The Red Herring of Red Flags: Why Resumes Are a Relic of the Past
Traditional resumes inadequately assess talent in tech hiring, masking potential. The article advocates for skills assessments and real-world evaluations, emphasizing a skills-centric approach to include non-traditional candidates.
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The article discusses the inadequacies of traditional resumes in the tech hiring process, arguing that they are an outdated method for assessing talent. Resumes often present a curated and oversimplified view of a candidate's abilities, which can mask true potential, especially for self-taught or non-traditional candidates. The piece highlights that many of the most talented individuals may have resumes that do not conform to conventional standards, such as gaps in employment or unconventional career paths. It advocates for moving beyond superficial resume screening by utilizing skills assessments, coding challenges, and real-world project evaluations to gain a more accurate understanding of a candidate's capabilities. The article also addresses the challenges posed by AI in hiring, including the potential for bias and the optimization of resumes for machine-readability rather than genuine skill representation. To improve hiring practices, it suggests focusing on "green signals" that indicate a candidate's fit and potential, leveraging AI cautiously, implementing comprehensive assessments, and valuing non-traditional backgrounds. The overall message is to adopt a more inclusive, skills-centric approach to hiring in the tech industry.
- Traditional resumes are often inadequate for assessing true talent.
- Skills assessments and real-world evaluations provide a better understanding of candidates.
- AI in hiring can perpetuate biases and should be used with caution.
- Non-traditional candidates can offer unique skills and perspectives.
- A shift towards a skills-centric hiring approach is necessary for building innovative teams.
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8 commentsI look at a lot of resumes and would say most aren't well polished or curated. They often don't showcase skills either, but it is surprising how bad resumes still are today.
Resumes are not intended to be a proxy for (assessing) talent. They're intended to be a proxy for (assessing) experience. Portfolios, references, and interviews are intended to be a proxy for assessing talent.
It’s a pipeline. People are filtering the resume and you show up late in the process to interview. The resume is giving you material. You study it before the interview and based on what’s on it you look for opportunities to casually measure the candidate in a manner most favorable to the candidate himself. If the candidate can’t answer questions which probe the things his resume claims as expertise then it doesn’t bode well.
I have a hard time imagining an alternative.
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