So I was looking back at some of the new-hire profiles we filled out when I joined and man-oh-man did I come off as a know-it-all frat boy ass. I tried too hard to be snarky and absurdest when I was simply absurd; click here to read it, it makes me laugh and cringe at the same time. Although I had already had the job, it was still early in my career here in Talent Zoo and although I never want to come off as a stiff, I should not run around brazenly espousing my love for the sauce; whether or not its true is only for my friends and Parole Officer to know for sure.

I was reminded of this when I was discussing my friend’s resume with him. My friend is a remarkable talent. He is funny and talented and he has worked hard to get where he is today. We were talking about his resume and how it is the first impression that any ad-wanderer puts out for the world (really I mean HR) to see… even before the work comes that silly little piece of paper.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about how we recruiters know what the hell we are talking about when it comes to selling talent. It is what we do dozens of times a day. We tell creatives to let go of their emotional ties and to listen to us.

Anyway, my friend and I disagreed over the aesthetic and structure of his resume. Mind you, he’s got a wonderful and simple portfolio site that I think is great because it does nothing but highlight his achievements. However, I just could not hear his rationale for why he wants to keep his resume the way he has it.

Just to let you know, his resume is okay. There is nothing overtly bad about it. It shows his many achievements and tells about the work he has done. Nothing bad there, right? Wrong! Because if you are an Art Director, your resume also has to look good; that’s the final word. I have touched thousands of resumes and the HR Directors that I work with have as well. If they work at a bigger agency, they probably see three to four times more resumes a day than I do. They cannot afford the time to look at all the books and portfolios. The resumes have to grab them and reel them in to make them WANT to look at the portfolios.

Granted, when we as recruiters send you in, your odds jump exponentially because we typically only send in a few qualified candidates, but that by no way means that any candidate gets to slack when presenting themselves and their work.

So how am I a hypocrite? I am having trouble telling my friend everything that I am writing here. He’s not a baby; I should not feel like this, but I do. And I should be able to work with him even though he is family. But I am too close to the guy to do anything but stammer and passively cajole him to the right side of the force. I complain that oftentimes creatives are too close to their work to listen to suggestion. They think that because they worked hard no one else has worked hard. Thusly, who the hell am I to tell them that they need to leave a piece out of their portfolio or change their resume a certain way?

Now I am thinking, who the hell am I to tell my friend that he should change his resume. I am just some schmuck recruiter. He has worked hard. He has won a shit-ton of awards. He is talented. He has a great career in front of him. And, like me, his can be rather stubborn and a strong arguer.

Does situation make me a hypocrite? Do I need to step back and let go of emotion to do my job?

Is the further outcome for his career more important than possibly offending my friend? Yes. Because I know that I am right. It is the right thing to do and I will tell him because it is my job to help him with his job.

Time to give him a call… maybe I should also tell him about this blog too?

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