LinkedIn is about to make the CV redundant!

LinkedIn is About to Put Job Boards (and Resumes) Out of Business

Jun. 1 2011 - 6:45 pm | 9,610 views | 1 recommendation | 51 comments

By DAN SCHAWBEL

Job boards are becoming more irrelevant to the corporate recruitment process every single year. They are ineffective because of the sheer amount of competition on them and how they’re perceived by recruiters. Only lazy recruiters source candidates from them. The best recruiters build a strong network that they grow, nurture and tap into. Most companies hire based on referrals, and through their corporate websites, not job boards. They only use job boards in a last ditch effort to hire a candidate because the best people for the job are the one’s that aren’t looking (sometimes called “passive candidates”).
A study by Jobs2web Inc. shows that companies look through about 219 applications per job through a major job board before finding someone to hire. They only look at 33 applications per hire on their own corporate career site! Just as I said in my book Me 2.0, job boards are black holes. Stop submitting your resume to them and praying that a machine finds it and delivers it to a hiring manager. You should spend more time meeting people at companies you want to work for at networking events and through social networks.
Your traditional Microsoft Word resume is obsolete so create a LinkedIn profile and use their “Resume Builder” to turn your profile into your new digital resume.
LinkedIn’s big announcement today
LinkedIn just announced that they will be launching a button for employer career sites called “Apply With LinkedIn,” which will allow candidates to submit their LinkedIn profiles as resumes through their HR management systems. Companies will be able to take the LinkedIn API and integrate the button into their entire database of open jobs. The plugin uses applicants’ data to automatically sort candidates for the employer. In the submission process, companies can request a cover letter as well as additional fields. By launching this button, LinkedIn is training HR professionals and independent recruiters to use their technology and network grid instead of job boards. They are also making a bold statement saying that you don’t need a paper resume anymore; all you need a link to your LinkedIn profile.
[Update: LinkedIn just confirmed that they have not announced or confirmed such a plugin or product at this time.]
What this means for job seekers
I see more and more companies using this button on their career sites, while divesting in job board advertising. This is yet another step in the internet becoming the new global talent pool. HR databases are isolated in the confines of companies and can’t update fast enough to remain relevant in this fast paced world we live in. Now, more than ever before, job seekers have to create their own LinkedIn profiles and take them very seriously. You have to constantly managing your profile, revise it as you advance in your career, and use it to network as much as possible. Companies will expect you to be on LinkedIn and if you’re not, then you can’t apply for jobs! There are over one hundred million LinkedIn users and you will suffer if you keep submitting your Microsoft Word resume to job boards.
Job boards and traditional resumes are going to fade faster than I even predicted! I predicted ten years, but it might be much sooner than we all thought! Build your online presence now if you want to be able to compete in this ever growing marketplace.
Disclaimer: I own shares in LinkedIn stock, but I’ve been preaching about it’s effectiveness as a job search tool since 2006/7.