Letting go of someone or something can be an emotional roller coaster. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross M.D. explained the five stages of grief in her book On Death and Dying in 1969. Over 50 years later, her conceptual explanation of this cycle of processing still applies anytime we attempt to process and adapt to change. As we venture into the great unknown of 2023, being familiar with these five stages will help you become more self-aware and more successful as you trailblaze talent sourcing sans resume.
DENIAL
“But this is the way we have always done it.”
To say that resumes are deeply rooted in our societal approach to hiring is an understatement, with the first official resume on record from Leonardo Da Vinci in 1482. In the last 500 years we have evolved from horses to hot air balloons, from trains to automobiles, and now from jets to missions to Mars. Finding talent has missed the bus (or horse-drawn cart) as society grew and developed.
ANGER
“How am I supposed to know if they have what we need?”
A resume typically lists work experience, education, and accomplishments. However, how accurately does an applicant paint that picture? Nearly every resume writing class instructs job seekers to curate their resume directly to the job description, so they sound like the perfect fit…but are they really? Think about what is really needed to do a job, skills, and traits. The rest of the items on a resume are superfluous.
BARGAINING
“What if I just ask them to bring a resume to the interview?”
We must ask ourselves why we need this piece of paper? Is it just because that is what we have been told…because 100 years ago doctors told their patients to smoke cigarettes for their health, and now we know that smoking is quite harmful to our health. Resumes can be detrimental to hiring practices due to conscious and unconscious bias. While reviewing resumes, someone may unconsciously place an applicant that went to their alma mater to the top of the interview list, even though their skills do not match the job requirements.
DEPRESSION
“This is so hard and takes so much time”
There is a learning curve to everything that we do in life; from walking to parallel parking (okay, some of us are still working on that one). Learning a new way to source talent is no different, and at first it feels unnatural and awkward, and may lead to feelings of “this is not working.” But to borrow the magical phrase from Alcoholics Anonymous: the program works if you work the program, meaning you must put in the work to make your intentions of diverse and inclusive hiring a reality.
ACCEPTANCE
“Ok, this actually is producing Candidates, not unqualified applicants”
Just like anything else, practice makes perfect. It will take time to become comfortable and adept at not using a resume, and once mastered, you will feel like a cutting-edge pro. More importantly, your hires will be best suited for your career listings, and happier in their new roles within your organization, leading to employee contentment and retention. Focusing on skills is an equalizer. It brings more people into the fold and leads to a more diverse workforce. Study after study shows, diverse teams make better decisions than non-diverse teams.
TALENTS ASCEND IS YOUR NEXT STEP
When you want diversity to matter in your company, become a member of Talents ASCEND. As a member you will have access to a proprietary AI-powered talent sourcing platform which matches candidates by aligning skills, location, and salary requirements with the needs of employers. This innovative way of connecting candidates with career opportunities is breaking the cycle of traditional exclusionary hiring practices. By eliminating job boards, job applications, and removing the barriers and bias of resumes, Talents ASCEND works with you to implement intentional change for diversity, equity and inclusion.