In what has been heralded as “the death of the resume,” a post on X by Elon Musk advised applicants for engineering jobs at his Dojo 3 AI chip project to forgo submitting resumes and simply provide, “3 bullet points on the toughest technical problems you’ve solved.” The reality is that resumes have continually been evolving in content and format for quite some time, in response to the needs of employers, competitive conditions in the job market, and, most recently, the application of technology to the hiring process. And so, predictions of the death of the resume, to quote Mark Twain, “have been greatly exaggerated.”
To underscore my point, I recently came across a resume from 1944, for someone who was applying for an engineering job. He listed his eye and hair color, weight, and ethnicity – items that have no place on a resume today. The focus on professional abilities, work history and education, rather than personal details, gained ground in the 1960s and has continued until relatively recently. This suggests that the information in a resume, and the form in which it is presented, will continue to change as employers’ needs and hiring practices evolve.
I believe resumes – in some form – will remain a valuable first step in connecting prospective candidates and potential employers. Below are some thoughts on recent developments that have affected the way resumes are created and used, and some advice on how to craft a “modern” resume.
The Impact of AI and Skills-Based Hiring
One of the greatest factors affecting the form and content of resumes was the adoption of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Introduced in the late 1960s-early 1970s to help companies screen large pools of applicants and automate the hiring workflow, the systems have gained in sophistication and capabilities, most recently by incorporating AI. Among other functions, ATS algorithms scan resumes for keywords that align with specific job descriptions. Applicants quickly figured out that they had to seed their resumes with the right keywords – and a new resume format was born.
Skills-based hiring is another transformative development. Many companies now report that they use skills-based approaches in talent recruitment, prioritizing candidates’ competencies over traditional career history and educational credentials. The adoption of AI by many major employers has only accelerated the use of skills-based selection. When “every job becomes a tech job,” there is increasing pressure on applicants to document their relevant AI competency on resumes.
Meaningful, Measurable Skills
While Elon Musk’s “3 bullet point” rule is a somewhat extreme approach to a skills-based talent search, evolving the resume to map an applicant’s capabilities against an employer’s requirements makes sense for both parties. Employers today want to see that candidates have the ability to deliver meaningful outcomes, so job seekers should craft their resumes to convey what they can bring to a given role. For example, I recently reviewed a number of resumes for an HR position. Almost all of them noted, in one way or another, the applicant’s success in, “aligning HR strategy with corporate goals,” making it very difficult to differentiate the more qualified candidates.
This experience suggests that specific accomplishments and supporting metrics, not generalities, should be major elements of a modern resume. Instead of an applicant stating they, “managed a key project for my company’s Widget Division,” the resume might highlight their role in, “leading a team that delivered a major product upgrade and produced an 18% increase in the division’s sales in year 1.”
For all the questions now being raised about the future of resumes, some current practices remain useful. Even the overly broad use of keywords has its purpose. A recent resume submitted for an HR position was stocked with “standard” phrases such as: HR Leadership & Governance, Workforce Planning & Org Design, Talent Management & Succession Planning, Change & Transformation, Wellbeing Program Design, Cost Optimization & Productivity, and Employee Experience (to name just a few). Yet, the proliferation of terms does enable the ATS to screen for relevant experience and allow potentially qualified candidates to advance to the next stage of the process.
Similarly, I believe employers should be able to consider an applicant’s job history. Candidates were once penalized for “job hopping” if their tenure in some positions was too brief. Yet today, a higher rate of mobility might indicate an applicant who is rapidly building new skills and gaining responsibilities. Similarly, basic educational qualifications may not be very revealing, but an advanced degree or specialized certification can indicate a highly motivated and increasingly accomplished individual.
Regardless of the direction resumes may take in the future, it is important to not over-simplify the format so that it is stripped of valuable information. Far from being on the path to extinction, resumes will continue to exist and evolve, enabling employers to put the right person in the right role.
Mary Rizzuti leads Compensation Resources, an EisnerAmper Company. With over 25 years of experience in compensation and human resources consulting, Mary has gained significant expertise in evaluating, designing, and developing creative compensation and human resources programs across all industries and business sectors.
Mary coordinates and executes business development initiatives while building strong working relationships with clients and strategic partners. With extensive experience within the not-for-profit and private company sectors, Mary provides clients with comprehensive consulting in executive compensation, salary administration, sales compensation, and performance management. Also included in her scope of expertise is interpreting market data and providing guidance to senior leadership and boards of directors on applying best practices and aligning market data to each company’s unique environment.
Mary also delivers customized compensation strategy sessions to senior leadership, as well as human resources assessments for our clients. She has experience providing litigation support regarding compensation-related matters, including research, strategy development, analysis, and report outlining.
Mary was a Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Compensation Resources, Inc. prior to joining EisnerAmper. Mary was named to ROI-NJ’s prestigious list of 2024 Influencers: Women in Business. Recently, Mary received The Salute to the Policy Makers award from Executive Women of New Jersey.