e-trends / tisa manflald

Looking for a job?Build a digital resume

Other people want that job too,so it's time to put some kickinto your CV

Traditional resumes may not havegone the way of the fax machine quiteyet, but taking your CV and slapping itonline as-is in hopes of scoring a greatgig is akin to faxing in your application:it's old-school and likely to get lostamong the myriad digital contenders.

Today's digital resumes are visual, contain links, useinfographies or video or, at the very least, make use ofsocial networking tools to build profile and forge con-nections.

For Jenn Smyth, now the director, program tnanage-ment at NGRAIN, a 3-D simulation development com-pany in Vancouver, bolstering her digital presence andmaking use of her online network is what got her footin the door and an offer on the table. A few months agoshe was looking for a new position and saw a postingfor the job she now holds. She copied and pasted herexisting resume into the company's Web-based appli-cation tool, submitted it and then waited.

When she didn't hear back, she turned to Linkedlnto fortify her digital presence. "1 read the recommen-dations on how to profile yourself and after [makingsomel updates I seemed to pick up some profile. I couldsee that NGRAIN was looking at me." But it still wasn'tenough to get her an interview so she took things a step

further. "1 wondered who I knew on Linkedln who knewsomeone at NGRAIN," Smyth said. "Turns out a fellowI worked with previously knew someone there, so Iasked him to endorse me. He didn't know the personwell, but he sent a message introducing me."

As it turned out, the contact in question was the hir-ing manager at NGRAIN, but he had already shortlistedtwo candidates for the position. "He called me based onthe endorsement and asked me to come in for an inter-view," Smyth said, adding that she eventually beat outthe other candidates after nine interviews. "That littleconnection through Linkedln got me in the door."

Be three-dimensional

Smyth isn't the only job seeker who has benefittedfrom using digital CV and job hunting tools. Linkedlnhouses 100 million professional profiles online andmany other sites are developing tools that allow jobseekers to showcase themselves digitally in more dy-namic ways.

And according to a report from social recruitmentsoftware company jobVite, about 89 per cent of U.S.companies use social media for recruiting, 64 per cent I

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have hired through social media and 55 per cent plan to investeven more in it this year.

"At the very least, many employers will now expect to see aLinkedln profile," said Miriam Salpeter, author of Social Network-ing for Career Success, and owner of Keppie Careers, an Atlanta-based job search coaching company focused on social mediastrategies. "But the onus is on you to make sure Linkedln addssomething to your profile."

In other words, you can't just duplicate your traditional re-

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kenrevenaugh.com is a good example of a modern onlineCV. The site includes far more information than a paper-based resume could but makes those professional andpersonal details easily accessible.

sumé and expect results. "You want to give someone a reason tolearn more about you," Salpeter said. "Get endorsements, add ad-ditional info, show them the door to your social networks and bethree-dimensional."

Linkedln recently added functionality that allows job seek-ers to turn their Linkedln profile into an online application thatis more likely to move them to the top of the metaphorical pile."Job application forms online haven't changed much in 15 years,"said Adam Nash, vice-president, product management at Linked-

ln. "This is our attempt to build a better way for job seekers to puttheir best foot forward."

"Apply with Linkedln" is a button that employers can attachto their job postings. One click by the applicant reformats theirLinkedln profile into a "gorgeous interface that really does makeyou look great," Nash said. "You can then edit it before you clicksubmit to apply."

The best thing about this tool. Nash said, is what happens af-ter you apply. "If you know anyone at the company, we'll showyou those people so you can ask for endorsements. You're seventimes more likely to get the job if you get a referral from some-one at the company," Nash added, citing a March 2011 stat fromCareerXRoads. "But hundreds of millions of people aren't doingthis, so we're putting that functionality at their fingertips."

Be visual

Linkedln isn't the only site helpingjob seekers get noticed online.Sites like VisualCV, which allows job seekers to produce a freemultimedia resume, and Vestugo, which just launched a similartool called Career Pages, have been around for several years, andcan help job seekers get a paper resume online quickly.

Having a VisualCV was the clincher for Michelle (who prefersnot to use her last name), a Vancouver staffing professional whowanted to move her career into the digital space. "When I startedmy job search I came across VisualCV. Since 1 was targeting inter-active companies in my search, I figured it would be a good ideato create one, especially since it was such an easy process."

