Resumes just aren’t what they used to be.
I’m not talking about those unique individuals who fancy up their papers to make them stand out. I’m referring to how nowadays, just having a piece of paper with your basic summary, qualifications, education and skills is not the only thing employers are finding in applicants.
The serious modern day applications include the social media, professional networking site LinkedIn. With 347 million members throughout the world, more recruiters and job seekers alike are using this site to connect and find jobs. So, it makes sense to think of it as a virtual resume that you should maintain regularly.
Clearly, LinkedIn is working. According to their own statistics, the company made more than $2.2 million in 2014 and is currently hosting more than 3 million job postings.
Having recently finished college, LinkedIn was rarely regarded by my peers or professors as something to keep up on. However, LinkedIn’s own data shows this demographic as the fastest growing on their site, which means the coming generation is starting to value it’s importance.
Take this writing gig I’m doing right here. I never handed in a resume. I was discovered on LinkedIn by a recruiter with Kalles Group, who reached out to me via LinkedIn and got me started. This recruiter was able to see the same details on my resume, as well as interactively flip through my portfolio and see who has endorsed my skills. All this could not have been achieved by a resume on paper.
This is not to say a resume shouldn’t be cleaned and ready to go at a whim. Resumes are still relevant, but so is a LinkedIn page. Keeping up with your professional social media page like you keep up with a resume is imperative in today’s job market.
My recommendation, devote about 30 minutes a week to updating your profile. You never know if a recruiter is looking.
How much time do you spend on LinkedIn?