Death of a Resume - Part 2
In the previous article I talked about how going into the future, the resume will not suffice.
I'm not saying it's OK to put together a sloppy resume, far from it, your resume should be VERY well written to stand out.
The whole purpose of this article series is to bring you awareness about growing methods of getting you a job, which in the future, you might not be able to get without them.
So where do we start? You need to start with a simple name search: your own! What comes up? Are there dozens of other names ahead of you? Do you really want employers to run a search on you and mistake belligerent comments on Facebook from someone with a similar name and you? So what you are in need of is a little name SEO (Search Engine Optimization) 1.
you will need to have a website of your own.
Now don't panic, a blog will suffice.
You can go to blogger.
com and set up your personal blog for free.
They have the easiest tools to help you add different applications and make your site look nicer with minimal knowledge.
Don't get caught up with the technicalities and think that you can't do it.
The important thing is that you have it set up and started experimenting with it by playing with some of the features.
See what you like and what you don't like.
This is the quickest way of getting something down to a science because once you figure out how to do something you previously had an issue with, your mind will store that solution in an easy access file that you will be able to retrieve very simply.
2.
Set up an account with 3 free article directories.
I say 3 just to keep it simple for you, there are over 800 directories you can submit article to for free! Here are some of the top articles directories: EzineArticles.
com buzzle.
com goarticles.
com amazines.
com You will need to submit articles to these directories to increase you name visibility and associate these with YOUR actual name and not some Joe Schmoe.
More resources on submitting articles in later posts.
3.
Make sure you have added these sites: Facebook.
com linkedin.
com twitter.
com You will need to optimize these three to reflect on you PROFESSIONALLY.
Yes it means take down the pictures of your late night escapades with your friends and from now on watch what you post, because you never know who will look for these.
4.
Connect all of these sites with links or icons to your blog and interconnect them all.
Basically you are creating a link wheel that all points to one real person-you.
5.
Start writing small articles 150-300 word pages on different topics that you are either interested in or have some sort of expertise on because you are in that particular industry.
We will use these to populate information about you on all you sites.
This round is sort of like doing an analysis on yourself and then preparing to make a big change.
You might feel like you want to resist doing this because you don't feel like this will help you in your industry.
Let me share this with you again as I touched on this briefly in the previous post: Employers are looking for the most inexpensive employees with the most experience that can help them make more money.
This means that when things were good, employers were fine with just hiring someone that fits the job description.
But now, employers are looking for someone that fits the description AND can help grow their business.
By being prepared with new venues such as social media and articles, you are demonstrating having skills that your employer might not have or even be aware of.
Just like the plumber example in the first article, even a plumber can show to the employer that he or she can potentially increase their business through new channels such as an online presence.
When you first start this process, you might feel like you don't know what you are doing, or if it's even worth it, but as time goes along, YOU will start to see how ideas come to you that will make you or any organization that hires you more valuable to the market place.
Who knows, this might even change your job description from plumber to Marketing Director or even higher up.
The key is in demonstrating that you come packaged with more value, and potential ideas than any other candidate you are competing against.
Don't think for a second that even if you have a job NOW, even one that you like, this can't increase your value to the company.
Picking up on these skills costs almost no money, just a little bit of time here and there, and could get you a promotion, an increase in responsibilities, and hence increase your value to the market place.
Next week, I will discuss things in more detail if you are stuck now and don't know where to begin.
I'm not saying it's OK to put together a sloppy resume, far from it, your resume should be VERY well written to stand out.
The whole purpose of this article series is to bring you awareness about growing methods of getting you a job, which in the future, you might not be able to get without them.
So where do we start? You need to start with a simple name search: your own! What comes up? Are there dozens of other names ahead of you? Do you really want employers to run a search on you and mistake belligerent comments on Facebook from someone with a similar name and you? So what you are in need of is a little name SEO (Search Engine Optimization) 1.
you will need to have a website of your own.
Now don't panic, a blog will suffice.
You can go to blogger.
com and set up your personal blog for free.
They have the easiest tools to help you add different applications and make your site look nicer with minimal knowledge.
Don't get caught up with the technicalities and think that you can't do it.
The important thing is that you have it set up and started experimenting with it by playing with some of the features.
See what you like and what you don't like.
This is the quickest way of getting something down to a science because once you figure out how to do something you previously had an issue with, your mind will store that solution in an easy access file that you will be able to retrieve very simply.
2.
Set up an account with 3 free article directories.
I say 3 just to keep it simple for you, there are over 800 directories you can submit article to for free! Here are some of the top articles directories: EzineArticles.
com buzzle.
com goarticles.
com amazines.
com You will need to submit articles to these directories to increase you name visibility and associate these with YOUR actual name and not some Joe Schmoe.
More resources on submitting articles in later posts.
3.
Make sure you have added these sites: Facebook.
com linkedin.
com twitter.
com You will need to optimize these three to reflect on you PROFESSIONALLY.
Yes it means take down the pictures of your late night escapades with your friends and from now on watch what you post, because you never know who will look for these.
4.
Connect all of these sites with links or icons to your blog and interconnect them all.
Basically you are creating a link wheel that all points to one real person-you.
5.
Start writing small articles 150-300 word pages on different topics that you are either interested in or have some sort of expertise on because you are in that particular industry.
We will use these to populate information about you on all you sites.
This round is sort of like doing an analysis on yourself and then preparing to make a big change.
You might feel like you want to resist doing this because you don't feel like this will help you in your industry.
Let me share this with you again as I touched on this briefly in the previous post: Employers are looking for the most inexpensive employees with the most experience that can help them make more money.
This means that when things were good, employers were fine with just hiring someone that fits the job description.
But now, employers are looking for someone that fits the description AND can help grow their business.
By being prepared with new venues such as social media and articles, you are demonstrating having skills that your employer might not have or even be aware of.
Just like the plumber example in the first article, even a plumber can show to the employer that he or she can potentially increase their business through new channels such as an online presence.
When you first start this process, you might feel like you don't know what you are doing, or if it's even worth it, but as time goes along, YOU will start to see how ideas come to you that will make you or any organization that hires you more valuable to the market place.
Who knows, this might even change your job description from plumber to Marketing Director or even higher up.
The key is in demonstrating that you come packaged with more value, and potential ideas than any other candidate you are competing against.
Don't think for a second that even if you have a job NOW, even one that you like, this can't increase your value to the company.
Picking up on these skills costs almost no money, just a little bit of time here and there, and could get you a promotion, an increase in responsibilities, and hence increase your value to the market place.
Next week, I will discuss things in more detail if you are stuck now and don't know where to begin.
Source...