Is the resume dead?
It’s often the first thing a hiring manager looks at when evaluating candidates. It is often considered to be THE “deciding factor” on whether a candidate is going to move from the application stage to the interview. Resumes have been the go-to resource for job seekers to demonstrate their skills and expertise in the workforce for decades, but in recent years, the hiring process shifted. The need for resumes is waning and the resume is no longer the king of the hill.
So, what has changed?
Resumes can be generic
Resumes are designed to be an all-encompassing document that showcases a candidate’s work history, education, and skills. However, this often leads to resumes being too generic, making it difficult to assess the candidate’s true credibility. While the resume offers value, more targeted information can be gathered from a quick phone call or even the candidate’s LinkedIn.
They miss the soft skills
Resumes are fantastic demonstrators of hard skills, technical abilities, and years of experience. However, they are horrible at showcasing soft skills, such as leadership and communication abilities. While these are often the traits that send a candidate over the finish line, they are practically impossible to document on a piece of paper.
Keyword searching limits you
Resumes and web profiles don’t offer a full view of the candidate, especially when you’re relying on applicant tracking software. Only a small percentage of resumes have the appropriate set of searchable keywords, and even those are limited to their talents and previous employment. That is, resumes are useful for browsing but not for developing a pipeline of viable prospects. When you have a huge surge of applicants, you obviously want to cut down the talent pool, but you don’t want to miss your best candidates because of your software.
So is the resume dead? Long story short: not really. That said— it is no longer the “be-all, end-all” of the hiring world. You ultimately want to make sure that you aren’t using a recruitment team that is solely rifling through resumes. Picking up the phone and having a conversation can change the entire trajectory of your hiring hint. You can go from ineffectively looking through word docs for months, to finding the perfect addition to your team.
We chose to build relationships with our candidates. In other words, we know all about their goals, achievements, and career history. Knowing the little details about the talent we work with is one of the reasons why we are considered one of the top executive recruitment firms in the country. Contact us to learn more.
Sources:
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