workers understand the challenges of a rapidly changing workplace. They will help you take your career to the next level, and teach you how to run your career like a business. Visit www.NewWorkforceHawaii.com and learn about how you can meet your career goals.
Or, contact us on LinkedIn:
Carleen MacKay :: Angelica Lewis :: Fabian Lewis :: Rob Kinslow