BusinessWeek Logo

Twitter resumes: You're a... lobster?

Posted by: Stephen Baker on May 30

I’m looking through these Twittery resumes, and I divide them into two types: One for appealing to machines (or people acting like machines), and the other for connecting with humans. Those who dress up their resumes for machines jam them to the 140-character gills with data. Those who connect with humans opt for more memorable images or ideas.

Examples. Mike Neumann fills his with data:

@mikeneumann, Smart Cards - 10 years, appdev, devmgr,PM, biz dev, ISO/IEC editor, consultant. 3GI/RSA Security/Schlumberger/Axalto/StepNexus/ind consult.

It’s boring, I think even Mike would agree, but useful. The trouble? Unless an employer is looking specifically for those skills, there’s no spark of Mike.

My resume has exactly the same problem:

NYC BizWeek/Blogspotting writer on blogs, clouds and math, ex Caracas,ElPaso,MexCity,Pitt,Paris. Twits,bikes. Book Numerati out in Sept.

No sign of me except for that bland reference to biking. This may not matter; in many scenarios, machines will be sifting through our resumes, which will be optimized for them, not for people. Still, I would argue that for the kinds of jobs most of us want (ie. good ones), a personal connection is necessary.

Stowe Boyd gives plenty of information, but accompanies it with a couple brush strokes of his blood-boiling self:

Obsessive advocate/student of social tools’ impact on media, business and society; impresario; hothead; author of www.stoweboyd.com/Message

Still, I think the most effective Resuwitters intrigue us, and lead us to hunt down more information about the person. They’re a hint, not a download. @ZachGonzales sends me a seven-letter for Salvador Dali: “Lobster.”

Lobster? I Google “Dali Lobster” and I see this phone. dali lobster phone.jpgDali comes sharply into focus, down to extravagent moustache and the twinkle in his eye. And that’s when it hits me. The Resutwitters are not exclusively for machines or for people. The best ones inspire people to search out more about us. The details are online. For the hook, 140 characters is usually way too much space.

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/

Reader Comments

Zack Gonzales

May 30, 2008 08:44 AM

@stevebaker - thanks for the mention! a great twitter idea.

zack
http://twitter.com/zackgonzales

Tiffany Monhollon

May 30, 2008 10:31 AM

This exercise got the writer in me wondering, who exactly is the audience for the Twitter resume? Because that matters in what you say... Is it broad in scope, or focused, like an elevator pitch that you'd tailor to each specific client?

So I love the idea that the twitter resume is a hook, to get people searching for more.

But then, is it a resume, or just a personal brand pitch? Or is there a difference anymore?

steve baker

May 30, 2008 10:56 AM

Tiffany, as you can see, I'm wrestling with the same question. It seems to me that we all have to make ourselves findable on networks, to have our life work and "resume" up there. Once we have that, like Dali, a simple hook will carry people to it.

Tiffany Monhollon

May 30, 2008 11:29 AM

Steve - I agree that being findable on networks is an important part of the process, especially from a recruiting perspective. But I also wonder how this plays into the concept of networking as a job-seeking tool. It seems that, depending on the direction of the process (ie I'm looking for a job versus someone is looking to hire someone like me), this would have differing applications.

I also thought it was interesting yesterday to see people writing Twitter resumes for people other than themsevles... this implies an interesting twist on the concept of the Twitter resume in the context of networking - Can the Twitter resume be, like a piece of paper or an electronic document, something someone other than you could pass along on your behalf? Or is it only useful as a tool you would use to promote yourself?

Interesting Twitter exchange between me (@tmonhollon) and @meanttolive on the topic of whether or not this applies to the real world of hiring. Generations play into the conversation.

Tim Rueb

May 30, 2008 11:56 AM

I believe with a little there could be some strong business applications for twitter. My recent post talks about two:

http://roihunters.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/business-twitter-ideas/

Post a comment

 

About

In Blogspotting Senior Writer Stephen Baker and Associate Editor Heather Green take a look at how cutting-edge technologies are changing business and society. Whether its blogs or wikis, data crunching or data targeting, technology’s advances are reshaping the world that we live in.

RSS Feed: Blogspotting

BW Mall - Sponsored Links