Reading this:
Resumes are tailored for a particular job, and let’s face it, often “cosmetically enhancedâ€. If you’ve been blogging for years, you certainly did not do it with a particular job in mind; your blog is likely to be a true reflection of who you really are, what you are an expert in, your communication skills, your priorities … YOU as a whole person, not as a candidate for a specific job.
I’ve heard of people not getting jobs because they put their antics up on their MySpace account (photos and details of extreme sports performed while under the influence of illegal substances, for example.) I’ve heard of people’s blogs causing them to lose their jobs. You can see a heap more about that here.
I’ve also heard of people getting jobs because of their blogs (you may also count people being hired because of their relationships with other folk on IRC channels). This is obviously a precursor to adding semantics (meaning) to the Internet. Changing it from being data….going beyond information…and into meaning.
Years ago I was told that the Curriculum Vitae was very different to the Resumé. The latter, an American expression, didn’t care about your hobbies, your personality or what badges you earned in the scouts. These days however, things are different. Your off-air life can greatly affect your potential employability in the future. Rober Scoble intoned a few weeks ago that reducing your chances to be hired by even 10% by putting something on your blog was foolish. Food for thought certainly.
Recruitment consultants ring me every week. Sometimes they try to hire me away based on some outdated resume from….what…5 years ago? I mean – they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they’re still holding my CV and considering me for a post. Other times they’re trying to get me to hire someone. Or consider hiring someone.
Recruitment, as a business, is highly profitable though being a consultant can be stressful – not because of the job itself (which by all accounts is not difficult) but because it can be a job that involves trusting people. You’re trusting people to turn up to jobs. And in some sectors you’re the one they call at 6:30 am on a Sunday because the fill-in cook or porter hasn’t turned in. How utterly soul-destroying this must be. Recruitment consultants don’t get badly paid, but I’m told they suffer from burnout quickly. And where do you go from there? From talking to a few I reckon they don’t get paid as much as they should and in my opinion you should never spend more than 5 years of your life making someone else rich. (and may be of the opinion that you should never spend more than 5 years doing one thing anyway).
I don’t know the process these days. Do headhunters take the time to Google for prospective hires? Do they search on MySpace and Bebo for these people? In Northern Ireland I’d reckon not. I’d love to be pleasantly surprised but based on that recent call from a headhunter, I don’t think that they even have web access. It’s not as if I hide…
Not convinced? Well, read Now It’s Easier than Ever to Build the “Brand Called You”.
Will Recruitments companies in Northern Ireland start to hire BlogHeadHunters?