Has LinkedIn Superseded 'the CV'?

So do I need a CV when LinkedIn is 'where it's at' thesedays?

According to a survey by Jobvite, 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to screen candidates. This isn't surprising. Before LinkedIn, recruiters had to keep manual lists and client books to keep track of where candidates were.

Thesedays, they simply have to run a 'search' in LinkedIn for the keywords they are looking for (read my post on LinkedIn keywords here). LinkedIn has made their lives considerably easier.

In Human Resource Executive Online ('Goodbye Resume? Not So Fast, Experts Say") a number of recruiters are quoted on the topic:

Jennifer Hoffman, a principal in Winter, Wyman's Human Resources Search, says this: "A Résumé (Editor's note: they use that term in the US) conveys several layers of information about an individual's background as well as being equally important for a hiring manager in learning about an individual's experience and comparing candidates side by side."

Revi Goldwasser, managing partner of Wall Street Personnel (financial recruitment) says, "For the actual component of 'hiring,' you still need a resume 100 percent of the time. When we submit a resume to a client we need a resume - when the job seeker goes to an interview, we need a resume."


Recruiters in Australia agree:

In January 2012, Human Capital Magazine Online ("The Résumé is not dead; It's just evolving") quoted a number of senior recruitment executives:

Guy Cary, managing director, First Advantage – Australia & New Zealand, said the resume is still important because it allows a candidate to present themselves to an employer the way they want to.

“While the employer may have seen a candidate’s profile on LinkedIn, it may be somewhat generic and not appropriately targeted to the company or job in question,” he said. “A strong resume that represents what a candidate brings to a particular organisation or role is still critically important.”


Summary:

The fact of the matter is, you need both an online and 'offline' presence - which basically means you need a LinkedIn profile as well as a paper version of your profile - in other words, a CV.

The question isn't so much whether you need one or the other.

The question to ask should be: are BOTH your online and offline profiles (LinkedIn and CV) demonstrating your expertise, knowledge and credibility... that's all that matters in the end.

- Rebecca

Read other related posts Rebecca has written:

3 Questions To Help Your CV Stand Out from The Competition
The Number 1 Mistake Women Make On Their CVs
What's The Difference Between a CV and Resume?
The 5 Types of Keyword To Use in Your LinkedIn Profile
The 5 Common Mistakes Women Make On Their CVs (with this download, you can receive our fortnightly ezine 'Presence' too)