Why Do You Need A Resume

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Read this provoking thought at Seth's Blog: Why bother having a resume?

I think if you're remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn't have a resume at all.

....

If you don't have a resume, what do you have?

How about three extraordinary letters of recommendation from people the employer knows or respects?
Or a sophisticated project they can see or touch?
Or a reputation that precedes you?
Or a blog that is so compelling and insightful that they have no choice but to follow up?

Some say, "well, that's fine, but I don't have those."

Yeah, that's my point. If you don't have those, why do you think you are  remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular? It sounds to me like if you don't have those, you've been brainwashed into acting like you're sort of ordinary.

Great jobs, world class jobs, jobs people kill for... those jobs don't get filled by people emailing in resumes. Ever.

Well, not quite delete your resumes yet. What this thought means is more about the format of your resume. Everybody agrees that we don't want just plain vanilla word document that lists out all your achievements, that nobody have time to read through. But look for a unique way to convey the message to your potential employer what you can do to the organization.  More about the presentation of your current resume, rather than getting rid of it.

Sending in a nice cover letter or letters of recommendation or your previous work profile, I still think, is more like a resume. Just in a different format. And assume, everybody follows this approach, (everybody have a blog, everybody have a nice web site to showcase, and everybody get a reference from someone bojo A listers)  you will find another post on Seth's blog itself talking how nonsensical and banal this approach is. Its not a matter of getting rid of a resume, but finding your own unique way of presenting it, the 101 of marketing.

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