This week Susan and I spoke at a “Brown Bag” panel discussion at ProMatch in Sunnyvale. The subject of the discussion was blogging for job seekers. Before we could discuss blogging, we provided our posit (which is coming true each day) that we formulated in Q 2 of 2008: the role of the resume has changed, there is a paradigm shift and new trend in job search, and the role of the job seeker has changed.

Your resume is no longer your #1 marketing tool in a job search, job search is being performed online via social media networks by hiring managers, and job seekers must deliver their value via the social media tools available to them.

Mounting Evidence of the Paradigm Shift: Applicant Explorer Tool

In another piece of evidence that signals the paradigm shift in job search, Careerbuilder.com recently rolled out a new feature called the Applicant Explorer on their blog TheHiringSite.com. What is The Hiring Site blog? According to careerbuilder.com:

• Social networking sites
• Professional and personal blogs
• Personal and corporate Web sites
• Press releases
• Discussion and forum postings
• Articles and news stories published online

Analysis

Careerbuilder.com is competing with Linkedin’s Application features. Linkedin features allows job seekers to stream their online content directly into their profile page. Most job seekers do not opt in to provide their online content on their Linkedin profile page. With careerbuilder’s Applicant Explorer, job seekers will not be able to hide the fact they do not have an online presence. This raises the stakes for job seekers in the continually evolving paradigm shift in job search today. Make no mistake about it, job seeker’s must deliver their value first before the resume or appear to be completely out of touch with the current job search climate.

Robert Scoble is one of the most successful bloggers with his Scobleizer blog, technology evangelists, and well respected resources in Silicon Valley. His article “If you are laid off, here’s how to socially network” is a call to arms and a blue print for EVERY job seeker. Please heed his warning and take the steps Robert outlines. And by the way, many of these steps are steps we have already identified, written about, and continually evangelize in our Inner Architect business.

We added our comments to some of Scoble’s steps denoted by “IA.” The following are what we feel are the most important of Robert’s 19 steps for job seekers.

Scoble’s Steps for Job Seekers:

1. Your blog is your resume. You need one and it needs to have 100 posts on it about what you want to be known for.

IA: 100% agree with this statement except the idea of producing 100 posts. Your blog is your ability to deliver your value message of expertise, experience, and accomplishments–no resume can come close.

2. Remove all friends from your facebook and twitter accounts that will embarrass you. We do look. If we see photos of people getting drunk with you that is a bad sign. Get rid of them. They will NOT help you get a job.

3. Demonstrate you have kids and hobbies, but they should be 1% of your public persona, not 99%. Look at my blog here. You’ll see my son’s photo on Flickr once in a while. But mostly I talk about the tech industry, cause that’s the job I want to have: talking to geeks and innovators.

IA: You are best served by creating a message of your value, expertise, and experience as the themes for your content on your blog. You are building a case for why people should be interested in you. You also want to be considered a “resource” of great information.

4. Put what job you want into your blog’s header. Visit Joel Spolsky’s blog. He’s “on software.” That’s a major hint that if he were looking for a job that he is totally, 100%, thinking about software. If you want a job as a chef, you better have a blog that looks like you love cooking, like this.

5. Post something that teaches me something about what you want to do every day. If you want to drive a cab, you better go out and take pictures of cabs. Think about cabs. Put suggestions for cabbies up. Interview cabbies. You better have a blog that is nothing but cabs. Cabs. Cabs. Cabs all the time.

IA: This is a critical point and should be the driving force behind what you write for your blog.

6. If you want to be a plumber, look for other plumbers to add to Twitter, friendfeed, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Remove all others. Be 100% focused on what you want to do.

IA: Twitter is one of the most important free social media tools to bring awareness of what you can offer an employer, building your credibility, and networking within your niche.

7. On Twitter you can tell me what you had for lunch, but only after you posted 20 great items about what you want to do. Look at Tim O’Reilly’s tweet stream. Very little noise. Just great stuff that will make you think (he wants a job as a thinker, so do you get it yet?)

IA: The best strategy for what you should “tweet” is to provide information that is helpful, interesting, and has relevance to either a niche, industry, or public awareness.

8. Invite influentials out to lunch. Getting a job is now your profession. If you were a salesperson, how would you get sales? You would take people out to lunch who can either buy what you’re selling, or influence others who can buy. That means take other bloggers (but only if they cover what you want to do) out to lunch. That means taking lots of industry executives out to lunch.

IA: We can not agree more. Too many job seekers are stuck in the past where a job search was a part time activity. If you are not ready and willing to treat your job search as your JOB you are in for a very long period of unemployment

9. Send out resumes. Make sure yours is up to date and top notch on LinkedIn and other sites where employers look for employees. Craig’s List. Monster. Etc.

IA: We agree that resumes are still part of the requirements for landing a job. But the role of the resume has changed. The resume is NO LONGER your marketing tool for landing an interview leading to a job. Until you understand this fact, you will be stuck in “response” mode, applying for

10. Go to industry events. I have a list of tech industry events up on Upcoming.org. If you want to be a plumber, go to where contractors go. Etc. Etc. Make sure you have clear business cards. Include your photo. Include your Twitter and LinkedIn addresses. Your cell phone. Your blog address. And the same line that’s at the top of your blog. Joel’s should say “on software.” Yours should say what you love to do. Hand them out, ask for theirs. Make notes on theirs. Email them later with your LinkedIn and blog URLs and say “you’ll find lots of good stuff about xxxxxxxx industry on my blog.”

IA: Again we agree that the blog should be the “hub” of your marketing plan in landing a job. Linkedin is your new resume and critical to notifying people you are open to “new opportunities.”

11. When you meet someone who can hire and who you want to work for. Follow them on Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Their blog. Stalk them without being “creepy.” Learn everything you can about them. Build a friendfeed room with all their stuff. That way when they say on Twitter “I have a job opening” you can be the first one to Tweet back.

IA: What Robert is alluding to is your strategy to connect with hiring managers and companies. It is up to YOU to be proactive and place yourself in position to be noticed, appreciated, and ultimately contacted back.

12. Tell others where the jobs are. One thing I learned in college is by helping other people get jobs you’ll get remembered. So, retweet jobs messages (if they are relevant to your professional friends and to you). Blog about job openings. Help people get jobs. Hold lunches for people who are jobless. Some of them will get jobs and they’ll remember you and invite you along.

IA: The law of reciprocity or what comes around goes around does happen. According to Jeffrey Gitomer, expert networking and sales trainer, you must give first before you can expect to receive. It is that simple.