While in the United Lounge at SFO last week, I overheard a rather interesting (and bombastic) dude utter over a call, “well, Joe, send over your resumé and my secretary will take a look at it.”
Ugh – this topic rears its ugly head again.
As is most of what I say, this is also controversial, but here goes nothing: If you’re remarkable, marvelous, or just plain spectacular, you (probably) shouldn’t have a résumé.
Great people shouldn’t – and don’t – have a resume.
Why?
A resumé is an excuse to reject you. Once you send Nancy in HR or Recruiting your resumé, she can say, “oh, they’re missing this or they’re missing that,” and boom, you’re out.
Having a résumé puts you in that fancy program that looks for relevant keywords, and is looking to get you a job as a small part of a giant bureaucratic machine.
“But Mark, if I don’t have a resume’, then what do I have to show them?”
How about:
- Your LinkedIn? Your IG? Your TikTok (if you’re a creator)? Your YT?
- Your website (like www.AskMarkRyan.com).
- Letters of amazing recommendations from respectable people.
- A relevant, refined project they can see, hear, touch.
- A blog or vlog that they can learn something from and hear your POV and $0.02 on whatever it is you pontificate about.
- Or finally, my favorite: a reputation that precedes you.
If you don’t have those, that’s my point: you’re not remarkable. And you’ve been programmed into acting like you’re ordinary.
Great jobs, projects, gigs, world-class opportunities… those don’t get filled by people emailing in résumés. EVER.
As always, I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense.
Happy Holidays.
Good things,
Mark
P.S. A CV is NOT a résumé.
