The growth rate of mobile is staggering. It took AOL 9 years to get to 1 million users. It took Facebook 9 months. It took Draw Something 9 days. Global Internet users will double over the next few years—and most will be mobile…and the dumb-phone conversion to smartphone has only just begun. Check out this slide deck on Business Insider.
Is your résumé ready for mobile? Do you need a mobile résumé if you are seeking federal employment? Yes! I call it a mobile networking résumé and it is not for just private sector job seekers. If you have a smartphone, you can download a QR code reader and/or bump phones to share contact information or your whole résumé. Be sure your mobile networking résume is void of your private information that is required on a federal résumé, i.e., salary, supervisors, number of hours per week, et al. Keep it to two pages using just your career highlights.
Here is a sample of “page one” from a networking résumé I created a few years ago. Note the columns make it easy for scrolling horizontal or vertical on a smartphone, or seeing the whole “snapshot” on an iPad. I set the QR code to go to a LinkedIn profile, personal web portfolio, InfoStripe, Vizibility, or About.me (there are hundreds of landing sites). It is a great way to share information about you to your face-to-face network, as well as to a potential employer.
The mobile/networking résumé is only one tool that I think should be in every job seekers job-search toolkit for the 2012 market. Are you keeping up with technology, the job market, and rocking your résumé in 2012?
Had never thought about making my resume readable on a smart phone but it’s an excellent point. I would think though that it would almost be more beneficial to make a webpage resume on a wireless address rather than trying to make a pdf that has readable type for a smartphone.
Which application do you use for the “bumping” functionality?
Hi Robert,
The app is called Bump, on either the Droid or iPhone. Just key in Bump in the search bar on the iPhone, or in Market on the Droid.
Does that help?
I’m not sure I understand why the QR code is on the resume in your example. If someone has a copy in their hands (or on their computer or their phone) already, why would they want to get it again on their mobile device? I could understand handing out a Mini Moo with a QR code that linked to a mobile-friendly view of your online resume. Is there a use case I’m missing?
Hi Molly,
Thank you for your comment and I’m sorry for the delayed response. I introduced the QR code to the “careers” industry almost 3 years ago just for fun after working with a client who was a tech guru and also a very aggressive in his job search. At the time, I had been reading about QR codes and how they were started in Japan and how they were used for advertising and much more. So I created a QR code that linked back to his LinkedIn profile. He loved it. He went to a job fair and I told him to look for recruiters with smartphones and if they had one, offer to bump phones to get his contact info into their contacts. I asked him to let me know what happened. The recruiters LOVED it.
The QR code can link to any URL. I also do custom web portfolios/resumes for clients so the URL could link to their online resume. It could link to About.me, or Vizibility…any URL. With that said, I like them because it makes it easy for the recruiter to store the contact info, yet if they bump phones and the recruiter actually goes to the URL, the URL is now in the recruiter’s history on their web browser…in case they lose the paper résumé. The QR code could make you stand out. It’s different (right now)…and standing out is important in this job market. I also use them on networking cards.
I understand what you mean about if the person is standing there with the paper resume, but giving the recruiter another ‘marketing tool’ that is electronic is very much appreciated. I went to a job fair and asked recruiters what they thought of the QR code a few years ago and the response I received was unanimously positive. One recruiter said, “Look at all this stuff I have to pack when it’s time to leave and I have to take it all with me on the plane. I’m all for bumping phones to get contact info or leading me to a LinkedIn profile or personal web site.”
I also realize that some people prefer the paper resume. I am sure that for legal reasons, the paper résumé is still used in many companies today unless the company has a process for accepting digital signatures.
I am just an advocate for having a complete toolkit and being prepared with whatever the recruiter prefers.
Does that help?