I remember when I was a teenager sitting down with my dad and doing my resume. My father had left a 30-year government job to move into consulting and the corporate sector, and he was sending out a lot of them. I modeled mine after his. There were headings down the left side — a short-term “Goal,” experience, education, and my interests — and all the info was succinct, tabbed, bullet-pointed. It fit on one page.

I haven’t done a resume in years. In film, the narrative bio is used more often. Or, an iMDb page suffices. But, after reading two pieces at Mashable — “How to Use Your Social Media Skills to Earn Extra Money,” by Alexis Grant; and “Creative Social Media Resumes,” by Brian Hernandez — I realize I have to reboot my thinking the next time I write my resume. The “creative social media” resumes highlighted my Hernandez in his picture gallery are amazing, with sophisticated design sensibilities and incorporating actual technology. One uses QR codes, and for another, a job seeker applying to Shopify made his resume an actual online Shopify store. Another made his resume an interactive YouTube video, with actual links to his portfolio and contact info.

I was blown away by some of these resumes, and I realized that if I were to ever hire a PMD — a Producer of Marketing and Distribution — that I would want to be blown away by their introductory presentations too. (My feelings about the PMD category — not the job itself — are conflicted, but that’s for another post.) I would want to see that they’ve done stuff I never could have thought of.

Hernandez’s post is linked from Grant’s, and hers, while being aimed at social media marketers, has good tips for erstwhile PMDs. Her advice is all relatively simple, ranging from how to land your first paying to gig to determining what to charge. But it’s practical and useful material.

And what about those would-be marketers without the work to support a snazzy digital resume? “Work for free,” says Grant — albeit with one caveat: “But only once.”

Grant:

To prove you’re awesome at growing online communities — both to yourself and to potential clients — find a cash-strapped small business or non-profit organization and offer to do it for them for free. Not only is this a great way to build your resume, self confidence and knowledge, you’ll also grow your network, and hopefully come out on the other side with a client who’s willing to recommend you.

The best part? No one will know you did it for free.