Job Seekers Need Paper and Tech Skills – Friday Distraction
I have a confession to make. I like paper.
I still use a paper planner and I take a paper journal/notebook with me to meetings. (Side note: if you love paper like me, check out the notebooks at Appointed. Gorgeous!) This doesn’t mean I don’t use technology for planning or notes. But I find that there are events where I want paper and others where technology makes more sense.
Anywho, I was at a meeting recently where someone took one look at my paper notebook and told me that “paper was out” and that people, especially young professionals or young job seekers, only use technology instead of paper. Frankly, I’m not sure I agree. Paper seems to be enjoying a resurgence right now with coloring books being all the rage. And over the past quarter when I started shopping for my 2016 planner, I had no clue how many paper planner systems were on the market.
But I also agree that there are times when technology has clearly diminished the need for paper. Resumes is a great example. I’ve seen dozens of articles talking about the death of applicant tracking systems (ATS.) Not sure that I see it. There’s no way HR departments are going back to the days of paper. Today’s Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos reminded me what the paper resume process used to look like.
The other thing this cartoon reminded me was about the process to “qualify” a resume. There’s a statistic on the Internet that says recruiters spend less than 10 seconds looking at a candidate’s resume. So job seekers need to make a lasting impression in a short period of time. The way to do that is by making sure you use the right tools at the right time.
That might mean being able to sell yourself on paper or using ATS technology in the most effective way. Yes, technology is becoming a big part of our personal and professional lives. But sometimes paper is equally effective. It’s all about context. And you want to be successful at both.
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