Your Blog is Not Your Resume

Conceptually, I like blogstar Robert Scoble.  I have never met him, but I have seen him on video, heard his podcasts, and read his blog.  That makes me as much an expert on him as the rest of the world who only knows him through these media.  In that sense, blogging is like the Truman Show.

In today's episode, Mr. Scoble says he just told a "clueless" recruiter from Yahoo who was asking for a resume that he "just took a job that didn't require a resume, sorry."  While that's not quite the same thing as telling someone to pound sand, I wonder:  Does Mr. Scoble have a driver's license?  Because I'm pretty sure that unless his new employer is insane, they did a routine background check on him.  Good luck being above that.

Memo to everyone else:

You need a resume.  A good one, in fact.  We all do.  I'm sure Steve Rubel had one when he joined Edelman.  I've been self-employed for several years and mine is up to date.  What's the big deal?

We all have to work within a system.  Nobody's above it.  In fact, if you're self-employed, you probably need a fresh, hard hitting, credential-rich resume more than anyone -- along with a believable story as to why you would consider going back "in-house."  Trust me, I applied for a handful of jobs during the last recession and couldn't get arrested.  Having my own website and newsletter only made it worse.

Will your blog help you land a job?  In my experience [as a blogger and a recruiter] it is far more likely that you'll get a new job with a company that has no idea what a blog is.  To wit, last year I was contacted by a B-list blogger who wanted me to help him get a "blogging" job with a Fortune 500 company.  His salary idea?  After some coaxing, he said "Oh, I dunno.  $200K?"

C'mon.  Consider that most of Corporate America wonders whether it should even be blogging -- let alone under which department's budget a blog would appear.  And good luck determining the blog's ROI.  Even experts like Charlene Li say "it's not about the math."  Which just means they don't know.  Indeed, my expert B-list candidate is still looking for work.  And blogging, of course.  For free.

A blog is no substitute for a resume.

Look:  Even if your blog rocks, part of being an acquirable "microbrand" is knowing that when the right opportunity arises, you must be able to capitalize on it without giving your suitor pause to wonder what kind of "target" refuses to jot down their credentials on paper.  If you're above that, what else are you above?  Nobody likes a diva.  Or a cover-up artist.

I'm not saying anything about Mr. Scoble other than he's lucky to have skirted the system -- in much the same way that Blake Gottesman skirted the system when he got into HBS without a college degree.  But that's unusual, and I would not count on that happening to you.

UPDATE 3-17-2008:  Seth Godin says you don't need a resume.  Gentle reader, I assure you that Mr. Godin is 100% wrong.  Trust me.  I do this for a living at a very high level.  It's unusual, but Mr. Godin can be dead wrong.  Perhaps this is some kind of St Patrick's Day hoax.

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Comments

[Greg Paskill]

I've been able to land jobs without resumes, and it is quite orgasmic.

Just like wheat vs. chaff candidates need to be separated, so do employers. My chief litmus test with them is, "Are you more interested in talking about my past or our future together?"

As a hiring manager, I give candidates a dose of that treatment too. I tell them our time together will not be about work they did for somebody else. It's all about what we'll do as a team. If they'd like to face new challenges and break new ground, I want them.

[Resume Docket]

I totally agree with you.

I had a very similar discussion on this topic here:

http://www.callum-macdonald.com/2008/03/17/i-dont-have-a-resume/

Do give it a read and if possible leave a comment there too.

[Harry Joiner]

Seth Godin said: "I think if you're remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn't have a resume at all. Not just for my little internship, but in general. Great people shouldn't have a resume."

This is just misguided. For two reasons:

1.) Most people think they are remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular -- when in fact they are not. Sorry.

2.) A resume is how the company buys. Can you imagine trying to board a plane without a boarding pass -- even if you had paid your fare in full and were supposed to be there? No, because a boarding pass is part of the admissions process.

Likewise, there is a hiring process at Google, GM, United Healthcare, and everywhere else. Companies that get thousands of resumes each month have to have a process for sourcing and screening candidates.

To expect a company to consider you on the merits of a blog over a resume is just plain naive.

[Adam Singer]

You wrote:

"UPDATE 3-17-2008: Seth Godin says you don't need a resume. Gentle reader, I assure you that Mr. Godin is 100% wrong. Trust me. I do this for a living at a very high level. It's unusual, but Mr. Godin can be dead wrong. Perhaps this is some kind of St Patrick's Day hoax."

I think you're missing Seth's point...what he's saying is having a resume is no longer enough if you want that dream job. It means you're just like everyone else. There's nothing that really proves anything within a resume, nothing to dive into deeply. Having that insightful blog, that tangible project, that personal recommendation is perhaps more important.

[John Moore]

I do agree that having resume will be important. A good reputation you built is also a resume.

[Stephen Jones]

Hi

A good CV / Resume is still [and will remain] essential.

Regards

Stephen Jones
http://www.accjobs.com

[Sidney]

I don't remember the the columnist who said recently resumes are the worst way imaginable to evaluate creative talent, but I tend to agree with him. I'm always frustrated by the form's limitations. Yet I also know they're the accepted method for now, maybe not the best thing we have but the most accepted style of candidate information exchange.

