Resumes Don’t Tell the Whole Story

Resumes are polished, practiced, and often strategically tailored to match keywords and algorithms. But they’re not real portraits, they’re summaries. They don’t reveal how a person thinks under pressure, how they handle conflict, or whether they bring light into the room or tension. They don’t tell you if this person lifts others, or leads quietly. If they’re generous with credit. If they truly care.

In fact, some of the best people you’ll ever work with won’t shine on paper. They won’t come from the “right” schools. They might have gaps, pivots, or paths that defy convention. But they’ll show up. They’ll own their work. They’ll stay when it’s hard. They’ll make everyone around them better. And you’ll miss them if you’re hiring with blinders on.

When we reduce people to bullet points, we miss the nuance. The story between the lines. The humanity behind the history. This isn’t to say experience and credentials don’t matter. They do. But they’re not all that matters. The future of work demands something more: Curiosity over conformity. Grit over gloss. Resonance over résumé. It’s time we stop hiring for pedigree and start hiring for potential. For alignment. For depth. For how someone might grow with us, not just what they’ve done before us. If we want cultures that evolve, innovate, and endure; we need to start seeing people for more than what fits on a single page.

Because the best hires? They’re not always found in the résumé stack. Sometimes, they’re discovered in a moment of real conversation; the kind that makes you say:

“There’s something about this person.”