This is a Wall Street Journal article on Careers January 24, 2012 By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN
Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst.
Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm—which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies—asked applicants to send links representing their "Web presence," such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos demonstrating their interest in the position.
Union Square says its process nets better-quality candidates —especially for a venture-capital operation that invests heavily in the Internet and social-media—and the firm plans to use it going forward to fill analyst positions and other jobs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203750404577173031991814896.html?mod=WSJ_Careers_CareerJournal_2
A previous posting for an Internet marketing position had applicants rate their marketing and social-media skills on a scale of one to 10 and select from a list of words how friends or co-workers would describe them. Options included: high energy, type-A, laid back, perfect, creative or fun.
In times of high unemployment, bypassing résumés can also help companies winnow out candidates from a broader labor pool.
This is interesting stuff.
Another interesting article appeared in the Career Section of today's Wall Street Journal. "Your Résumé vs. Oblivion Inundated Companies Resort to Software to Sift Job Applications for Right Skills" tells about how today's tracking systems are programmed to scan for keywords, former employers, years of experience and schools attended to identify candidates of likely interest. Then, they rank the applicants. Those with low scores generally don't make it to the next round.
ReplyDelete