There are dozens of ways to get a job without starting out with a resume. We list a few:                                                                  

• Introductory letter (written by a friend, former supervisor, peer or subordinate to a hiring manager). Introductory letters are formal documents of introduction that extol your strengths.

• Recommendation or employee referral (by a friend, former supervisor, peer or subordinate to the hiring manager). Recommendations can be through an email, phone call or in-person meeting. A recommendation is generally weaker, in our terminology, than an introductory letter, as it does not get into details of why you would be excellent in the target position. It encourages the hiring manager to "take a look" at your candidacy.

• PowerPoint Presentation

• A web log (blog)

• Online Profile (LinkedIn, Plaxo, Zoominfo, etc.)

• Discussion Forum

• Skills Inventory Document

• Video - demonstrating expertise

• website

• White papers and publications

• Your bio page on a notable website

Our students have achieved success with each of these methods - hence these are not theoretical suggestions. An introductory letter can set out your achievements most relevant to the target job, leading you straight to a job interview, and a job offer. PowerPoint presentations have been used for a number of scenarios to secure job offers. They could have been used at conferences, conventions, user group meetings and so on, where a candidate demonstrated technical, marketing, leadership, product or customer management skills. Or it could have been used internally, where you are invited to present your vision on solving a problem.

A blog is an effective means of demonstrating the same skills as a PowerPoint but in written text form.

Online profiles, such as those at LinkedIn, Plaxo, ZoomInfo, Google, Squidoo, and many other sites are being searched by recruiters to source "passive candidates" - those who are not actively looking for job positions.

A discussion forum provides a great opportunity to demonstrate a number of skills, similar to those listed for PowerPoints and blogs above. Source discussion forums that match your areas of expertise, and get involved in solving problems. Come across as a balanced (not conceited), caring, polite individual. Provide thoughtful and deep responses. Many forums award points for each question that is answered by an individuals. Your points are visible, and are an indicator of your involvement and expertise.

A Skills Inventory document summarize your key skills and competencies. There is an art to arranging the list of skills, as described in our resume bundle. A Skills Inventory document is ideal if you have a scattered employment history. It allows you to bring the focus of the hiring manager to your key strengths.

Youtube and other video sharing sites are a great way to communicate your expertise, and more importantly in describing how well you communicate and transfer knowledge.

A website can act as a "passive" job magnet. If you are working, be sure your company allows you to create and maintain a website. The website could be about your hobby, and under "About Us" you may describe your job and areas of interest. You could even profess to be "happily employed", thus driving up your appeal to recruiters even further.

White papers that range in length from 6 pages to over 100 pages, written for your former employers can be a great tool to help you land a dream job. If you are currently out a job, do research on your interest area, and write a white paper. You may, for instance, contribute an article on Wikipedia, and then promote it through blogs.

We have merely scraped the surface with these suggestions. If you have suggestions of your own, and would like us to share them with those in job transition, post them on our blog, or drop us an email at info@jobsuccess.org

See the Job Success Resume Bundle for detailed examples of each of these options.