Not too long ago, only executives had resumes. Now, most job seekers have them.

There in lies the catch: if everybody has a resume, then the advantage of having one is not really an advantage at all - it's a necessity. Which means, of course, that simply having a resume will not make a job seeker stand out.

While it would be foolhardy to abandon your resume, there are some job search tools that can take the place of your resume - and leave employers begging for more:

LinkedIn Profile. True story: a friend on the Left Coast works for a high-end retailer as a buyer. She took the time to carefully craft a dynamite profile on LinkedIn, and it shows. Due to the quality of her substitute resume, she regularly gets 20-50 calls from employers and recruiters every week - and they're begging her for interviews.

Press kit. Press kits are great substitute resumes. Have you been mentioned in the press? If you've been mentioned in newspapers or magazines, send copies of those articles with your name highlighted. That's just one suggestion made recently on the Guerilla Job Hunting blog. One additional suggestion for this substitute resume: it's easy to email employers links to any TV or radio appearances you've made, as well.

Portfolio. Make copies of your career highlights. Designed something? Written something? Managed something? Great! Now burn the proof of your accomplishments to a substitute resume CD. Scratch that - burn them to a BUNCH of CDs. Put a professional label on them and give these substitute resumes to networking contacts to pass on to those in their networks.

Video resume. This is one resume substitute that should be avoided. There are several reasons: 1) since a standard hasn't been adopted, video resumes typically border on ridiculous and come across as over-the-top; 2) most HR reps and hiring managers don't take them seriously; and 3) since you'll appear on camera, you might unintentionally fall victim to prejudice.

IN THE CARAVAN: Use resume substitutes to build interest and attract employers.

NEXT MONDAY: The Devil Is In the Details

Get The Daily Machete in your RSS reader with the buttons in the sidebar!

Looking for more Resume advice? Check out these posts and The Lion's Pride section of WildJobSafari.com!

Check out last Monday's post, which provided a sample chronological resume template.

Sponsored by Indeed Jobs