For decades, the traditional paper resume has been submitted through thousands of search engines, has been hand delivered in millions of interviews and has still found time to be edited periodically. Through these travels, our culture has evolved into a social networking community and multimedia sharing powerhouse. A resume conveys experience, background, activities and is the first item noted in a candidate screening by recruiters. The problem is that simple resumes do not cover the entire genetic makeup of an individual's Personal Brand. Personal Branding is an individual's total perceived value, relative to competitors, as viewed by their audience. It is composed of four main elements: appearance, personality, competencies and differentiation. These elements are integrated into a core message, which is presented to a recruiter or other audience member. A traditional resume covers only the competency and part of the differentiation of an individual, which is simply not enough in an age with over 2 million graduating college seniors and an ever increasing population.

The Video Introduction is formed

YouTube is just one example of a social community that allows users to share homemade videos with a global audience. The most important aspect of this medium is for individuals to showcase their Personal Brands, where their audience can view their personality, competencies, appearance and differentiation all with one video. The same can be done with a resume, where the video is actually a snapshot of your resume at a point in time. The video is an individual's core message, in the span of 30 seconds, highlighting a summary of a traditional resume, but with emphasis on all Personal Branding elements. Right now, both traditional and video resumes may co-exist, but as employers rely more and more on technology and intelligent applicants, they will adopt the video resume instead of the traditional one.

What you can do now

1. Prepare your traditional resume
2. Use that resume as a guideline or outline for your pitch
3. Combine your appearance, personality and brainstorm your differentiator
4. Purchase or leverage video equipment
5. Video your complete core message and save it
6. Submit it to someone in your network for reviewing
7. Send it to a prospective employer

As a marketing specialist for EMC2 Corporation, Dan Schawbel has driven results by assisting in the launch of six new EMC solutions and services, leading a six sigma high performing team, and developing the current eService offerings. Dan has 6 years of experience as a marketing consultant, business owner, web designer, and market strategist, at age 23. His current interests lay in Personal Branding, as he is not only a pioneer, but has written for the American Marketing Association, About.com and other major publications. Dan continues to be a Personal Branding Spokesman with his blog dedicated to the subject.