Death and Resumes

A coworker of mine heard of someone who's hiring based on blogs and online profiles. Considering that the resume is a medium that has existed with little change for decades, it seems a good move. An 8.5 x 11 sheet of text is an outdated presentation platform and certainly someone with interest in modern design and technology would be able to represent themselves better with an online identity. However this could represent a barrier to honesty in our online lives.

For the most part it appears people are far more open about themselves in an online setting than elsewhere, so I would imagine a new level of honesty would be brought to the employment process. As we become more conscious of the extent to which our lives are digitally discoverable, we will probably come to a conclusion as a society to either live our lives as if we are constantly surveilled (to be on a constant interview as it were), to accept that we all have our personal foibles, or to hide/manipulate details of our lives. I would like to see us become more accepting and honest of ourselves as full rounded people and not pretend that the polished exterior is the only side to us (though I would always advocate only bringing the polished exterior to the workplace); however, the cynical side of me thinks we are more likely to be more honest, but to continue to censor the presentation of ourselves.

I think it stands to reason that most people have some embarrassing moment they would like to erase. Certainly you would not blog about it or link to it from your profile. But increasingly it will exist out there to be found and I think acceptance makes the most sense. Obviously sometimes we are strained, but for the most part, an interview should be a two way process. You should figure you want the job for the job, not some hyped image of it and the job should want you for you, not some image. Long term an honest representation is for the best.

Therefore while I think the internet presents (at least for tech related jobs) a better presentation of ourselves as a resume, I think we should forget about it day to day, but make big decisions with regard to it -- much like mortality. Now and then we should contemplate our death, but we would be paralyzed to dwell on it constantly. I certainly do not mind lumping resumes and death in the same do not disturb box.