[Heather]

Sorry, that's wrong Robert. Microsoft does not Google/MSN/Yahoo search everyone. If you don't exist online it does not raise red flags, unless you are in a job where it's your responsiblity to have an online presence like an evangelist. Whomever you have been speaking with may have been speaking for themselves, but not all of Microsoft Staffing.

[LivingInDupont]

My question is this though: When does a resume need to move beyond the pre-requisite 1-pager that they teach at college career centers?

I ask this as someone who at 19 was all ready publishing, and was told that I needed to start a CV. I didn't know what a CV was at the time and the jobs I was applying for (namely communications intern positions and night jobs at diners or bookstores) certainly didn't want all of that. So how does one know whether what matters is the format of the resume or not?

[David Perry]

Resumes are far from obsolete but as a tool for job hunters there's a lot of room for improvement. There's a debate about how long or short it should be which has been going on for years. Both sides are incorrect in their steadfastness. A resume is a tool - as is a blog as is a web site. You wouldn't think twice about using a screw driver to drive a nail would you? Different jobs/tasks require different tools.

Personally, blogs can be far more telling than a résumé though because it takes far more effort to do a blog than a resume AND generally speaking the average blogger isn't going to buy a book and copy someone else's work or hire someone to do it - whereas there are thousands of resume mills out there.

Blogs take time and effort. So to does the creative use of a resume. I for one like one page profiles that summarize a person’s accomplishments [more at www.gm4jh.com] As a recruiter I care less abut the person behind the resume than I do about what they’ve done --- until I get to know them. But I’m only going to make the attempt to meet and get to know them if they have the accomplishments, skills and attitude that resonate with me or with a project I’m working on. Cold and heartless? Yes, at first. Not it in the end.

The bigger question for job hunters in my mind is are you doing everything you can to find a job AND at the same time have a job find you? Are you using LinkedIn and other social networking sites? Are you in ZoomInfo? Are you dovetailing your direct marketing and research techniques into a solid PR campaign? It all needs to work together effectively if you want to be successful.

I run an executive search firm and I’m also the co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. Over on LandedFM.com Peter Clayton is following two job hunters I know who are using guerrilla marketing principles to hunt down their next gigs. It’s an interesting story for both recruiters and job hunters. http://www.landed.fm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=345&Itemid=154

As well, you can see Darryl’s web site and blog here: http://www.darrylpraill.com/

David

[Nathan Burke]

You bring up a very interesting point here, and it's something I've given a lot of thought to. I absolutely hate resumes. I tend to be very wordy, which is why I like blogging. So for me, it's just very tough to sum up everything I have done in two pages of bullets. In addition, for someone that is focused on law firm marketing, it seems more important to actually show what I've done and what I'm thinking about rather than just saying it in a one-line bullet. It's a chance to prove that you know what you're claiming to be an expert in. So, while I agree that a resume is something you absolutely must have (if just to get your foot in the door), I also can see a blog as a great opportunity.
Told you I was wordy.

[Nathan Gilliatt]

"Having my own website and newsletter only made it worse."

This really seems to put the unemployed in a double bind: Once you're out of your corporate job (layoff, etc.), you need at least to appear to be doing something. If you're not working, hiring managers don't want you. If you appear to be working successfully in your own business, they don't want you. For those not blessed with continuous employment, where's the balance?

[Roman Rytov]

I'm sure a resume is just a means to get an invitation to an interview. I won't join a company without meeting a boss neither will I respect one giving an offer without meeting me. So an interview is a must in my eyes (and nobody claimed the opposite here:-)

If one's so known that (s)he gets invited w/o a resume to meet an employer then there is no issue but I don't see a problem of having a resume handy and updated. Definitely publicity can't replace the need in a resume, especially for big companies with bureaucratic HR. Even for small companies and startups though I think having a resume as an addition to the virtual identity is a sign of professionalism and respect one demonstrates towards the employer.

[Harry Joiner]

I agree with you too -- which is why I didn't attack you personally. What I found troublesome was the possibility that your readers [who have a ton of well placed respect for you] would take your post at face value and say "Yeah, screw resumes. Scoble's right. From now on I'm gonna let my work and my Google results speak for me."

As you know, it doesn't work that way. I admit, a resume is like an X-ray: All it can show you is the patient's career "bone structure," and typically the maladies that will kill a candidate's career don't appear on a resume (drinking problems, fear of flying, abusive interpersonal style, etc.). That's why there are interviews, reference checks, Google research, etc.

But your readers mustn't get the idea that resumes are on the way out. They are not, if only because companies rely on them so heaviliy for their executive pass-around value -- especially in the early stages of a candidate's hiring process. Perhaps they rely on them too heavily -- and I think that was your beef to begin with.

[Robert Scoble]

I agree with you. Microsoft definitely needs a resume too. But my point was that not everyone needs a resume and some, like me, won't join a company that is so stuck in process.

Also, Microsoft Googles/MSN/Yahoo searches everyone. If you don't exist online that raises flags. It's easier to get a job if you have a good online reputation that comes up.