Where Technical Resumes Are Headed

 

Perhaps you can relate ... you think:

• Resumes are no big deal.
• Resumes are a VERY big deal.
• You have no idea what kind of deal resumes are anymore.

Here's the real deal:  

Resumes are one piece of the “career move” zoo. They still play a vital part out in that zoo, but other aspects are just as vital.  

95% of professionals spend so much time either over- or underestimating the job market that they end up focusing on the wrong things.

So where are technical resumes headed? (In truth, they are already there; it's just so few candidates that are actually doing it.)

Resume portfolios along with an industry-focused job search strategy are the most effective approach today.

This is not an opinion. It is proven time and again by today’s market.

 Because we are so caught up in it, we often forget that the job market runs on supply-and-demand. So when you watch what companies do as part of their hiring today (and NOT listen to what they say or what “experts” say they say), you discover two interesting things:

1. Companies respond well when information is “dripped” to them. They want to be introduced to you, get a feel for you (a summary), talk to you, learn more about you, get to know you, and finally be reassured that you “fit in.” In other words, it’s a process.

2. Companies really want to believe you are one of them. And that goes way beyond the list of credentials they stuff job descriptions full of. (Again, they often say one thing and do another!)

So what is a “resume portfolio?” And why is it so effective?

Most people see the resume as a list of credentials and experience. That’s what they are used to reading and that’s all they know. So they don’t want to give it much time. They just want to toss it together and hope it stands out from the crowd. Or, perhaps worse, they end up obsessing over every square inch of it, still missing the bigger picture. Remember, we can all produce lists of credentials (feel free to read more about mine and those of Our Team). The question is, though, “how will you leverage them to benefit the one hiring you the most?”  

Hiring is largely determined by benefits, not by features!!  

The resume portfolio gives you more room to focus on the benefits. The more you do that, the more companies want to know about you.

To do that, we start with the traditional resume as your foundation with addenda or add-on pages that serve as reinforcements to build off the positioning of the resume. We then use a form of “drip marketing” to present the material throughout your discussions with the prospective employer. When you do this, leadership begins to pay a lot more attention to what you have to say. (For more specifics on how this works, check out Move Over Resume, Hello Portfolio and Making the Most Out of Your Resume Portfolio.)  

With up to a 74% reduction in job search time over the national average, our resume portfolio stats paint a convincing picture!

So what's in a technical resume portfolio arsenal?

• Resume
• LinkedIn Profile
• Cover Letter
• Marketing Brief
• Bio
• Thank-You Template
• Infographic Resume
• Problems-Solutions-Results (PSR) Page
• Innovation Page
• Testimonials Page
• Project Highlights Page

Now, no one needs to have ALL of these materials. But you should build your portfolio based off of your goals, target market demands, and specific situation. In other words, it should be customized to you.  

Too many people are saying that "less is more," but our experience with hundreds of technical leaders each year proves that it's not less, it's information provided in smaller chunks that makes more of an impact.  

--About Stephen----

Stephen Van Vreede is not your average IT/technical résumé writer. He provides career strategy and concierge job search solutions for senior (15+ years) (ITtechExec) and up-and-coming (NoddlePlace) (5-15 years) tech and technical operations leaders. Stephen and his team focus on building simplified, targeted, and certain career move campaigns, be it an external search or an internal promotion. He is co-author of UNcommon with career development leader Brian Tracy (out June 11, 2015). Contact Stephen directly at Stephen@ittechexec.com or send him an invite at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenvanvreede. To see whether Stephen and his team are a good fit for you, take their free (and anonymous) 1-minute compatibility quiz, Is the ITtechExec Approach a Good Match for You? Also, feel free to take his complimentary resume self-assessment quiz, How Certain Can You Be About Your Technical Resume? You might be surprised by what you find out!