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I have a secret: I’ve been employed for 9+ years in various jobs, and I have never turned in a resume to get a job. Ever.

How did I do it? It was very simple: I realized that nobody hires a piece of paper. They hire people.

I was able to do it because I found somebody who was doing awesome work, I was attracted to the work (or the money, especially when I was younger), and I communicated my desire to the person in charge. I didn’t just send in a piece of paper and hope somebody noticed it. I shared a little bit about who I am and what I have done with the person in charge of the company/school/organization, and told them that I would like to work for them. When the relationship was right, I got the job.

I guess my employers realized something that I have known intuitively for a very long time: there are a lot of people with high GPA’s and “degrees” who still never learned to think. They bought a degree, but they didn’t get an education, and an organization doesn’t survive by having a bunch of certified staff running around. They survive by having a bunch of brains (combined with some good ole’ elbow grease), and brains are less readily apparent than degrees when you are evaluating a resume.

The only valid reason for developing an exhaustive and immaculate resume is that it is your first impression on someone that may hire you. But here is the key to my process: I never allow a resume to be my “first impression”. My “first impression” is never a cookie-cutter resume. My first impression is something totally crazy and incomprehensible that people think I’m mad to even use it: it is called “having a conversation”. This can be via letter, email, or in person. But a conversation is always the start for me. I don’t turn in a piece of paper and then have a conversation. I have a conversation, and then turn in a piece of paper. 9+ years of paid opportunities (I don’t like to use the word “employment”) has proven this to be a very effective tactic.

I don’t think resumes are completely worthless. I know that one day, I may be in a position in which I need to evaluate resumes of various candidates. When I am in this position, I am going to use the resume to answer the following 3 questions:

1. Did they correctly spell every word in the first two lines and in the last two lines?
2. Have they done some things that might prepare them for this job?
3. Is the resume unique in any way from the 10,000 other resumes that I have received?

That’s it. That’s all I’m looking for. If they pass this 30-second review, then we could continue the relationship and see if this job is a good fit. Chances are, however, that somebody else with a little more brains may have already gotten the job because they skipped the cookie-cutter resume approach. They did the important work (establishing an authentic relationship) before they did the necessary work (turning in a resume). And that, my friends, will make all the difference.