Can You Hire Your Next Star Using Twitter and Blogs, But No Resume?

In a word, NO.  Unless you have a kickin' blog and twitterflow, your target candidate audience has the same, and you're in the type of business that could pull it off (read - "creative").

Three voices talk out loud:

First, the esteemed Seth Godin dreams the dream:

"This is controversial, but here goes: I think if you're remarkable, amazing or just plain  spectacular, you probably shouldn't have a resume at all.

Not just for my little internship, but in general. Great people shouldn't have a resume.

Here's why: A resume is an excuse to reject you. Once you send me your resume, I can say, "oh, they're missing this or they're missing that," and boom, you're out.

Having a resume begs for you to go into that big machine that looks for relevant keywords, and begs for you to get a job as a cog in a giant machine. Just more fodder for the corporate behemoth. That might be fine for average folks looking for an average job, but is that what you deserve?"

Not so fast, points out top marketing recruiter Harry Joiner at The Marketing Headhunter:

"Recently, Seth Godin (of whom I have been a big fan for years, and whose Boxed Set I bought the week it was released) suggested that the best jobs don't require a resume.  Seth knew his comments were going to be controversial, and his post was music to the ears of his fans -- many of whom blogged their hope that he was right.

As a follow up to that conversation, a buddy of mine has been approached by Google for a great job ... a world class job ... a job people would kill for ... one of those jobs that don't get filled by people emailing in resumes.  Ever.

And guess what?  The first thing Google's internal recruiter sent my friend was this link explaining how to prepare a resume for Google.  It's a requirement.  Who knew?

Now, I'm not trying to say "I told you so" with this post.  But we all know that Google is one of America's Top Employers.  Evidently, a resume is as important to getting a job with Google as having a license is to driving a car.  It's like that everywhere."

Then, just to show you it can be done, see the Jason Falls job posting on his blog, Social Media Explorer:

"HERE’S HOW YOU GET THE JOB

1. Don’t send me resumes. Connect with me. I’m easy to find.
2. Give me an elevator pitch on why you are the person we’ve described.
3. Send me (via whatever electronic method you deem most efficient) a short list of what you’ve done and where I can find evidence of it. Or have a full profile on LinkedIn. It’s easier that way.
4. If your profiles are hard to link to you on social media sites, tell me which are yours and what you’re hiding.
5. Understand this will be a competitive search and I’m hiring one person. Be outstanding."

So Seth does the visionary thing, Harry gives us really good advice, and Jason shows us what the world might look like in 20 years.  Click through to see more about how Jason hired the ultimately successful candidate.  Granted, it's a job in social media, so if anybody's going to hire that way, it should be Jason.  Still, it's interesting and cool to see that Jason said no to the resume.

Unfortunately, if you are hiring or searching for your next gig using social media exclusively, you won't be able to.  Follow Harry's advice for at least the next 10 years.  If you're lucky, you might run into someone who follows Jason's lead and requires you to display your digital groove.

Comments

[Ivy Madison]

Interesting opinions on the resume process vs. alternative web resources. I have a few of my own to share that mimic a little of what you’ve described.
I hire for a mid-size health care reporting and analytical software company. In my attempts to keep in the mainstream, I will take a look at twitter, and drill down into the blogosphere. But right now my Web 2.0 strategy includes using the recruiting marketplace, Dayak. It reminds me of when I started using eBay , but instead I am buying a new hire. Trying several similar sites over the past year turned to Dayak since they are more budget –friendly, first the rates are cheaper and they also offer a full refund if the employee doesn’t stick.
I also agree that the resume doesn’t necessarily have to be your first introduction to a company. My best impressions are from candidates that have found me through our website and have emailed me what Jason describes as the “elevator pitch”. Thirdly, I consider my job 24/7, my door is always open, and am inclined to meeting the right new hire anytime / anywhere.