The Résumé. I hate it. It’s the kind of stuff I feel the world should move on from by now. Advancement in tech has taught us there are better places and ways to get to know people better.

You see, a Résumé is this little piece of paper containing the ‘Myself Essay’.
It includes name, contacts, Schools attended, skills, interests, employment history blah blah blah. You have to compress many years on a page or a few more.

The flaw. Most often, we exaggerate our achievements and make ourselves appear larger than life. Experts appear on TV to teach how to write better Résumé as if that’s what determines anything. It doesn’t. It’s just a formality and waste of time, ink, and language.

Now, what?

If we dump the Résumé, then we must have something better to replace them. Yes, we do. We’ve had it for over a decade now. Everyone uses it.

It’s the internet.

Everyone is on the internet documenting and sharing their work experience.

Designers and artists create portfolio sites where they share their work and process. Writers have a blog for the stuff they are passionate about. It applies to people in diverse fields.

We’re showing people what we are doing right now. Not just telling them what we did and what we’ll do in the future as we do on a resume.

A Résumé only tells it doesn’t show. Employers should be more concerned about candidates showing them what they do.

Ok. Let me chip this in. I once applied for a design job. The company never asked to see my portfolio. At the interview, I only had to talk about myself and what I could do for the company.

There was no mention of my website or anything I had written or tweeted, probably a day before. Obviously, they had not read anything about me online. A very uncomfortable situation for me.

And oh, there’s another one. I submitted my resume in person. The human resources manager sitting across from me asked, “What’s this?”
“My resume,” I replied.
“You don’t need colour or icons in your resume. It must be black ink on white paper. That’s the rule.” She yelled.”

This happened in 2019.

As an employer, request the link to your prospective employees’ websites or social media pages. Read about them on LinkedIn. Get to know them and select the best for the interview.

Know this: People who share their work more often online are brave. They have the guts to stomach criticism and backlash. They know the only way to get better is to put their creation before the world.

It’s also a sign of generosity, not keeping a lid on knowledge.
Is this not the kind of people the world needs?

If you are a student or working, perhaps, beware of what you share online. When someone Googles you, what would they find? Hate speech, trolling, or obscenity? Share more of your work and interests. Include finished work and your process.

The more you document these, the more progress you see and the people you inspire.

Invest in a website. Keep it simple and easy to navigate and make your own rules. A website doesn’t restrict you as social media platforms do. There’s no algorithm to prevent others from seeing your posts and all the other complex and most often confusing things.

Lastly, don’t fret about views. It takes time. See it as your journal.

See what people are doing on their website or social media page and know their skill set, vision and progress.

Put the Resume aside.