Hiring Myth: A Solid Resume is a Solid Candidate

MYTH: A solid resume is a solid candidate.

TRUTH: Resumes don’t show the whole picture.

Let’s be honest. Resumes are an exercise in creative writing – crafted, re-drafted, updated by friends, built from templates, written by AI programs such as ChatGPT, word-smithed and maybe even embellished just a tad. Resumes are over-processed and stretched into an 8.5”x11” polished, inauthentic picture of a candidate.

It’s hard to believe we still accept these documents as the primary admission ticket into our talent pipelines.

What The Statistics Show Us

55% of Americans have lied on their resume at least once…

There is no real correlation between the contents of a resume and how well people will perform or stay in a role. Relying on just a resume to find your next superstar gives you about the same odds as buying a lottery ticket. The difference is that hiring the wrong candidate will cost you much more than a $1 Powerball.

What To Do

The talent acquisition space is challenging, and you need every advantage to attract and deliver quality applicants to fill all your vacant positions. Understanding if a person will fit with the company, role, manager, and culture is far more predictive of success, but those soft skills don’t shine through on a resume.

Unsurprisingly, those responsible for hiring rely increasingly on technology to lighten their load and hire smarter. Top performers share distinctive attributes and attitudes: they learn fast, take responsibility and build solid relationships. They think differently, act differently, and fit differently in your business. These things can’t be flagged by reading a resume or acing the interview, but they can be identified by looking beyond the resume, spending time with the individual and seeing how they truly think and how they can fit in with the other members of the team.

That’s the Fit First philosophy. Luckily – we have some technological tricks to get you there faster…