Virtual Resumes & Other Trends for Your 2021 Job Search

Updating your paper resume is a no-brainer, but do you know about virtual resumes? According to ZipRecruiter, most job candidates are cyber-vetted before they reach an interview. A virtual resume is a way to aggregate all forms of experience you can display online with your traditional resume:

• LinkedIn profile
• Personal websites & social media
• Video bios
• Portfolios
• Infographics
• Multimedia presentations
• Biographical information

Pro Tips: My advice is to audit every bit of information that could create a virtual resume.

1. Clean up social media posts deemed controversial or offensive.
2. Make sure your traditional resume is user friendly for mobile devices.
3. Add documents, articles, and presentations to your LinkedIn profile.
4. Ask your references to endorse and recommend you on social media.
5. Be active with regular posts, likes, and shares to show it’s not just a billboard, but that you really see value in virtual communities.

Phone screens to start the process will continue to be the first line of defense. Companies utilize HR departments for advertising jobs, reviewing applications, and screening applicants.  While you might expect the post-HR step to be a face-to-face, don’t be surprised by a request for a video interview. According to Best Money Moves, with remote work on the rise, phone and video interviews will occur more frequently.

Pro Tips:  Set up a Skype account and add your username to your resume. Make sure you have the Skype app on your phone and that your home computer is compatible with GoToMeeting and Zoom video conferences. 

Desperation reeks in a way that seeps through even the most highly automated application process. Besides looking foolish, multiple applications to the same firm ignores the qualifications companies are looking for.  According to Page Up, the demand for social and emotional skills will grow across all industries by 26% in the United States. 

Pro Tip: Your resume and social profiles need to be littered with “skills of the heart” keywords such as:

• Collaboration
• Agility
• Communication
• Reasoning

ZipRecruiter says by the end of 2020, more than 40% of the U.S. workforce were ‘contingent workers’. That’s more than 60 million people working on a 1099 or less than full-time basis. 

Pro Tip: Insurance is a conservative industry, but one that’s toying more and more with the concept of contingency workers. Portfolio careers simply mean the candidate (you) actively seeks out a non-traditional role.

• Don’t be caught off guard if a company describes their job as a contract position.
• Ask questions, because not all contract positions are low paying temp jobs.
• Plan ahead on how you would secure benefits, manage personal finances (i.e. tax preparation), and set up a home office to work remotely under a 1099 status.
• Ask questions about work flexibility and job security before making a final decision.