For most of us, resumes are updated with great irregularity - usually just before leaving one job, and just after arriving at another. These resumes also are much more focused on our pasts than our future - highlighting previous jobs and degrees, durations of each stop, and what we think were the most notable accomplishments. In parallel, online resumes that encourage connections, such as LinkedIn and Plaxo, are dominated by connections to previous colleagues and partners found at each position. This leaves the often most-difficult portion of the resume, the objective, as the only major segment that looks to the future - and all the focus on previous accomplishments makes the entire process more challenging for new entrants into the workforce, with little or no experience that matches their goals or potential.

Brazen Careerist, a social network aimed at generation Y professionals, took a look at this gap and has made moves to turn the resume around, focused as much on one's ideas and forward-looking goals as it is on their work history. The site encourages users, who are posting upwards of 100,000 updates a month to the network, to add "Top Ideas" to their resume, where they are given high precedence which can hopefully overcome one's assumed lacking years of experience. These top ideas, like other engagements on the site, are open to comments and discussion from other members, making the resumes not just about these top ideas, but social as well.


The network lies in between the more established social networks of LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn can be rigid and stodgy for an older generation, with Facebook presumably being very casual. Thus, so too is the social, ideas-based resume, a less formal, but still professional way to communicate one's business goals and inspiration.

You can add up to five "Top Ideas", up to 500 characters apiece, and rank them any way you wish, on top of your more traditional resume on the site. (see mine here) If you change your mind as to your top thoughts any time later, you can delete old ones and replace them with newer priorities.


Brazen Careerist is tapping into generation Y's proclivity to be active in social networks, while also presenting them the opportunity to organize their thoughts. The site suggests: "Conversations happen pretty fast on the web, and before you know it, they're forgotten. Effortlessly organize the most important things you have to say so employers, colleagues and friends don't forget just how smart you really are."

I have been working with Brazen Careerist since the beginning of the year, and they are a client of Paladin Advisors Group. The launch of social ideas-based resumes also follows the network's recent overhaul which makes the site much more like Facebook or FriendFeed, letting you post to a "Fan Feed", recommend entries and add comments. The result is a much more friendly and social experience than a LinkedIn, but focused on career mobility, not entertainment.

Will the addition of "Top Ideas" to one's resume help potential recruiters and employers get to know candidates better before reaching out? It certainly can't hurt. Brazen Careerist's moves are welcome in a world of resumes that haven't updated much in a long time.

Also see: Ere.net: For Gen-Yers, the Conversation’s the Resume and TheNextWeb: Brazen Careerist Looks To The Future With Social Resumes.

Disclosure: Brazen Careerist is a client of Paladin Advisors Group, where I am managing director of new media.

By Mike Fruchter of MichaelFruchter.com (Twitter/FriendFeed)

We are living in dire economic times right now. The economy has been crushed, the housing market has tanked and the unemployment rate has skyrocketed. In November alone US employers axed more than 500,000 payroll jobs, the most in 34 years. No job sector is immune, Yahoo recently laid off close to 2,000 people last week. AT&T is cutting 12,000 positions. Sony is planning on laying off 16,000 workers in the oncoming weeks. The picture is not pretty, and surely is expected to get worse. Let's not talk about the big three US automakers, their fate is yet to be determined.

There is no denying it, we are in a recession. While it's going to be that much harder to find a new job in the current market, jobs are scarce but available. Having a polished and professional resume is crucial now more than ever. You are now competing against a much larger applicant pool than ever before. You may have the skills that can pay the bills, but if you have a poorly formatted resume, or it's missing the crucial components that employers are looking for, your chances of getting your foot in the door for an interview are slim at best. Now is not the time to be gambling with your resume. If you are not getting any callbacks, your resume is probably the culprit. It's imperative that it grabs the attention of the person making the hire.

Resume Donkey, an online resume review service that launched today, wants to help you stand out from the crowd. Despite the funny name, they are serious in helping you perfect and get your resume in top notch shape for potential employers. The concept is very simple and straight forward. Resume Donkey provides a thorough and detailed review of your resume, using a team of professional HR representatives, publicists and copywriters to ensure that your employment history is reflected on in an engaging, effective, compelling, and accurate manner.

The difference between a good resume and a great one is making your personal objectives stand out, clearly highlighting your accomplishments, using attention-grabbing phrases, keywords, and actions words, and of course spelling accuracy. This is what Resume Donkey does once they receive your resume. They re-craft your resume by making recommendations, revising the phrasing, revising the wording of your objective/mission/skills etc, and all of the other critical components of your resume. Resume Donkey does not write resumes from scratch, they enhance them and provide the crucial feedback that is needed to get your foot in the front door for an interview.

The reason that I like the service and would use them is simple. I'm currently looking for a new job, and my resume is far from polished. I'm tired of constantly tweaking it and hoping it will work. For someone like me, who recently became unemployed, I cant afford for my resume not to work. I have looked at and compared other resume review services, but they are costly compared to Resume Donkey. Their pricing is very reasonable, especially for someone like me now, who is trying to watch every dollar spent more closely then I ever did.

They charge half what the competition charges, $39.95 for a standard resume review with turnaround in one business week. They also offer an express resume review for $59.95, with turnaround in 48 hours. If you are not happy with the feedback, they will work with you until you are satisfied. If that's not good enough they will refund you back your money. Seriously folks, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Try them out and let us know what you think.

Read more by Mike Fruchter at MichaelFruchter.com.