Resume #FAIL
Why Resumes are failing us all.
Disclaimer: I like LinkedIN. I used to love them, but that is another story. LinkedIN has advanced the Resume well beyond where it was just a few years ago. It brought the resume into the Information Age, BUT it is a public forum, and as such can not provide many of the qualities I will detail below.
Resumes are a service document. Both employers and candidates utilize them for the same ends, to provide a comprehensive summary of the skills and experience the candidate will employ in service to the employer. It is in the interest of both parties that the document be compelling and accurate.
Resumes are also just a bunch of written words on a page. The written word can be compelling. It can also be accurate. The difficulty comes in achieving both ends, and doing so in a format that fits on 2–3 pages.
Lets face it, few resumes meet this goal, especially given that what is compelling for one job opportunity is likely much less so for another. Most employers recognize this. Since they likely are not hiring for employees who provide resume writing services, they are more than willing to overlook some level of shortfall. More so because this is only step one.
Hiring is a process. Resumes lead to phone screens, then to interviews and sometimes tests, and then their are references and maybe work samples. It is a time consuming process. All because resumes fail to get the job done. Have you ever heard someone say, I saw their resume and hired them on the spot? I haven’t.
Resumes are dated tools.
Resumes date back to the industrial age and they haven’t changed much since. They are still mostly words on paper. Now, I could spend a paragraph or two rambling on about electronic media, networks, video and the like, but that story should have been written a decade ago. See disclaimer.
This is the Age of Feedback.
It is time for a revolution. Resumes need to embrace technology that provides feedback for both candidates and employers. Imagine then a resume with the following qualities:
- What if the resume made it easy for a professional to provide examples of their work, much like an artist’s portfolio?
- What if it allowed the viewer to enter keywords, select themes, or some similar input and then edits and/or tailors the content it displays appropriately.
- LinkedIN goes a long way by enabling endorsements, but what about enabling detractors? A system of reviews, not just likes, or maybe even scores.
- What if it included video highlight reals of answers to key questions, sales pitches, and presentations with on demand security — whether by permission only, or custom settings designed to protect the privacy of the candidate?
- What if the resume could be instrumented and provide real feedback?What was viewed? What was liked? What wasn’t?
- What if resumes utilized the power of the web? If they married company results to the employees tenure or compared key skills to reasonable benchmarks?
- What if resumes enabled drill down? The ability to ask questions or test a candidates skill?
To enable this functionality, candidates would need to create personal databases of their experience and skills. These would need to be tied to platforms and tools for visualization and control. But most of all, the tool would need to collect feedback, as that would provide the highest value for everyone involved.
Quintessentially is an article format created by Corsair’s Institute to increase the reader’s comprehension of key concepts in a quick and engaging fashion. For more articles from Resume, Quintessentially — click here.
For more information on the author visit his profile on LinkedIN — George Earl
