Now I turn to Scobleizer, the blog referenced in the two entries below and some of the thoughts and ideas raised therein.
Some opinions echo those cited in my previous entry — that resume “cannot show them my passion, my intellect, my personality, etc.” Similarly, another poster said, “How the hell is [a corporate-speak covering letter and a bullet point resume] meant to convey my personality and strong work ethos?”
Some posters said that personal interaction is the key to conveying one’s personality, and that networking is the best way to get a job, that is certainly true. Maybe it’s because I spent five years as a resume writer and attained a resume-writing credential that I stubbornly hold onto the idea that the resume can be saved (with storytelling!) So, yes, personal interaction is key; yet I’m convinced that some of the same things that personal interaction can convey can be conveyed with a storytelling resume. Other commenters felt that resumes should be part of all personal interactions, and one turned me on to a Web site I was was surprised I had never seen for free resume creation
Another commenter suggested enabling “job seekers to post a short (less than 5 minute) podcast instead of a resume – it would give hiring manager’s a MUCH better sense of who they are as a person than a resume can do.” This poster coined the novel term “jobcasts.” Still another elaborated: Blogs, Vlog’s, PodCV, videoCV. a brief outline of your skillset via a video attached to an email. These are not bad ideas. Some job-seekers could use these media to more nimbly tell their story, although sometimes I wonder if peoples’ problems with resumes are that so many individuals find writing so painful and difficult. Others eschewed the podcast idea because it still skirts personal interaction, while still others suggested that profiles on social-networking sites, such as LinkedIn replace resumes.
A poster said: “Resume[s] will no longer be important – blogs will be.” (Scoble also assers that his Wikipedia entry takes the place of a resume.) Interesting … many of my students had never heard of blogs when I introduced the topic in my classes, and most were not convinced blogs had any future. And while I preach to my students the importance of a positive online presence, not all employers are interested or acknowledge a connection between an online presence and qualifications. A commenter quoted Quintessential Careers contributor Maureen Crawford Hentz, manager of talent acquisition at Osram Sylvania, in a New York Times article: ““I’d rather not see that part of [job-seekers]. I don’t think it’s related to their bona fide occupational qualifications.” The commenter went on to say, “Blogs don’t tell you how a person makes sound business decisions or can meet goals, think strategically or solve problems. I think it’s risky and dumb to assess someone’s qualifications based solely on their blog or internet presense.” Others expressed that recruiters who don’t check for a candidate’s online presence are not doing their jobs. I also know from experience in trying to get recruiters to participate in focus groups for my dissertation research (and a commenter pointed out) that recruiters are uber busy and may not have a lot of time for Internet searches and blog-reading. Executive recruiter Harry Joiner said in his Marketing Recruiter blog that “it is far more likely that you’ll get a new job with a company that has no idea what a blog is.”
Now this comment, I really love (responding to Scoble’s refusal to provide a resume to a recruiter): “Dude, a resume is part of a conversation. Why would you be reticent about giving yours to someone?” Organization = conversation = storytelling, and somehow the resume is part of that equation. Now we’re getting somewhere. Especially when we examine words in response to the “resume is part of a conversation” assertion: “If someone expects a resume as a foundation for a conversation you are not interested in having, then why submit the resume?” Let’s turn this idea around and simply consider a resume as a “foundation for a conversation.”
By stating that when he interviews job-seekers without a resume, “the interview lacks a narrative without seeing how a person’s career has progressed” (emphasis mine), another poster implicitly suggested that the resume helps structure the narrative. My quest is to see how it could do so to an even greater extent.
For another commenter, the point of not using a resume is to stand out from all the others — “creative alternatives to tired and conventional job searching.” A storytelling resume could be that alternative.
