Résumés are becoming increasingly ineffective in today’s rapidly changing job market.
Résumés have long been the go-to tool for job seekers to showcase their experience and skills to potential employers. If you’ve ever written a résumé, you know first-hand that it can be a mind numbing experience to jam your life into one measly sheet of paper.
However, in today’s fast-paced job market, many people, including myself, argue that résumés are becoming increasingly ineffective. Here’s why I believe that résumés are dead, and why I never ask for one from applicants when I am hiring:
A piece of paper cannot accurately describe an individual
Even an excellent résumé does not always make for a great hire. In my experience, some of the most outstanding people on paper have turned out to be the worst hires. Résumés tend to concentrate on a candidate’s work history, education, and abilities, but may not fully capture a person’s personality, work style, or potential.
“There isn’t always a direct correlation between a person’s ability to perform well at work and their ability to write a good CV,” says Max Kraynov, CEO of FunCorp, who is well versed in hiring. “Some activities, including operational and back-end tasks, don’t lend themselves well to being described in a résumé. Some experiences cannot be included in a résumé because of non-disclosure agreements. I don’t think that résumés alone can provide a good way of pinpointing the best candidates.”
A candidate’s creativity, leadership skills, or innovative thinking also may not be accurately revealed in their résumé. As a result, candidates who could be highly successful in a role may be overlooked simply because their résumé does not fully showcase their full potential. Some of the most talented individuals I have worked with have lousy résumés. Why? Because I’ve found that many highly skilled people are also very humble and unable to convey the magnitude of their talent accurately.
You can’t assess emotional intelligence or drive from a résumé
Résumés may not accurately reflect a candidate’s soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, which are increasingly essential in today’s job market. It can be difficult to demonstrate these skills on a résumés. It can be especially challenging to determine the extent of a candidate’s communication skills based solely on their résumé. This can make it tough for employers to identify candidates who possess the soft skills required for a particular role.
“A qualified person may not have the exact work experience you’re looking for, but they have the ability to quickly pick up new ‘hard skills’ and already possess the important ‘soft skills’ to thrive,” says Anthony A. Reynolds, CEO of HireVue. “This shift in strategy is critically important when you think about access for marginalized groups. We’re not saying you have to toss résumés out completely, we still collect this information for our hires—but I urge business leaders to go beyond a laundry list of qualifications and to start quantifying the skills that really matter for a given role.”
There are better ways to assess candidates
While résumés have been a longstanding tool for job seekers to showcase their experience and abilities, they are becoming increasingly ineffective in today’s rapidly changing job market.
Today, employers increasingly rely on social media and professional networking sites like LinkedIn to identify and connect with potential candidates. These platforms often offer a more dynamic and holistic view of a candidate’s experience, abilities, and personality than a résumé alone. Employers are also using skills-based assessments and online tools to evaluate candidates. For example, paid trial projects are becoming a popular way to evaluate the skills of candidates for technical roles.
In today’s job market, candidates need to stand out and differentiate themselves from the competition. Instead of relying solely on a résumé, candidates may need to create a personal brand or portfolio to showcase their abilities and experience. For example, a graphic designer may create an online portfolio showcasing their best work, while a sales professional may create a personal website featuring testimonials from satisfied clients.
“Résumés aren’t the best way to evaluate talent when looking to hire based on creativity,” says Lauren Scott, social media strategist at Freedom Not Fate. “As someone who’s had to hire graphic designers and other creative talent for my own business, I always ask for a portfolio and examples of past work to gauge creativity before hiring.”
When I evaluate a candidate, I ask them to send a piece of past work they are most proud of. From this simple test, I can gain much more information than a static résumé. This quick assessment can reveal a lot about a candidate’s creativity, problem-solving ability, attention to detail, and communication skills. For example, a marketing professional may send a campaign they worked on that achieved outstanding results, while a software engineer may provide a sample of their code that solved a complex problem. By reviewing a candidate’s work, employers can gain a better understanding of their approach to problem-solving, their work style, and their potential to contribute to the organization.
Will résumés stand up against the test of time? I’d bet real money that they won’t.
Feature Image Credit: Steve Johnson/Unsplash
