Well, maybe ‘forget’ is going too far. You will still need a resumé but it isn’t the most important tool in your job search. Your most important tool is LinkedIn … specifically your profile and your network of connections.
Your resumé still has a role to play – to highlight your accomplishments that are specific to the job you are applying for. Your resumé should be brief, professional and completely tailored to a specific opportunity. The primary purpose of a resumé is to secure an interview.
However, your LinkedIn profile does so much more! It provides a much richer picture of your experience, capabilities, and personality. It’s your very own ‘sales brochure’ complete with testimonials, and multi-media capability. Using stories rather than bullet points, you can speak in a more conversational tone to present a more accurate picture of who you are, what you’ve done, and what you can offer.
Time spent enhancing and improving your LinkedIn profile is a very good investment. Here are a few things to consider:
- Check out others’ profiles. You will find things you like in each of them that can be used in yours as well.
- Be sure to include keywords in the section just under your name that you believe will be used in searches by prospective employers.
- Add multi media to your profile – videos or ads that you worked on.
- Post short articles on topics that you are passionate about.
It’s important to remember that LinkedIn is a public forum, so don’t include anything that you wouldn’t want published on the front page of a newspaper.
When done well, your LinkedIn profile provides a deeper look into who you are, what you are, your strengths, what you are passionate about and even provides a sense of your personality. Your resumé can’t possibly do all of that!
