The shift from traditional, paper resumes to maintaining personally identifiable information across websites and social media (your "online profile") presents a huge opportunity for both, the candidate and employer.
Websites such as Linkedin are providing great value because they give job applicants access to online job posting, but also an easy way of sharing their online resume with prospective employers. Candidates can provide a more comprehensive view of their skills, potential and accomplishments. On the other hand, employers can avoid getting swayed by clever resume writing or overlook qualified candidates in a haze of sameness. Profiles represent a massive gain in connecting the right candidates to employers in ways that could have never happened with a traditional resume.
Of course the issue of privacy cannot be overlooked when deciding what to contribute to your online profile. Given the privacy concern and the newness of the concept, it is not surprising that only a small percentage of applicants maintain their professional online profiles. All in all, caveats notwithstanding, we believe online profiles are a good way of presenting yourself as a job candidate and they are certainly the way of the future.