What a mindbender! Yesterday I read a Hacker News headline that suggested resumes had no value. Today I read an article from a former Facebooker who said blogging and social were a waste of time to concentrate on developing something good. And there have been countless sitings of GirHub hires in recent months.

I’ve written about the hiring process many times in the last 12 months. So in response to those writers: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? C’MON MAN!

First of the hiring process for any employer you’d want to work for is never as simple as RESUME=HIRED. There are so many steps that need to be performed before and after the interviews. It’s one of the many reasons that companies insist on “contract to hire” as well as extended probationary periods. In many instances the resume has become “the cover letter”. While some employers still like cover letters they are not so much about the content as they are about demonstrating genuine interest in the potential employer. The same can be said for just about any hoop they make you jump through.

A GitHub reputation, by itself, is not a strong indicator. One of the things you’ll hear on any bank or investment bank commercial is something to the effect “past performance is not an indicator or guarantee of future performance”. The same can be said for a GitHub reputation/score. Let’s not gorget that while this appears to be an objective number it is subject to electronic analysis and could easily be gamed.

Blogs are also a tough one. When your hobby and career are one in the same thing… and you are not self employed. It is possible to upset someone for having a public opinion that might be contrary to what is happening inside the workplace. That guy from FaceBook probably got fired for not knowing when to keep his trap shut.

Blogging is one social aspect but using 100% social or marketing to land that next job will likely also not work. Everyone has circles. Are you sure that it’s a good thing that the circles overlap? Really?

None of these things are good on their own for landing a new job. You have to do them all. There are not magic pills or spells you can cast. Finding a good job, even a great job is hard work. The odds that someone is going to hand me or you a blank check are less probable than winning the lottery. So play the lottery.