SEATTLE - It was a bad week for Old Man Resume, which experts are decrying more loudly than ever. Pass the salt: I may end up eating my hat after all.
In the October 2 print edition of Human Resources Executive, Ron Selewach has written a very lucid special report called "No Resumes, Please." According to Mr. Selewach, "80% of the nation's workforce does not have an updated resume, ..." (news to me) and that the vast majority of passive candidates is not likely to create one simply to respond to a recruiter, which effectively kills the application process.
In other words, the typical corporate hiring process focuses on knocking "OUT" rather than knocking "IN." If the 80% figure is right, then his argument is quite powerful.
Writes Mr. Selewach, "While resumes serve as a passport, they also serve as a roadblock. Imagine going to a conference and being introduced to someone who asks for a business card. You don't have one, and the conversation abruptly ends with the other person simply walking away. Resumes are considered calling cards, and most hiring manager won't initiate the hiring process without one."
This is what historian Barbara Tuchman would call folly: A deliberate and willful action taken by someone which is known in advance to oppose to their own self-interest. IE, cutting off one's nose to spite their face. Happens all the time.
Ron Selewach's print article won't appear online for at least thirty days -- so keep checking back right here. It's worth a read.
Next item on the agenda:
Regardless, (or "irregardless" as my old boss used to say) ... Lets say you love resumes. Are resumes of much use for spotting future leaders? Not always. Among the naysayers, Peter Ueberroth discusses this very thing in next week's Newsweek.
What do you look for in a young leader? When you get past integrity, you go to curiosity. [When I observe young leaders] what I'm so surprised by is, everybody wants to talk—to make a presentation, to do something rather than ask questions. The smartest people are the ones who continue to drive for information.
What are common mistakes young leaders make? Not recognizing talent, and that talent comes in all kinds of packages. I don't look at resumes very long. I don't want to know very much about where people graduated from college. Whether it's a state college or whether it's Harvard, the quality of people can be good out of both institutions. I think it's important to be able to recognize the talent in somebody that's, say, a working mom who didn't even go to college, but she's got great drive. You promote that person, give [her] more authority, and all of a sudden you step back and allow that talent to emerge.
If you just can't wait until next week to see the print version, you can download the full article right here. Just like Early Edition!
PS -- Would you believe that Kyle Chandler of Early Edition was my college room mate at UGA for two years? It's true.

Kyle Chandler and Harry Joiner: UGA college roommates, or separated at birth?

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