The resume: a dinosaur?

• Position: JOB MARKET - Survey

If a new study of social media usage is any indication, an increasing number of job applicants probably think the old-fashioned resume is going the way of the dinosaur.

Office Team, a national staffing services firm for administrative professionals, finds that 36 percent of respondents to a recent survey believe it's at least somewhat likely that the old-fashioned resume will be replaced by the personal profiles that appear on social and business networking sites.

More than 500 human resources managers working at companies that employ at least 20 people were asked about this trend, as well as the rising popularity of sites such as Facebook and Linkedln, which were cited repeatedly as potential replacements for the more established forms of communicating job interest.

"The resume continues to be an important job-hunting tool, but it's also useful for professionals to create online profiles that highlight their expertise and qualifications," said Robert Hosking, Office Team executive director.

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"As hiring managers turn increasingly to the Internet for information about prospective hires, job seekers should keep their online profiles current and behave professionally in the digital space," he added.

As part of its study of increased social networking use, Office Team offers five tips for creating an impressive profile...