There have been a few thought leaders over the last few years that have really struck a chord with what we believe here at Zerply. Seth Godin is definitely one of them, a regular on Startup quote, the guy speaks a lot of sense. In fact, when we were initially looking into the professional networking space and the possibility of disrupting the analog résumé world, we often cited Seth’s claim that “Great jobs, world class jobs, jobs people kill for… don’t get filled by people emailing in résumés. Ever”. Ok, maybe not everyone is vying for a job that they’d quite kill for, but at least you can probably agree with the notion that extraordinary jobs demand extraordinary candidates.

Candidates in his eyes needed to go beyond the résumé, with its credentials, positions and titles, and focus on for example “a sophisticated project they can see or touch … Or a reputation that precedes you”. For Seth to say that recruiters weren’t interested in your résumé back then was pretty bold, but today it seems generally accepted that the linear résumé just doesn’t cut it. Although the résumé may still be the standard in many fields, the creative industries are leading the way in peer based recommendations and portfolio driven hiring.

More recently Seth has talked about the need for your experience to be presented as a body of work, as he asks “Are you leaving behind an easily found trail of accomplishment?”. He points out that employers want to see what you have done, and that requires documenting your accomplishments. That is where we feel Zerply can help professionals most, in documenting all facets of their professional experience, whether it be film, audio, print based etc.

To try and make it easier for multi-skilled creatives to showcase their different skills and accomplishments we’ve added integrations with the likes of Behance, Flickr, Vimeo and SoundCloud to increase the opportunities to document your experience. The result is a unique portfolio that encompasses your skills across industries and interests. For example, you could showcase your creative projects through Behance, share a speaking engagement recording through SoundCloud, and even display your weekend photography talents through Flickr all under one roof.

Profiles provide much more depth than a résumé ever can, a point noted by Union Square Ventures associate Christina Cacioppo, who herself was hired after compiling a profile comprising her personal blog, and links to social-media sites. In an article for Wall Street Journal she states that “We are most interested in what people are like, what they are like to work with, how they think”, something that a résumé fails to communicate. Endorsements on Zerply provide clues to these questions and also the basis of professional references. Zerply is the easiest way to provide a digestible profile that prospective clients and employees can more effectively understand your unique qualities.

To make the most of your Zerply profile, start populating your portfolio with our integrated services, and continue documenting your experience.

Photo attribution: Tattooist, Director, Architect, Shaper.