The Resume is Dead*

*Well, mostly dead...

It's worth mentioning upfront that resumes arguably still serve a purpose for many professional roles. The kinds of roles where a detailed candidate background, complete job history and thorough skills assessments are often necessary.  But there are many other industries and job titles where it has run its course. For entry to mid level positions, particularly those in customer facing roles such as customer service, sales, retail, or hospitality, resumes are an extremely poor indicator of future performance and are doing more harm than good.

If there’s one thing both applicants and employers can agree on, it’s how much they dislike resumes. Applicants don’t like creating them, employees don’t like reading them, and systems do a poor job of accurately parsing them before applying automated algorithms. Yet somehow they have persisted as one of the most, if not the most, vital parts of the recruitment process. 

Resumes are a relic. They were invented as a way of getting considered for a role when you couldn't connect directly with an employer first-hand, which would always be preferable if a candidate had the opportunity.

So why then do we still rely on them as the primary determinant of hire-ability?

The most obvious answer is because we are resistant to change and resumes just seem “easy”. Applicants spend a few hours listing out all their previous jobs, add in a smattering of buzzwords and highlight some successes, then blast it out to dozens (or in some cases, hundreds) of job openings with the click of a button. On the flip side, Employers read the quick snippets and snapshots of an applicant, on average sparing just six seconds of their precious time, before drawing conclusions about the applicant’s potential fit for the position.

As with most things in life however, the easy way is not usually the best way. Resumes are failing both applicants and employers, which is why there is a growing trend towards replacing the resume with video.

Video solves nearly all of the most significant challenges posed by resumes. Let’s take a look at just a few examples…

• Resumes only provide a snapshot in time, more specifically, they are a look backwards when most employers care about looking forwards. Video is dynamic. What can this person do for my company in the future?

• Contrary to what we believe, resumes act more as a means of ruling people out, than ruling people in. So why then do we ask applicants to rely on a static piece of paper to best present themselves to prospective employers?

• Resumes are essentially self-reported job histories that tell employers nothing about the applicant’s character, goals and aspirations, or how they would perform in the role. Who is the real person behind the paper?

• For applicants who are currently employed, creating resumes is too time consuming. Toiling over which action word is better, obsessively editing for spelling and grammar, tinkering with the margins and font size to get it down to one page. Employers are missing out on qualified candidates.

• Further to the above point, because resumes are time consuming most applicants only have one resume. The “one size fits all” approach doesn’t allow for tailoring to each specific job and company. Video introductions are quick and easy to record and let the applicant speak directly to the hiring manager about that specific role.

• For customer facing roles, presentation is everything. Traditional resumes don’t give you any insight into the real person nor would most applicants agree that their resume is the best reflection of them as a person. Video introductions put the applicant front and center where you can gauge their confidence and approachability.

• Resumes are standardized, limiting and inherently boring. Video allows for originality. Hear from applicants, in their own words, why they would be the perfect fit for the position.

As technology continues to find its way into the hiring funnel, we must identify areas most ripe for innovation and be willing to challenge the status quo. Change can be daunting, but hiring teams willing to open their minds will find themselves at an advantage in this incredibly competitive hiring market. It’s time for Talent Acquisition leaders to rethink the perceived value of resumes and accept that the future of hiring is video.  

Ready to see what video can do for you?

JobPixel is a video-first hiring platform that is transforming the way companies identify, evaluate and hire the best candidates. We are on a mission to humanize hiring – making the often impersonal hiring experience more personal. We believe companies should hear directly from candidates, in their own words, why they would be the perfect fit. With JobPixel, the future of hiring is video.