Apparently job seekers are still having a hard time with find a job; needless to say since the unemployment rate is still above 8%. In those difficult times "who you know" can be a big time help. If you don't have a lot of friends and resort to finding a job online, you might want to at least keep up with the challenges of doing so today. Just because job postings are up doesn't mean you should shoot off your resume to every Tom, DIck and Harry.

As if being unemployed isn't bad enough in itself; for many of the long term unemployed the reality of dealing with extended resume gaps while in a shrinking economy is a reality that's simply overbearing. It's no secret over 40% of the those unemployed have been without a job for six months or longer. The number is slightly smaller for those unemployed for 12 months or longer (not much smaller 30% or so). With unemployment coffers running at or near end despite extension after extension, you would think that would be the worst of it. Wrong. Have you ever been on a job interview after being unemployed for six months or longer? How do you explain the long term unemployment situation?

While everyone knows the economy is pretty stinky right now, for those without a job for a while it's much worst. Even after diligence in job search efforts, the fact of the matter of trying to overcome the negative stigma during a job interview of being unemployed for so long is quite a mountain to climb. That is assuming you can get past the tidal wave of skepticism to even land a interview to begin with. So what's the strategy if you can land an interview? Well, for one thing be positive. If you made it to the interview stage with the gap on your resume, chances are your potential employer is going to be impartial. In which case, it's very important to be honest about your situation including facts i.e. job market conditions for your industry, due diligence in your job search, salary adjustments to market conditions, etc. Another more pro-active strategy is simply not waiting until your job situation reaches long term status. Get involved with volunteering, something - anything that shows you are actively involved while you're outside gainful employment. The last thing you want to do is pass the impression that you have simply been collecting unemployment and waiting on a gift to fall out of the sky. Besides, volunteering is a great way to meet new contacts and network for a new job. Dealing with resume gaps in a shrinking economy is a nerve racking task but it can be done if you put a plan together and avoid resorting to panic. Who knows, with the trends of social networking your resume may not be as important, with some employers, as in the past anyway.

In this e-age with social networking and video conferencing it brings about a good question - have these new trends rendered resumes old school and dead? I mean think about it, Facebook and Twitter have such vast networks of interconnected people to connect with in a moments notice, so why go through dozens if not hundreds of resumes to find a good fit candidate when it's easier to get a feel for a person via their Facebook profile or Twitter page? On top of that recruiters and hiring managers know that candidates generally come with personal references from people they know and/or have worked with before. Can a resume alone do that?

Let's face it social is powerful and from the looks of it, here to stay. While the verdict is still out on the value of resumes, my guess is that they will still be around but not used in the way they once were. The role of the resume from here on out will likely be a supportive role versus the star of the show. As social continues to outpace any other source for staffing and recruiting, more and more hiring decisions will be made in social circles with resumes simply providing support for hiring decisions already decided. In short, resumes will simply confirm hiring decisions. The exception to this rule is if/when the resume shows something vastly different than from the perspective of the hiring decision makers i.e. falsely claiming to have credentiasl and education, etc. So as long as there are no big issues with a persons resume, the gut feeling of the hiring manager and/or recruiter will prevail. That's one persons opinion anyway. Even if the resume isn't dead (yet), one thing is sure, resumes aren't going to continue as the front runner for hiring decisions over the next five years. Who needs a stale piece of paper when you have a virtual interview profile via a YouTube video and realtime job leads via any number of social networks?