Marketing Careers
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by Zac Martinon Feb 24 |
Graduate like a rock star #2: Ditch the resume
Now that you're passionate about your speciality in marketing, it's time to ditch the resume. Pick up that dodgy three-page application and bin it. Chances are it's an electronic file you constantly email around, in which case it’s time to move it to the recycle bin.
Six months ago I decided to throw out my resume. It was the second best career move I’ve made to date. Being so young and still a student a few years from graduation, I don’t really have any experience anyway. I gave up on lying and exaggerating about what was ultimately part-time work answering phones and stuffing paper in envelopes.
Even telling people that I've thrown out my resume has started a number of conversations. It's sparked interest, given me a point of difference and most importantly it's lead to interviews where I’ve been able to actually sell my skills and value to the organisation. Realistically, a resume is just a step towards an interview, so why not skip it and head into the interview with a bang?
So what do you replace the resume with? A blog.
Starting a blog surpassed throwing out my resume and became the best move I ever made career wise. My blog is my resume. Gavin Heaton suggested doing it three years ago.
The thing is, the concept of students blogging in Australia is pretty much nonexistent. In fact, the number of current undergraduates blogging could be counted on my hands, and I'd probably have enough spare fingers to carry a beer or two.
I can guarantee that no matter what topic you’re passionate about, there are no more than three students blogging about it. That figure might even hold up worldwide depending on your speciality. It's a fantastic opportunity to stand out, be heard, interact with a community and ultimately show how passionate you are.
More and more employers are looking for people who have an understanding of how the digital world works, or at least an online presence. A blog is a way to show that, especially if you have a decent following and regular comments appearing on your posts.
It opens doors for you and gives you a chance to interact with big players in the industry. You’ll find it very easy to track them down, or even better if they stumble across you and your blog.
So stop sending around pages that employers throw out without even reading. Make it your best career move and start a blog. And if you do, let me know.
Ditch the resume is the second article in the 'Graduate like a rock star series'.
A DDB recruiter told me once that he'd hired someone because they had an advertising blog; it showed they were passionate enough about it to keep talking about it and had an opinion on what worked and what didn't.
Started blogging after that, and am now the youngest in the Power 150...
Great post, and I wish more students would start blogging.
I think it's brilliant and definitely they way forward. However I'm wondering how long it will take for it to be industry standard?
Clare
Industry standard? Who cares?
As a junior, you want to get notice by the right people, not everyone within an industry.
By blogging consistently and intelligently, and then showing your work to people you admire/want to work for, youre showing value. Passion, as Zac sez.
Do you want an industry standard job, or do you want an awesome role working for a person or group of people you admire?
This may come across as arrogant, but I dont want to work for an employer/organisation that wont accept my blog as my resume. Same goes if they dont let me on Facebook!
Personally, I recruit and I would be impressed by a blog instead of a resume and would stay open minded to this kind of application. However not all employers will see it that way. Especially if you want a Marketing manager role at a big corporate company.
I hope to be proved wrong and I'm sure in a few years time when we are out of this GFC mess things will go this way. However in the meantime if your potential employer wants a resume I'm tipping most people will get a resume together.
I, like Clare, am in a position where I recruit staff. I've hired em’ (fun), I've fired em’ (never fun). Despite the 'dynamic' nature of our company – I head up the marketing for some well known websites – there are boxes that need to be ticked and some more old-school people within the company that I need to convince before someone new comes on board.
Re: blogs as applications. My position is that if I'm chasing the candidate then yes a blog is a good way to see what the individuals thought processes are. Their passion will shine through and their understanding of the industry will be obvious. During the recruiting process I'd ask follow up questions about their experience, education, goals, ambitions etc.
Would I accept only a blog, or excerpts of a blog, instead of a resume for an application that is, for example, posted on Seek? Probably not. The reasons why are below:
First up, you’re not just trying to convince me you should have the job. You’re trying to convince me to convince the people I report to that you’re worth hiring. I need as much information about you as possible – a few blog posts may not do that.
