You want my resume? Click here.
About a month ago I started this post and pressed save. I didn’t know where to take it. This is what I had:
I was reading Aaron Brazell’s blog, Technosailor, and he had a post titled Good careers require blogging. It’s funny, because just the other day I was explaining to someone that a standard part of the interview process is to type a candidates name into Google and see what comes up.
So today I am reading Chris Pearson’s blog and he has an entry called The Only Thing on Your Resume that Matters to a Smart Person. And it’s a great entry. And it got me thinking about this post I started about a month ago, but I still don’t know where to take it.
My point when I started this post was that blogs are taking the place of resumes. People are more interested in how you think, how creative you are, and what kind of person you are than they are in your grade point average.
I actually had a long hypothetical story going, but even I wasn’t that interested in it, and I wrote it.
I guess my point is that when people type your name into Google they’ll find all sorts of stuff. For me, they’ll find this blog. I am proud of this website and the other websites I’ve worked on. They all show me in a positive light and show that I can write well and have skills beyond memorizing things in a text book (which is really all a resume shows, right?).
My websites show real work, things I did. They show my skills, they show my thought processes, they provide insight into who I am. A resume can’t do that - a resume is a bunch of numbers; telephone numbers, grade point averages, etc. And if your resume is more than a page long, a lot of people won’t even go to the 2nd page. They can’t learn much from it.
A blog though…a blog can capitivate people. Maybe an article title will spark their interest and they’ll start reading. If they like what you’re saying, you’ll get the job. If they think you’re intelligent, you’ll get an interview at least.
I still don’t know where this is going, but read what Chris wrote and read what Aaron wrote - they both make the same point I am, but in they’re a bit more concise and a bit more focused on the point.
Related Articles:
- Open Source Priority #1: One Click Updates
- Get a Personal Website. An Entrepreneur Basic
- BusinessPundit needs a redesign
- How to use PPC campaigns effectively
- Start A Tutorial Service
Related Ads:
Now I agree with a lot of what you and Chris have said concerning relying on your own work and character to get you places, but there is definitely still a need for a resume if you’re going into the corporate world.
Case in point is myself. I don’t have that much to show online, and I had almost nothing when I applied for my current job. I’m almost certain I got it because of the numbers on my resume. A 4.0 at an elite engineering school looks pretty darn good. It impresses people and gets them to read about the rest of your activities. It was always the first thing people circled when I was interviewing somewhere.
I’d like to reiterate again, though, that you have some good insight. This blog is an example of what you can actually do and shows off your skills quite well. The fact that you’ve been successful before will increase your chances of landing a stellar job. Nice post.