Skip the Resume
A few months ago, I wrote about the power of mentoring. It’s something I have always enjoyed doing — especially high school and college students. Many of them have high energy, optimism for their future, and creative ambitions. I like to think I am helpful in posing questions, sharing my experiences, and giving suggestions. One area that I refuse to assist with, though, is their resume. I understand the importance, and even necessity, of having a resume in the business world, however, I have long had a disdain for what has become the standard currency in applying for a job. I barely even read them during the interview process and especially find them worthless when evaluating younger talent entering the workforce. I remember years ago talking to an employee and discovering that she had an internship with the Dalai Lama. When she saw the surprised look on my face, she said; “I thought that was the reason you hired me, didn’t you see that on my resume?” My answer: “Nope, never even looked at it."
Someone once told me; “Resumes are balance sheets without liabilities.” I believe they should be treated as such. When you make a large purchase or decide where to go on vacation, there are plenty of sales materials touting all of the great attributes. But most of us look to referrals or online reviews to find the potential drawbacks or downsides. Even if the resume looks great, there are questions about legitimacy. According to a survey done by ResumeBuilder.com, they found that 72% of Americans admitted to lying on their resume. This trend continues, because so few people doing the hiring are validating what’s even on there.
When creating a resume, we’re taught to stick with the standard format to make sure there is consistency for hiring managers, making it “easier” for them to compare applicants. But doing so strips any sense of creativity out of the process. On the hiring side, we’re taught to watch out of for those edgy people who are trying to stand out by using different colors, formatting with multiple columns or heaven forbid go on to a second page! It’s as if we are trying to see less of what someone has to offer by making them all the same. Standardizing the process gives us a framework for the hiring process, but relying solely on resumes as path to an interview minimizes our talent pool and eliminates possible rockstar candidates. When we judge someone solely on the places they’ve previously worked, it doesn’t give any weight into their future potential for success.
I realize that resumes have become a necessary evil and they aren’t going away anytime soon, however there are ways we can minimize our reliance on them. I like to ask for a half page write up with a prompt that relates to the job they are applying for. In that half page I can tell very quickly if it’s someone I am interested in interviewing. At our MIBE Summit in January, one of our speakers, Jensen Cummings, shared how some restaurants are requesting a 1-2 minute video submission when applying for a job in lieu of a resume. And I know companies that host open competitions or “try outs” to find the best candidates for their organization. When we are tasked with the responsibility to bring new team members into our organization, we can’t take it lightly. The make-up of a team is one of the most critical factors in creating a great place to work and I think we can do better than judging candidates in the initial phase of the process by a single piece of paper.