Secondly, if I have 30 candidates (the min. number that land on my desk on average) that are willing to give me the resume I ask for and three that won't, guess which ones get the priority as potential staff. Will it be the one's that were able to perform an easy and manageable task and know the ultimate outcome will benefit them and me? Or would I give preference to the candidates that believe a resume is beneath them and point blank refuse to do it? (What would happen if I hired from the latter group and they refuse to do the work because that’s ‘beneath them’ too? See where I’m going?)
Finally, if anything, a good resume should encompass everything about you - your work experience, your blog, your UNI or TAFE quals, industry experience, leadership experience etc. Have as many arrows in the quiver as possible and fire them off in the right way. Present yourself as the best possible ‘product’ you can (you’re in marketing this is what you’re meant to be good at).
Leave no doubt in the employers mind that you're the right one for the position.
At Sticky Advertising we require the best talent for the dollars the agency can afford, so monitoring blogs and other social networks gives us the ability to identify and build good relationships with young talented marketers such as Katherine, Zac and Belinda.
When the time comes, we already know who's best person for the job.
Why waste time advertising for people you don't know.
I thought a blog was an online diary. It is, isn't it?
Why would someone give you a job just because they read your diary? Very strange.
Never happened like that in my day.
Why not a blog that has an online resume on it? Think of it as the best of both worlds... then print the resume out on paper or cut and copy the text into MyMarketingJobs and volia... you've submitted an application. You've got to be in it to win it after all and as much as I live in social media/blog land, many decision makers don't. In fact, tonight at the Domain event in Melbourne, there were a good five minutes where everyone bagged bloggers and said they were 'loners who had no social skills'. :-S There goes my Friday morning social media coffee mornings.
Anyway, the content most bloggers are producing, Zac and the above excluded of course ;-), is less than inspirational or original, so really a blog is just useful as a networking tool. Like LinkedIn but with more personality and better accessibility. Once you have the connections and you get your name out there, yes an employee can see you're passionate enough to ask you in for an interview. But it's the piece of paper – your resume – that pulls you over the line.
Working for an organisation doesn't mean you cant have an awesome job where people value your work and creativity. You might not always get to create amazing campaigns that people blog about for years, but it doesnt mean you can't find excitement in your work and love it.
I've been dealing with snobbery re corporate marketing for a few years now and I don't really think its fair. (Disclaimer - I'm not saying posters here are snobs, just but I feel some of the comments show a bit of disrespect) Marketers have enough outside criticism to deal with, why do we end up turning on each other? Corporate marketing isn't just updating collateral, we often take a huge responsibility for the sales of the company, whether it is fair to be accountable for the final step in the sales cycle or not. Were often surrounded by the exact opposite personality types that thrive in marketing and have to prove ourselves as more than just the "Colouring-In Department" every day. Delivering sales qualified leads instead of marketing qualified leads takes hard work, strategic direction and strong internal relationships that often go far beyond the outcomes agreed in an outsourced brief. We are constantly in the firing line, often receiving none of the credit and all of the blame. You certainly need to have passion to succeed and your results will demonstrate that.
When faced with recruitment you need to take it in steps:
1. Be able to flick through many candidates and gather information from a format that you need as an employer quickly.
2. Make a shortlist of qualities you need for the role.
Then at that stage the personality comes in, the passion, the blogs that make you stand out.
Resume and blog sounds like a good solution to me.
Resume on your blog = perfect package.
Good debate, great blog Zac Martin and nice opinions forum crew.
Clare
As well as my own blog/company site, I also have my own Facebook fan page dedicated to...well....me....but having read the article and the comments, I'm off to rock star it up a bit...
S
Clearly it made an impact with one recruitment consultant as they rang me back straight away......
.....and asked me to send a proper resume!! lol
SKD