While Michelle says she simply pasted her resume into Visu-alCV's template and chose a background colour, the service alsoallows job seekers to embed video, charts, documents and links,and it gives them a link they can send to employers, eliminatingattachments and potential formatting problems. "When 1 sawthe job posting for my current job as a digital project manager/account manager, the company had mentioned that it preferedreceiving links instead of attachments," Michelle said. "It wasthe first time 1 had seen this as a requirement and because 1 wasprepared, I went ahead and sent my VisualCV along with an in-troductory e-mail. I must have done something right because 1received a call the next day for an interview."

Salpeter, however, said job seekers should check to make surethe site they choose to host their digital resume is well optimized

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for search. "Smart recruiters are mining these job boards, butpart of the issue of having a digital presence is to attract peopleto you, and you have to make sure the site you choose has SEO(search engine optimization)."

She prefers WordPress for the creation of a social resumethat expands on your traditional one. "Highlight what you haveto offer, share info that's more involved, include your work prod-ucts, different types of projects, volunteer work and fully fleshout how it relates to your professional goals. Populate it with in-formation targeted to your next gig."

And don't be afraid to use your digital resources creatively,like the job seeker who built a site to attract attention fromGoogle's hiring department (http://goo.gl/gosw6). "Even if peo-ple in your industry aren't using these tools, you can distinguishyourself, as long as you're professional online, " Salpeter said.

But be careful when it comes to using video to illustrate yourtalents, she cautions. "A lot of people don't have time to watchthese, they want to scan something. It's an obstacle to get some-one to view it, and if they do, it has to be professional enough andinteresting enough to make it worth the person's time to look atit." Not to mention the fact that it can go viral and turn your jobsearch into an internationally scrutinized effort. Here's a greatexample of how not to sell yourself in video: http://goo.gl/sTiDD.

Be Social

Salpeter does, however recommend using blogs and social net-works like Twitter to demonstrate your professional knowledge."Connect with colleagues and mentor types. Share advice andnews and interact with others in your field."

That strategy worked for University of Calgary graduate An-drew Turnbull, who used social media tools to build up his pro-fessional profile after a discouraging seven-month job search."A big challenge for people fresh out of school is that you don'treally have a lot to point to. What you did in school doesn't mapback to the working world. Social tools are a great way to showthat potential and go beyond the traditional resume. If you don'thave a lot of things to point to in the past, you can point to theknowledge you do have."

Turnbull started on Twitter because interviewers kept ask-ing him about it. "People were asking me what 1 thought aboutTwitter and I stumbled over my answer So 1 spent a lot of timeon Twitter and then decided it should be on my resume. 1 didn'thave a lot of experience, so it was a way to set myself apart fromthe crowd."

It also led to a connection that got him an internship, whichled to where he works today, as an associate planner at CriticalMass in Calgary. "I met the creative director through Twitter Wewent for coffee and I was hired at the end of October 2010."

Turnbull later created an online profile at About.Me to con-nect his Linkedin, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook profiles, and sayshe would have done so sooner had the service been availablewhen he was searching for work. "A resume is generally aboutthe past. But with digital you're showing how you think; you'reshowing your potential."

While About.Me is mainly a link aggregator, Google Plus maybe the way to go if you want a more dynamic hub for your digi-tal presence, said Kelly Dingee, a strategic recruiting manager atStaffing Advisors and blogger at FistfulofTalent. "With GooglePlus you can fill in your profile and put in as much or as little infoas you want," she said, adding that it's better than Linkedin for re-

cruiters and job seekers alike. "It kicks it up a notch from Linkedinbecause 1 can reach you directly."

Dingee points out that Google Plus may also be better from aprivacy perspective, since Linkedin sends alerts when you updateyour profile, which could lead an employer to wonder if you'relooking for work with every profile tweak. Plus, she said recruit-ers like herself are now integrating it into their daily search ef-forts. "It has some nice added features because 1 can search forprofiles and also look for conversations people are having. I canlook to see who's in certain circles and add them to my circles.Recruiters use social media daily, and hiring managers want tosee that you've developed that social media profile."

Salpeter agrees that if it makes you easier to find online,then having a Google Plus profile will be advantageous. "It dem-onstrates that you have your finger on the pulse. You look likesomeone who knows what's happening." 11

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