The Future Of Business – The Resume
Why are we still submitting resume’s? Why do we continue to use them? They’re not useful, not in the way they need to be, so why do we keep using a tool that doesn’t work very well? Most resume’s never see the light of day, in fact, the only time they get looked at, is if there is an immediate need. What’s the first thing you look at when you have a résumé put under your nose? Where they live? Their email address? Job / Work history? References?
That’s the most I’ll invest in reviewing a résumé, I tend to skim it, in fact, I rarely look at them. I would prefer you considered less time-consuming methods, give me a picture of who you think you are, and what others say you are. You can’t really do that in a résumé, because the résumé is skewed by the person submitting it.
The location or where a person lives may be important, if you need them in an office, and they live across the country, you either have to pay moving expenses, or find someone local. The email address, if its a Gmail, yahoo or any other kind of free service, that tends to be a negative, but not show stopper. I prefer to see applicants invest in owning their personal domain name, it shows commitment to me. Job / work history gives me some insight about whether they can do what I need done, it’s not that important because every job has a training cycle anyway. References are probably the most important part, but not the one’s the applicant sends me, I want objective views of a person. I don’t want to hear about how hard they work, I want insight as to what kind of person they are.
The résumé of the future will be and is, a more transparent view of the candidate.
If you must send me a resume, just email me your LinkedIn Profile, completed of course. And most importantly, you should have connected with me somewhere before, don’t just blindly send me your info without knowing if I’m looking, or knowing anything about what I do. Having said that, LinkedIn at least will give me some outside context, have they been recommended, when did those recommendations get posted, and by whom. Have the endorsements been tinkered with, most likely, it’s the easiest thing to game. After that, I’ll do my leg work, like skimming FaceBook, Google, and other Social Networks that may show character pro’s and con’s. I will invest my time in doing research online before I ever decide to interview someone face-to-face.
Personally, resume’s do not work well, there are some many ways for me to learn about a candidate, and more effective ways to get picked. I feel the same way about business cards, they too rarely get used, or produce the kind of results one hopes for. Even job banks are terrible, recruiting sites, and they’re digital failures in my humble opinion. The best way to solve this dilemma, once you’ve determined what work you want to do, figure out how to connect with the principle or HR person, and build a relationship be it online or off. Yes, it does take effort, but connecting with those who make the decisions, or influence the hiring, will get you closer to your desired result.
I may sound smug, even arrogant, if someone wants to know about me, I usually tell them to Google my name, that will direct them to my website, which is my personal domain name, and ton more about what I’ve been up to on and offline. The résumé isn’t dead, it’s different, it’s digital, and we must be creative about it, think differently, otherwise….you’ll be last at the food dish, and the last one rarely gets the gig.
What’s Taking So Long?
This question is usually saved for trips with your kids, they’re stuck in the back seat, yelling, “Are we there yet?” or “What’s taking so long”. Those who have traveled with children know exactly what I’m talking about.
Some 20 years ago, many of us thought commerce and the Internet would have a stranglehold on business and it would change how we live. In some way’s it does, but in many, not so much. Those over the age of 30 can’t seem to let go of the Industrial Age, it’s what we know. We got comfortable being told what to do, how to do it, and waited until someone gave us orders. The combination of fear and change keeps us there, we love control, and we like things just as they are, right?
Roughly 3 or 4 years ago I was telling you that 60% of all commerce would be done online, we haven’t hit that number just yet, but it’s getting close. We’ve almost hit 60% in Canada though. I also shared that 70% of the Fortune 1000 companies would either be gone, changed its name, or completely re-invented themselves. That’s true, but there is a long way to go. Why? We don’t know how to change that fast, we have trouble letting go of what we know and trust. We still think the government will look after us, that we don’t have to teach younger generations a new in this connect economy we find ourselves in.
What appeared to be a locomotive running out of control, was merely a bright light, but make no mistake, that locomotive is getting closer, and moving faster and faster. As the younger generations re-write the business rules, those hanging on to old practices and set in your ways thinking, will more likely conform to the connection economy, just you did with the Industrial Age way of working. Eventually, we adapt…..or we die.
The question shouldn’t be, what’s taking so long? The question should be, what am I going to do to make sure I’m still in business when that day comes, when what’s taking so long arrives.
What’s Fusion Marketing?
What is fusion marketing? Fusion Marketing is simple really, you do me a favor & I’ll reciprocate – kind of like Barter Advertising – it’s a different way of using old marketing tactics. For example, you put my sign in your store, and I’ll put yours in my store front. To me it’s just a fancy name for helping each other market for free.
It’s not a business model, it’s just marketing.
Your Dream Job
Why do we keep trying to land jobs the way we always have, submit a résumé, wait by the phone, hoping someone will call. It’s a nice idea, but not good use ones time, especially if you’re desperate to make ends meet. Sure you could collect Unemployment Insurance (in Canada), that takes at least 6 weeks to get, it might be called something different where you live. But these social programs rarely pay all the bills, and you don’t get them the day you need it, they might help or buy you some time, but it doesn’t get you out of the hole your in.
Times have changed dramatically, for me, when I was a young teenager, there were no computers, not for public consumption anyway. We had no choice but to pound the pavement to find our dream job(s). It sounds weird when I say it like that, it was the only way to find work back in my day. Sure you might have a friend of a friend, who knows someone who knows someone else to help you land your dream job. Who invented the saying, “Dream Job”? It sounds great doesn’t it, utopia! The term dream job means that you love what you’re doing, in my humble opinion. You could get hired into it, if you’re lucky, or you could invent it, which is most likely to happen today and for sure in the future. The future of business is just that, innovation, you will invent, innovate your job, your work, a way to pay the bills, get used to the idea, you won’t have a choice. The day of getting full-time work is gone, those full-time gigs are few today.
So, instead of waiting to be picked from a pile of resumes, but do submit to help your cause, but don’t sit around, go and invent your ideal job while you wait. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll discover your dream job, and it could more than pay the bills.
Too Fickle?
One of the major challenges with some entrepreneurs is, they get bored easily and want to move on to the next thing, that is also a red flag that you might not be the entrepreneur you think you might be. Why? One of the primary characteristics of an entrepreneur, is that they are persistent, and see things through, until it’s time to hand of the project / business to those who manage the day-to-day details or a CEO.
If you change your mind too often, it’s crazy making for those who work directly with you, and make’s it more difficult to actually complete projects. Also, moving to fast or being to far ahead of the team doing the work means you must have great communication channels. If you’re too far forward, and the team can’t see what you see, they’ll never be able to catch your vision, or get the work done the way you see it.
Don’t be a fickle leader, be predictable, and have good communication, fickle will only leave you by yourself, which means….your probably not leading anyone.
