The New Resume: If you want the job, your social media presence matters

I was part of a webinar panel this morning hosted by the Social Media Academy (www.socialmedia_academy.com) called the Career & Knowledge Series.  Although  it is perhaps a  bit self serving to say so (since I’m on faculty there), it was a great webinar with solid information/tips/expert advice on how to approach careers and HR within the 21st century social media environment. (And hey, I was only a minor speaker this morning!)

A couple of key points: 

• No one cares about your Resume and CV anymore.  This is a bit of a shocking statement, but think about it:  your resume is a static version of what you’ve done.  Why would an HR recruiter or manager care about that when they can just go to the web and see actively who you are and what you’re doing?  Yes, your experience still matters, but instead of generalizing and putting it on a piece of paper, create a social profile so that HR people can find YOU!  (One guest speaker Phil Rosenberg, quoted the HR stat that 80% of jobs are NOT advertised–so you need to be out there on the social web so the people with the jobs can come your way.)

• A social media presence can help you get the job.  With a social media presence, you can tell people who you are and what your expertise is via blogging, dialoguing with others, creating slide presentations and sharing them, tweeting about you, your interests and being a resource for others, etc.  All of these tools help you build and reinforce your online identity.  Now, someone who has one of those unadvertised jobs (or hoepfully many someone’s) are going to be falling over themselves to get to you because they feel they know you and you are a great fit for their company and their job opening.

• You avoid social media at your own (job/career) peril.  Face it, with the cultural shift in work that is taking place  and the generational shift that is bringing new technology, new values and new ideas into the workplace with the new generation of workers–you will quickly become irrelevant to HR people who are seeking workers from the social web.  Social media is a social reality for young people.  Even some of them don’t like it , but they know that just like we don’t always enjoy “working for the man”, it is what it is.  And since they are the up and coming workforce, their reality becomes our cultural and business reality as well – so social reality is THE reality.  A few notes on the changing work culture that we have seen at play in our lives:  only 35% of workers actually work in an office or a cubicle anymore; people are working from home, on the road, etc…we have outsourcing, homeshoring, freelancing and every permutation in between, we use technology (email) and can’t imagine life without it.  These are real changes, people.  Adapt and adopt, don’t abdicate!

• How you build your presence is important.  A few tips include:
  • Get on linked in and don’t just post a resume, join groups of people in your area of expertise, whether that’s basketweaving or IT. Start talking about what you know–and yes, people care!
  • Be yourself!  If you fake it, people will find out and call you on it–or not.  Either way, it can kill your credibility.  Be truthful about your experiences, your expertise, your values, etc.
  • Join Twitter and follow people in your area.  There’s a lot of junk in the world, so keep the junk out of your twitter life by following people relevant to you, people who can be a resource for you, people who can expand your network and your scope of the world.  Then, be a resource for them, too.  Send them good stuff, tweet about important things happening.  Retweet important stuff.  If you need some help setting up on twitter, visit my Twitter Primer (http://is.gd/n6uO).
  • Use the same photo wherever you are – but please, not too stuffy!  We know you clean up well, but just a photo of you, not your suit and tie, okay?  Having the same photo everywhere helps consistency–like having a personal brand of sorts. 
  • Create a slide show about yourself or some of the work you’ve done and share it with the world so they can see it.  Point to this when people (aka recruiters) want to know more about you.

Okay, so these are just a few of the things discussed.  If you want to find out more, check out the following resources:

http://www.socialmedia-academy.com/html/us-knowledgeseries_career_0828.cfm 

http://www.recareered.blogspot.com (great for people changing careers)

http://www.linkedin.com (it’s okay – just update your profile now and join some relevant groups!)

http://www.twitter.com (it isn’t a fad. if you want the job, just do it…)

http://www.slideshare.com (check it out.  you know you want to.)

Bottom Line:  a social presence is the New Resume. IF YOU WANT THE JOB, BUILD ONE!