Wendy Weber on Executive Recruiting

In my direct and ecommerce marketing recruiting firm, we are noticing a trend towards leaving home addresses off of resumes.  Some feel that an email address will suffice for contact information.  However, we often contact people based on their current location.  For example, if we have a client in Chicago that has asked us to identify local area talent, we need to know whether you live in the Chicagoland area.  We used to be able to determine this by area code, but in this era of mobile phones, area codes are not a reliable indicator of address.

Another benefit to providing us with your home address is that although it is that although snail mail is not our preferred method of contact, it is an additional way to find you if you move.  (You may not believe this, but many people forget to inform their executive recruiter when they move from one home to another. )  At Crandall Associates, we pay for address correction so that we do not “lose” our registered candidates.

Even if you have a privacy concern about divulging your home address, we require a zip code at the very least.  And be assured, your resume never leaves our office without your permission.

Please do put a home address on your resume!

I am a big fan of social networking.  You will find me on Facebook and LinkedIn, and to a lesser degree, Twitter.

However, I am encountering more and more candidates that are directing me to their LinkedIn Profile when I ask for a resume.

Although social networking can serve as an excellent source of potential leads and contacts, when exploring new career opportunities, a fully developed formal resume is still a necessity.

Developing a resume is an overt action that shows a potential employer that you are seriously interested in a new position, not just curious to hear what is out there.

A potential employer wants to see your entire career history accompanied by your precise dates of employment in each position, your accomplishments at each company and your educational history.

Telling a potential employer to “take a look at my LinkedIn profile” in lieu of a resume is not sufficient.   It is important to have a current resume, despite the popularity and easy access of social networking sites.