Are Paper Resumes still needed?

These days everything has gone digital including resumes, which begs the question, is a paper resume still needed? There are many sites online now that you can go to and upload a digital version of your resume and more employers than ever before will have access to it. While the digital revolution is indeed a great one, there are still times where having the old standby of a paper resume is handy indeed.

Here are some times when you will find having a paper resume to your advantage:

• Beating the streets: Yes this is the old fashion way of job hunting. The idea here is to print out a dozen or so copies of your resume in paper form and hit the road. Whatever job it is you are trying to get, like insurance sales for example, will get a resume from you and if you don’t get a job the first day out you will try handing out another dozen paper resumes the next day. Eventually you will land a job. This type of tenacity is rare indeed these days, but you should never underestimate the power of a good personal introduction.

• Faxing potential employers: There are many job opportunities that want you to do nothing more than fax them a resume and then they will contact you if they are interested. It is true that there are programs now that will digitally fax a copy of your resume to the potential employer for you, but many people don’t have this software in which case it is easier to make a paper copy and fax it over and over again.

• Networking: When you are looking for a job you should be talking to everyone about it and not just your friends and family. You never know who could be out there waiting to hire someone just like you. If you do happen to meet someone who is interested in your services what are you going to do, tell them to check out your resume online? It can never hurt you, but it may help you to have a few paper resumes handy wherever it is you are going. Print them out and put them in a folder and leave that folder in your car. If need be you can excuse yourself just long enough to fetch a paper resume.

• At an interview: If you are being interviewed for a job then chances are that the interviewer has already looked over your resume, but what if they want a copy from you? It is better to have one ready and the interviewer not ask for it then it is to not have one ready and have the interviewer want it. Taking your paper resume with you ensures that you are covered.

Having paper resumes with you is no guarantee that you will find a job, but look at it this way; it can’t hurt. When you are trying to secure the job of your dreams it is always best to be prepared, even if you are a little over-prepared.

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