Week 4- What Color is Your Parachute Chapter 2

A resume may be the one of the most easily recognized part of job-hunting. Many people have a resume or, at the very least, have heard of or seen a resume. Although a resume is one of the most well-known job hunting in the modern world, employers have used other resources to determine if you are the candidate they are looking for.

One of the most significant tools employers use is the basic Google search. Many college students have been told, “Google yourself, just to see what is out there.” In most cases, a Google search is the simplest way to find out the most about who you are and how you present yourself on the Internet. According to the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, the Google search has become so important to job-hunting that, “68% of the time...an employer will offer someone a job because they liked what Google turned up about them.” Check yourself on Google, see if everything out there is presentable and how you want to be shown to employers. If it is not to your liking, fix it by changing your social media profiles (don’t destroy your personality, just make yourself more professional/presentable) and take that next step to getting a job.

Another key tool that some employers are looking for is a portfolio. A portfolio is significant for employers looking to see what you have done in the past, in my field of communications this is key as most employers look to see either published work or your effectiveness of multiple forms of communications. The benefits of a portfolio for a person who is applying for a job is you get to again present yourself how you want to. If you have written a published article or research paper, show employers how and why it got published. If you write a blog (like this one), it may be the difference between getting a job and not. My old blog, Left N’ Right, helped my co-author land an internship his sophomore year because he had experience blogging. Portfolios help employers not only see the skill you have in the field, but also gain more information about who you are and how you operate and the more they know about you, the better your odds are.

Although a resume is significant and does help to get your foot in the door, there are other ways that will help better your chances. Check your “Google resume”, fix it up and make it presentable. Create a portfolio of your achievements in the field so the employer can physically see the successes you have had in the field. Resumes may get the job-hunting spotlight, but they are certainly not the only way you can land a job.