With the rise of social recruiting, online profiles and alternative resume solutions, the resume has long been resumed dead by many.  However, while the concept makes some sense, much of the recruiting technology out today is still tied to the resume as the main source of information needed from candidates in the apply process.  This was OK 5 years ago but with the wealth of information available online, there are a number of tremendous data points available to recruiters to make good screening decisions on candidates.

The question really lies in what the recruitment technology space is doing in order to make it easy to capture this important online information along with the resume.

Where technology is headed…

Many technologies with large code bases are still based around the resume and for good reason as it is still the industry standard for candidates to present themselves to recruiting organizations.  However, due to the complexity of their solutions many are having a hard time going beyond it in terms of capturing the other integral data that is available on candidates.

While there are a number of solutions trying to replace the resume, I will say now that I don’t believe the resume is dead.  It provides companies with a nice uniform way to evaluate candidates for a job position.  What I see though is that there will be a shift in how we think about candidate records and capture information on candidates.  While the resume will still be involved, other data points will be attached to candidate records to be included in evaluation.  From LinkedIn profiles to Twitter handles to personal web sites and blogs, technology will enable easy capturing of a candidates online profile (either as an option in the apply process or through a quick search) that can be used in addition to a resume to evaluate candidate skills.

In technologies such as Recruitment CRM, this trend is already starting.  Candidate records for recruiting contacts are already capturing online profiles along with resume information on candidates making is easier for recruiters to evaluate a candidate’s full body of work.

Where is the Candidate in all this?

For candidates, there are a few important takeaways from this.  First, like career coaches and social experts have said for years, your online profile will be extremely important to maintain and improve.  Google yourself right now and understand what employers are seeing about you and your achievements.  Make sure information that you don’t want seen by potential employers is hidden from outside sources (and if a company asks for your Facebook username and password, don’t give it to them.)

Second, candidates will need to be ready to answer questions (and spin great stories) on things outside their resume.  Understanding all your personal talking points and the value your overall experience can provide will separate you from others that focus solely on what appears on their resume.

The Resume is not dead but it now has company

I fully expect the Resume (or some form of it) to be around for some time.  It is too convenient a place to start in evaluating candidates to be completely trashed.  However, I see it exacting a little less influence by the day in the evaluation process with the whole body of work being the overall indicator on who will move on in the process.

All the resume really is is a collection of employment data.  This data will be coupled with what’s available about a candidate online to provide recruiters with a wealth of information to make better screening decisions with the goal of hiring the best talent.