I think resumes are dumb.

I’m not talking about coming back to your game of Oblivion after eating dinner with the family. I’m talking about those all-important one-sheets you turn in to your future employer.

I went through a handful of them at work yesterday, looking for someone who would permanently take the seat I’m keeping warm for them. I was supposed to weed out the under-qualified and find a few key people to bring in for interviews.

At first glance they were all qualified, so they gave me some criteria to look for:

• Computer skills (Word, Excel, etc.)
• Longevity (didn’t want them bouncing around between jobs)
• Grammar and spelling (if they can’t put their best into a resume …)
• Bilingual a plus (Spanish speaking, of course)

I began to realize that we weren’t really looking for job skills. We were looking at resume skills.

Everyone can use Word. Most people can use Excel. But not everyone can type up a good resume.

You think your resume shows off your areas of experience and expertise. Then you mix that in with a bunch of other resumes and you realize that everyone is just as experienced as you are.

What the boss is really looking at is the type of person you are. They try and do that by looking at buzz words and grammar, but how much does that really show?

Does that show how well you’re going to click with the rest of the office staff? Someone ably qualified could make the office a daily torture if they just can’t get along. Does it show the level of your dedication and work ethic? It shows that you can use spelling and grammar check, but so can everyone else.

And yet the resume thrives.

What? Is the boss supposed to sit down and interview 300 applicants just to give them all a fair shot?

Pshhh … No!

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