I for one think that resumes are still relevant because I've seen some fantastic resumes out there. Of course if you cookie-cutter it by using generic MS word resume perhaps you will run into some problems.

A resume makes you think. When you create your resume you are selling yourself. It's not that you are not truthful, it's that you are speaking the language of getting hired and people scan for those action words. Small things, like punctuation and tense also make a difference on the subconscious level (unless your resume is so badly formatted that it becomes a conscious thing).

I agree with you about linkedin when it comes to going Green. I don't think that people should be forced to use it if they don't want to. After all, LinkedIn, and other online services, can be susceptible to hacking and your profile, even if private, is not immune. A paper resume on the other hand is more secure.

As far as social media, I'm with JRandom on this. Are you SOL if you don't participate? I also disagree that "If you’re hiring someone that has a blog, and you haven’t read a good deal of their blog, you’re crazy". By reading someone's blog you may find out that you disagree with their politics, with what they did this past weekend and with whom/to whom they did it. This has an impact on you candidate even though it's not job related.

Don't google someone before the first date - if you like the person and you want to have a followup interview then you can look around a little.

Marketing yourself is important. We all do it depending on the social context. Everyone should know how to sell their assets. I am not saying that you should lie or exaggerate, but you should know what social context you are in, what people are looking for, and how to best phrase your skills and accomplishments so that they understood by the receiver of such info.

Reviewing your writing (i.e. resume in this case) 100 times is part of your writing skill toolbox - an important part at that! No one gets it right the first time. No one gets it right the second time. Writing is an iterative process, and attention to detail is a valuable skill for all jobs, not just writing. having a clean resume shows (in part) that you are paying attention to detail.

I don't think anyone will want you to review your work 100 times in an actual job. That's way too time consuming. It would be a lot more valuable to find someone who can get it right the first few times.

I'm not arguing against the concept of resumes. The concept is still very important. You need to display your experiences, skills, and savvy in a manner that is clear and presentable. My argument is that resumes aren't the more efficient means to do so anymore, not by a long shot.

Aren't people going to just copy and paste their resumes into Linked In? Esentially Linked In has the same information and same format as your resume. It's searchable and yes you can have people write recommendations (which no one believes if they're too goood) and you can add your links. However, it's sounding like lipstick on a pig to me.

The green issue seems to also have been largely solved by the fact that resumes are emailed and stored electronically.

The real issues seems to be how do you describe your experience in a way that a recruiter can read it in 30 seconds. Networking and portfolios are always good supplements if someone wants to talk to you but you need someone that can be ready quickly. Whether it's a paper resume, Linked In, interpretive dance, or diarama, you still gotta condense yourself.

My dad worked in venture capital for 30 years and would get all kinds of networking requests. His preference was to get a resume with the requests so he would know if the networking was worth everyone's time.

So those of us who can't dance, are crippled by disease and injury, are to be totally screwed as well? :)

Here's the problem - Resumes really aren't that hot. It's just we haven't got a better solution YET for them.

That will change when more effective and cost-effective methods are demonstrated widely.

I think you will always need some sort of 'resume' type document for recruiters and HR people to be able to quickly see your qualifications and accomplishments. However, I agree that the way they are currently used makes almost no sense. Everyone seems to focus on getting the grammar correct, making sure to use action verbs, and to keep the resume to under a page or at a maximum two. This distracts from the overall goal of showcasing a person's talents. In this age of customization and digital ability we should break open the mold of a resume and allow potential employees to improve upon it. Bringing in video and the visualCV as you mention are two great ideas, but I do not see many recruiters in the near future willing to accept these new forms of resumes.

The important thing to remember about resumes is their purpose--it's not to get a job, it's to get the interview to get the job. And while there are potentially better ways, as of right now it's necessary.

Looking at it from a hiring manager's perspective, resumes are a quick way to weed out potential interview candidates as well as provide as a talking sheet during the interview. When you have 100 people applying to 1 job and you've got to try to find the best one, currently the fastest way is to plow through resumes. Of course after that initial look, there's a lot better options for salesmanship, as mentioned by many people above.