What is Resume RANTS?

rant verb \ˈrant\
: to speak aggressively about something or to take your own tangent about a subject and talk for a long time in a passionate manner. (Urban Dictionary)

I am on a RANT.  I'm a recruiter on a RANT, a tangent actually, to provide job seeking professionals with the tools and advice they need to get better job search results, successfully network, and feel prepared and confident for every interview.  Most of all, I'm here to rescue resumes.  

A resume is the single most important tool in a job search.  It is a key to delivering a powerful, positive and lasting message about professional skills and accomplishments.  It also serves as a first, and sometimes last, impression on a potential employer looking to determine if a candidate is qualified and possesses the potential to drive results and bring success to their company.

The resume originated in feudal England as a way of  
introducing travelers from distance kingdoms to society.

Recently the the focus of many career & job search articles has been the fate of the resume as we know it.  Specifically, the discussion has centered on the ever increasing power and influence of social media.  In regards to social media replacing resumes, many experts are saying, "we're there," but I don't think we are, not yet.  In my opinion proponents of the resume's extinction have become over stimulated by the gadgetry of a post 2.0 world, making them quick to proclaim the resume's irrelevance (I will further elaborate in future posts).   They're like the cool kids in school who say, "everybody's doing it" when, in fact, everybody's not.

I know many are scratching their heads and sarcastically thinking, "Gee, does she think the world is flat too?"  No, I do not.  I know employers review a candidate's online footprint, positive or negative, when considering them for a position.  I understand that the traditional resume is evolving into more of a "social resume" or digital imprint.  AND, I do agree with Laura Ruettimann, self-proclaimed HR dork and blogger for The Cynical Girl, when she humorously points out, "the stinkin' internet is now your resume.  Everything you say and do is out there to be found."

Though Laura is well acquainted as an HR professional with the relevance of social media in the hiring process, she also understands and agrees that there still are many uses for a resume (and a paper airplane isn't one).  As a recruiter, I'm here to tell you that social media alone will not allow candidates to effectively share their professional stories.  Employers will continue to require, at least for now, a comprehensive yet concise document that allows them to assess a candidate's eligibility for a specific professional opportunity.

What do you want a potential employer to know about you?

I'm certain the professionals I meet and interview on a daily basis would attest to the importance I place on their resume - fonts, formatting, margins, action verbs used to describe the details of individual job functions, importance of professional summaries in relation to a specific job description, and that's just my warmup. "Wow, you're really into... this," I hear regularly.   

I'm also sure those I help easily recognize how passionate, vocal, and sometimes painfully blunt I can be about transform their resumes.  Why do I often stun people into silence?  Not because I talk a lot, which I do, but because I take their job search seriously and want them to land great opportunities with even greater companies.

Let me close my RANT with this...  The average person works roughly 48 years, 2,496 weeks, and 99,840 hours (not including overtime) before retirement.  Doesn't the "average person" want a job they love?  One that doesn't feel like work?  Let me help.