Nov 2, 2017
The formal procedure of employment is one of the few facets of the financial landscape that has managed to remain unchanged through the age of technology, with primary emphasis being laid upon one, simple piece of paper - your resume.
But, with all their purported value among recruitment circles, resumes continued to be scorned at by a select few and are often responsible for the hiring of an ill-suited candidate.
Considering how they perhaps aren't greatest indicators of one's merit, here are 7 reasons why even the best candidates might not have the most impressive of resumes.
UNIQUENESS: Considering that there's only so much that one can do within the framework of a traditional resume, nothing quite stands out. Although a candidate might posses a history of positive feedback and exemplary word-of-mouth from past ventures, it won't manage to translate over to a resume. Even if it does, however, the norms of formulating a resume, such as those desiring it to be a concise document designed for the sake of employment convenience, hamper it from being a true reflection of one's capabilities and their potential is often lost out among an ocean of papers.
QUALIFICATION: Although one might not have the benefit of possessing multiple degrees or professional diplomas that boast of their educational history, the most important aspect, as mentioned before, remains the positive feedback one acquires over a considerable period of time, and which secures employment for many in every industry from the eternally rising technological arena, down to a heavily network-oriented sector such as the media.
EXPERIENCE: Be it the unreasonable demand of having careers that span multiple decade under one's belt, disqualifying many budding candidates right from the onset, or those necessitating diverse work histories that often refuse to even consider one's individualistic abilities, the need for "experience" continues to be a bane for most seeking to emerge over those their age and aim for greener pastures, only for the unchanging recruitment procedure to deny them a right to it. Thus, although the normal resumes continues to possess exorbitant demands in terms of work experience, candidates who impress in some of the other facets essential even in the lieu of a good resume, and indeed listed below, are the ones who are today preferred over their contemporaries.
PERSONALITY: Gone are the days when one could earn a stipend for simply completing the prescribed work hours each week, and among the factors that not only enable a candidate's entrance into a firm, but their growth within its structure is their personality, obviously a part of the greater human potential that can't quite be displayed on paper, and the best litmus test for which is, undoubtedly - the interview.
INTERVIEW: Increasingly, the lion's share of recruitments are finalised only after the conclusion of several comprehensive interviews that shed light on, both, a candidate's ethic and personality, factors that play a part in deciding their potential roles within an already established framework at any particular company. Of course, interviews have long existed as a facet of the recruitment procedure, but the modern emphasis placed upon them to truly analyse a candidate is relatively recent and no more a formality, rather an irreplaceable aspect of it. Thus, how a candidate fares while one-on-one with their recruiter figures much larger into the picture than their seemingly important resume.
SUITABILITY: Undoubtedly, there are times when even those seemingly poised to capture a vacant position can be denied the chance for even an interview, leaving many dumbfounded as to the shortcoming contained within their formidable resumes; even when there aren't any.
Now more than ever, with the consistently burgeoning diversification of roles in almost each financial sector around the world, identifying the "perfect" candidate means rejecting even those whose job description might comfortably fit within the desired position in favour of the ones who not only fare positively in the points mentioned above, but bring forth an eagerness to conform, leading us to another observation.
CULTURE: The establishment of optimistic and efficient office cultures has begun to feature prominently on the priority lists of most firms the world over in recent decades, and one toward which recruiters contribute toward by hiring candidates willing to participate in its creation, in addition to handling their prescribed duties.
Moreover, today, being an achieved employee means more than just fulfilling tasks satisfactorily, but rather contribute actively toward the company's long-term goals, itself something that can only be done by those capable of understanding these objectives reserved for the future.
Therefore, the birth of an "office culture" can necessitate everything from being a jubilant participant in a firm's weekly, team-building lunches away from work to make it less of a forceful chore that most feel compelled to do, to communicating freely with those sitting atop a company's food-chain to better aid its prospects, further defying the traditional work relationship structure.
Thus, one can comfortably argue that not only resumes, but most facets that have been for long identified with the normative work culture continue to be moulded based upon the 21st century's evolving requirements, and those who rely too heavily upon them and refuse to give into incoming transformations are bound to lose out.