Most recruiting takes place online and because of this, our personal brands must be created and communicated using this popular medium. Traditional resumes are used during the screening and interview portions of the recruitment process. Recruiters have transitioned their candidate search from online and business fairs to social media marketing. Instead of accepting and reviewing thousands of candidates for positions, they are focused on using social media engines such as LinkedIn in order to find those “hard to reach” specialists.
Let’s examine the similarities between LinkedIn and a traditional resume (pdf/word doc)
- Both showcase real-world experience
- Both demonstrate the applicants competency level and technical skills
- Both verify educational status
- Both carry all contact information
- Both list associations and groups that individual belongs to
Why LinkedIn is superior and different
- Is social media friendly
- Ability to network with others, through different degrees
- Your personal brand can be displayed in an avatar (new feature)
- Can share recommendations with managers, subordinates or partners
- Easy to configure and promote on your website, blog, etc
Why update both your Linkedin profile and resume, when you can update a single source that supersedes both. My tip for today is to stick with your LinkedIn profile and if an employer is looking for a resume, then print out your LinkedIn resume!
