Everything you postpone in a job search inevitably comes back to haunt you. Some occur instantaneously, while others lean toward the oblique.
Show up a day late for the job interview and you will immediately receive the cold-shoulder treatment. Be slow to start your job search, and usually you and immediate family are the only ones inconvenienced.
Show up a day late for the job interview and you will immediately receive the cold-shoulder treatment. Be slow to start your job search, and usually you and immediate family are the only ones inconvenienced.
Résumés by committee fall in the less obvious (oblique) category. Whenever you involve more than three in creating your résumé—that’s the magic number—you have in effect formed a committee.
Remember the old standby: Anytime you want to delay something, form committees. It is a sure-fire bet the process will slow. In effect, the collective minds make decisions to avoid offending anyone. To accomplish that, committees avoid creativity, while striving for familiarity.
The committee approach to résumés often impose limitations. In turn, this can lean toward the less than the ideal. The following scenario often occurs:
A client scheduled an appointment to have a résumé written. She was in sales, in her early forties, and had achieved admirable results over the past ten years with one employer. She requested I create something that would make her stand out from the hordes of job applicants.
–Nothing odd or unusual about that.
She failed to mention that the résumé would not be for immediate use, but forwarded to her committee for review. Ignorant of that agenda, I pursued the creative course. Had it been known she planned to involve a committee, a low-keyed approach would have been chosen.
The initial draft assembled quickly, and to my surprise, she changed nothing. Seven weeks after the time for making revisions passed, a litany of emails arrived requesting modifications. Each email came with a new request.
“My friend in social work told me to remove this,” followed by, “An engineering friend told me to add that,” and so-on.
Once everyone on her committee had his or her say, she felt safe to proceed. I asked if anyone on her committee was in sales or sales management. She said “No.” That caused a raised eyebrow. None of the members of her committee was in hiring positions, let alone outside sales.
After her departure, a copy of the initial draft, replete with enhancements and a one-of-a-kind presentation set next to the résumé-by-committee version. The text continued to read well, however the subdued layout failed to make her standout. Her committee had managed to achieve their comfort zone—the mundane.
The easiest thing to do is tell others what they ought to be doing. Talk, however, is cheap: Results are what matter. If you are prone to forming committees, choose those members wisely. Failing to do so, may not be in your best job-search interest.
The committee’s skillsets may fall outside of realm of daily interviewing, selecting and hiring candidates. Be sure they know the big picture of the hiring process, lest you fall prey to collective mind-think and pander to mediocrity.