To say my resume is a bit out of date is an understatement. The truth is, I have not had to present a resume to anybody in over 15 years, and I would today be hard pressed to find any version of that particular item, let alone an updated one. Except for a brief summary that our Corporate Advisory Board insisted I write (at gunpoint), I haven’t updated or written a resume in years. I thought this was just indicative of my fatuous, lazy, sloppy, uncaring and inattentive nature. But apparently I was wrong.
Turns out it is because I am a Corporate Superstar.
An article by Kevin Kruse, author of the book Employee Engagement 2.0, advises HR professionals and corporate recruiters to leave out the request of a resume if they want to attract the best and brightest candidates for a job. In fact, he says most recruiters “shoot themselves in the foot” when they ask for a resume in a position posting.
Specifically, he says “By asking for a resume you just guaranteed that you will never find an A-player.”
Kruse says that confidentiality plays a big role in this, but the primary reason is “that super stars never have an up-to-date resume. Most have no resume at all.” Turns out these people, who he calls the “1 Percenters”, or “Super Heroes”, are too busy performing, too busy working, and too busy meeting the goals of their current employer to be wasting time doodling on their resume.
Exactly. That feels about right.
Kruse suggests that a better approach for your job posting is to encourage a phone call for more information, specifically stating that no resume is currently needed. This allows the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Overachiever the relative anonymity they desire while the recruiter can “sell” the opportunity, paving the way for an eventual resume or written application. He indicates that these people still do occasionally peruse job openings, or sometimes good recruiters can get through to them on the phone. That does not mean they will have a resume at hand.
So be advised, as well as forewarned. If you start posting your jobs so that resumes are blatantly not necessary, you could start seeing the brightest of the bright; the best of the best; the cream of the crop. You could significantly improve your operation by attracting and hiring the very best people in their field.
But then again, you could also end up with someone like me, and I am not sure that is worth the risk.