The Hype Resume v. 2.0: Sarah Barnes...

Kris highlighted a hype resume back in April... Karla Wiles was the lucky gal. Time for a second hype resume!

Now, as a recruiting or HR pro, you too probably receive requests from friends, family and other folks in your network to help out with their job searches or review their resumes. And given the current climate, I'm betting that you've also seen an uptick in the requests. Times are tough out there, aren't they? One of the things I find difficult about these requests, given there are so many people on the job market, is helping people to figure out how to stand out and set themselves apart. Of late, my answer has been to push everyone towards social media. Establish yourself on the interwebs and let what a recruiter or hiring manager finds about you wow them... or even be found by recruiters through your web footprint.

I honestly believe that people who can brand themselves well using social media tools have a competitive advantage. Particularly in the industry I recruit for - public relations - I need to see that people have the ability to create compelling messages and advocate on behalf of something... so why not show you have those abilities by positioning and branding yourself? And a really good example of someone who has shown that she can brand herself quite well? Sarah Barnes. Sarah isn't someone I know personally. She contacted me after reading this blog as a part of her responsibilities as a social media intern for the marketing firm Starr Tincup. (Yes, full disclosure, at FOT, we're fans of Starr Tincup and the work they do... and no, they don't pay us a dime to mention their name here, so stop with your conspiracy theories, people. We just think they are cool folks with a really kicking brand. See WJT drop the bomb on KD here...)

I asked Sarah for some background and what she wants to do post-graduation (she'll complete her degree at Texas A&M in 2010...) and here's what she responded with:

"With this resume I'm trying to brand myself - I want to be recognized in the sea of papers out there. I want the brands that I love to see me. Ideally, the company I would like to work for, is one that I can give value to and aid in their growth.  I'm looking for a social media internship with a cool company. I can't really say specifics right now...I'm still searching for my industry fit. But so far I've found that (I think) I would like to work for a marketing/ad agency, non-profit organization, or clothing retail company/boutique as their social media gal. I'm thinking of turning myself into a social media consultant/director and approaching people/places/companies (that I've worked for in the past) who lack a social media presence and pitching them the idea of installing a social media person - me. But ultimately and above all...I want to work for the best and learn from them to be great myself.

The resume is unlike anything I've ever done or even seen before. (First time I've had to chop it up and take things out...that was painful.) So thank you! in advance for checking it out and giving me some feedback. "

So check out her resume. What do you think? Has she done a good job of branding herself? Would her resume set her apart in the sea of resumes you're swimming in? I've given her some feedback about the format and such... but for me, her resume is indeed unlike anything I've seen and I'm impressed. She can tweak some stuff and clean up the format a bit but I'd say this is pretty damn creative. Feel free to drop notes in the comments section or download her resume and contact Sarah directly.

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is a Sr. Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

Comments

[DG]

Great stuff. An ATS breaker, but great stuff.

I would add more links, especially to any examples of prior work / successes, because it made me want to click on her prior employers' highlighted names and get more info or see their feeds and not being able to do so was disappointing.

The wrong Twitter url is in there, too.

Other than that, very creative, very good choice of social media to mimic the format of. I like it a lot

[Tim Sackett]

Hey, I love the creativity, but she has to understand this format will very much limit herself to some select companies that will appreciate this. There are thousands of companies hiring social media communications Pros - but probably only 10% would be out of the box enough to appreciate this resume.

That's just the reality. Sucks, but true. Too many HR Administrators (who tend to be front line resume screeners) wouldn't understand this format at all.

Now, if she doesn't have to worry about paying bills, and getting into one of those select companies is really the end game - then please go ahead and follow this path! It might just take a bit longer.

[Shai Shefer]

This is great for handing out to people who get Twitter but in the wrong hands could be a problem. Still creative.

I'd be even more impressed if she had everything under 140 characters!

[Rochelle]

Publishing her home address and phone is scary. Can somebody edit it out?

[Sarah Barnes]

Thank you all so much for the feedback!

[s]

lose the guy in the picture...