The history of the Résumé
The origin of the well renowned Curiculum Vitae. Curriculum vitae is a Latin expression which can be loosely translated as [the] course of [my] life.
Traditionally the word vitae is rendered in English using the ligature æ, hence vitæ. Variants include Ǣ ǣ Ǽ ǽ.
The below is a full timeline of how it came to be!
1482
Leonardo da Vinci writes the first Professional Resume.
1500
A traveling lord in England offers a hand-written letter of introduction to acquintences and calls it his Resume.
1930
Resumes are just formalities. Most are written on scraps of paper over lunch with employers.
1940
Resumes are like Facebook profiles. Including weight, height, age, marital-status and religion.
1950
Resumes are no longer just formalities, they are now “expected”
1960
Resume’s start to include outside interests like sports and clubs.
1970
Digital typeset & word processors make resumes more professional and salesy.
1980
The first VHS portfolios are recorded and used. Resume & career counseling books boom.
1983
Microsoft Word launches, setting the standard for resumes for decades to come.
1986
First recorded prediction of the resume’s death.
1987
Fax machines are now the most popular way to send resumes, Microsoft releases an RTF universal doc.
1994
The Internet and Web go public, Monster goes live and “careerbuilder.com” is founded.
1995
Email is now the most popular way to send a resume.
1996
Adobe releases Reader for free, making PDF resumes a popular alternative.
2000
Dot Com boom hits full stride.
2002
Interactive resumes begin.
2003
LinkedIn ‘The Ladders’ Launches.
2006
Video resumes pick up, more and more high school students begin sending them to colleges.
2007
Video Resumes hit YouTube.
2008
Resume objectives are OUT & Profesional hedlines are IN. Social media enters the picture. Personal branding via SEO and keywords become a worry; most employers Google data on their prospective employees.
2010
Resumes contain social media links and are shorter, with more multi-media; Digital CV’s and Infographic resumes are trending.
Today
Over a hundred million resumes will be sent out this year. Scientists decode the resume in 2011, with “REZSCORE”, bringing data and analytics to the job search for the first time.
