The Paper Resume is So Old School 7/26/2006 8:02:38 AM
Teena Rose is a columnist, public speaker, and certified/published resume writer with Resume to Referral. She’s authored several books, including How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book, 20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer, and Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales.
In 1986 when a college graduate embarked upon their first job search in the professional world, the first task was to break out the Remington typewriter, grab some fresh sheets of paper, and start plucking away at creating a resume. Just 20 years later, it seems like a prehistoric way to put a resume together.
The typewriter went the way of other prehistoric creatures, replaced by the personal computer, which essentially creates resumes the same way a typewriter did, with fewer errors and more efficiency. Now, the latest technology is again threatening the way job seekers put together their resumes, making the emailed MS Word document, once thought of as cutting edge, an endangered species.
Several high-tech alternatives have become players in the resume market, including Web resumes, PDFs, Flash, and even video resumes called “talkers.”
The Web-based resume is becoming extremely popular for those in the high-tech and creative industries who also have portfolios to show off. These Web-ready HTML resumes can be packaged with samples like art work, advertising pages, or Web creations, are available at a moments notice, allowing employers to view data with one click of a link. The resume never gets lost, and can be viewed by any employer in any city, 24 hours a day. Once it’s on the Web, your work is pretty much over. No folding up your resume and stuffing it into an envelope, not to mention buying stamps. Even if you don’t have your own Web space, there are many websites that offer free space to post your resume.
The PDF resume is also gaining popularity. It’s similar to a Word resume, but provides a sort of digital coating. PDF, which stands for Portable Document Format, lets resume writers produce a secure and reliable document that can’t be altered once it hits someone else’s email inbox. If a Word document is saved as a PDF, it retains all the original content, including images, graphics, etc. On the receiving end, a potential employer must have the Adobe Reader to view the resume, but that’s typically not an issue since the software is free and a basic component for most computer users.
Flash resumes are adding some spice to the job-hunting world. Flash is brand-name software used for creating interactive websites and other digital experiences. The Flash resume can be a bit like making a movie, and has the potential to add as many bells and whistles as you like. These resumes are a big hit in the creative industries, although they can be simple and straightforward enough to appeal to every employer.
There are a handful of services online that provide all the templates and formatting for a Flash resume. You just have to fill in the information. When applying for jobs, however, you don’t email employers your resume since the files would be too large. Instead, job seekers should get Web space and upload the Flash resume as part of their online presentation.
