Why A Person Is So Much More Than A Resume

One thing I’ve never liked about applying for jobs is the initial screening process is all about a resume, a single piece of paper. And there is so much more to a person than a single piece of paper.

Just ask Josh McCown.

McCown is now an NFL quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after having his best season last year, at the football-ancient age of 34. But the real story is that he got a second chance in the NFL, and it certainly wasn’t about his resume.

If he had a resume, in 2010, McCown would put that he played for the Hartford Colonials for the United Football League. If you have never heard of the UFL, you’re not alone – it was failure, largely because of its lack of talent. It is an embarrassment that McCown, in what should have been the prime of his career, played for the lowly UFL, a league filled of has-beens and never-weres.

Here’s the part that didn’t show up in the resume: McCown, right before the start of the Hartford Colonial season, was offered a quarterback job for the Chicago Bears, one of the most storied teams in the NFL. He turned down much more money, much more prestige, much more everything to play for a league destined to fail.

Why?

"It just didn't sit well with me," McCown recently told ESPN. "I had done a ton of press releases and appearances and stuff like that for the UFL. I know it sounds silly to turn the Bears down, but something in my stomach just didn't sit well. I felt like it would be a bad example to my kids to say, 'Give your word to somebody until something better comes along and then break that.'"

Wow.

That’s integrity. Turning down fame and fortune and everything else that goes with being a quarterback in the NFL because he made a commitment to the Hartford Colonials. THE HARTFORD COLONIALS!

Eventually, McCown would sign with the Bears and had his breakout season in 2013. But turning down the Bears for the Colonials, that’s something few of us would ever do (I know I wouldn’t).

The Point

The point is if you were to just look at McCown’s resume, he’d never get a job. I mean, he played for the Hartford Colonials in the prime of his career! How could he play quarterback in the NFL!?

Now, NFL teams probably knew the full story, because NFL teams have almost-unlimited resources and can take some real time knowing all the candidates. But the rest of the world doesn’t have that advantage, we don’t have time to know the full story of each candidate.

So we look at the piece of paper and make initial decisions off of that.

The Solution

Today, though, with technology, there is a better way to do it. And I’m proud to be part of a company that makes people more than a resume, more than a single piece of paper, while still making it manageable for the hiring team.

Because a person can’t be explained by a piece of paper, they deserve a voice, an opportunity to explain who they are.

Just ask Josh McCown.

Views: 116

Comment by Keith Halperin on June 20, 2014 at 3:56pm

Thanks Paul.

"Because a person can’t be explained by a piece of paper, they deserve a voice, an opportunity to explain who they are."

Perhaps, but not a job interview for my clients... I'm NOT hired to spot "diamonds in the rough," those "who have not done but can do," or those "who hide the brilliance under a basket". I need  applicants whose resumes scream "I'VE DONE THIS! I'VE DONE THIS!"

To misquote STOS: "Damn it Jim. I'm a recruiter, not a social worker!" 

ISTM, that if they aren't pretty obviously what your hiring manager wants/need and you want to help them, then send them this:

JOB HUNTING RESOURCE
The Riley Guide (http://www.rileyguide.com)
Job-Hunt:(http://www.job-hunt.org)
Ask the Recruiter (http://www.asktherecruiter.com)
GlassDoor (http://www.glassdoor.com

LEADS



Here are several hundred recent (within the past 30 days or so) non- administrative Bay Area recruiting positions.
You can change the search  parameters to match your requirements.
CRAIGSLIST http://tiny.cc/lGLmJ http://tiny.cc/ocF10
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/hum?query=recruiting
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/hum?query=recruiter

INDEED Leads for Recruiter, Recruiting, Staffing, Talent, Sourcer,
Sourcing, Placement http://tiny.cc/VM4St
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?as_and=&as_phr=&as_any=&as_n...

SIMPLY HIRED Leads for Recruit, Recruiter, Recruiting, Staffing,
Talent, Sourcer, Sourcing, Placement http://tiny.cc/Ikgu2
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/mi-50/qw-administrator+assis...

and send them on their way so you can get back to work...
 

-kh

Comment

You need to be a member of RecruitingBlogs to add comments!

Join RecruitingBlogs

Subscribe

All the recruiting news you see here, delivered straight to your inbox.

Just enter your e-mail address below

Webinar

RecruitingBlogs on Twitter

© 2024   All Rights Reserved   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service