Let’s face it. Resumes can be stressful. Does anyone actually get hired off a piece of paper? No! And yes. Hear us out.

The “No”: people hire people. It’s hard, especially for the untrained eye, to see a person in a resume. To most of us, a resume looks like a bunch of boxes on white paper at the end of the day. And yet - So. Much. Pressure. The resume feels like such a clincher! Get it wrong and you’re in the trash can, along with the others who have failed. Isn’t that what it feels like it comes down to? Success vs. failure? Which, in our performance-driven culture, in the performance-driven industry that is STEM, can start to feel like Life vs. Death.

Let’s breathe. It’s not life or death, just a resume. While a resume has an important function, especially in some jobs, let’s say it again: people hire people.

People hire people! This is your mantra.

The most important trick to getting hired is this: showing who you are, with all your qualifications and skills - yes - but most importantly, who you are as a person.

A Secret Step: Start with a Conversation

Before you send in your resume, can you ‘warm the relationship?’

In business, sales people will talk about which leads are ‘warm’ and which leads are ‘cold’. This means that some relationships have been primed through connection and conversation - they are warm, and ready to receive a sell. Rarely/probably never does a cold relationship yield any results. Job-seeking is a form of selling the product that is you.

Begin by warming the relationship. Ask yourself: how can you show up to the hiring team as a person? Is there someone in your network who can introduce you to someone at the company for an informational interview to gather data and show your face? If not, can you try taking the initiative and reaching out to whoever you seem most interested in on the team?

Many times, a fruitful exploratory conversation leads to a word-of-mouth recommendation from one of the people you’d be working with. This is how a an informal conversation that warms the relationship might lead to tangible results that get your closer to your goal:

Your contact: “Hey, Jerry, I had an intro call with this really smart young woman who I think would be a great fit for the team. She’s applying for the [insert role] job and I think we should interview her.”

Jerry, the fictional HR guy: “Great, thanks for the flag. We’re shortlisting candidates now and I’ll put her name to the top. Has she submitted her resume yet?”

Aha! We got to it: the “Yes” for when people hire off a resume. In the above script, coming through the door first as a real, living breathing person already sets you above the mass of resumes flying at HR. Quite simply, you have made yourself 3D instead of 2D. You are less abstract. You are human. This step requires you exercise the benefits of humanity: creating authentic connection and relationship with the real people you would be working with. Think of it as a trial for you, too. If there are major red flags from an introductory conversation, you know to set your sights elsewhere.

Then: we’ve made it to the resume. So while the resume is an ineffective tool for opening the door (you- flesh and blood - are much better at that), it is essential for shepherding you through it. You will need to lock in your resume to get you through the door you’ve opened. But: by becoming a real human being, you’ve captured the attention of a real human being - whoever’s job it is to fill the position. In the fictional story above, that person is Jerry. Never, ever, ever forget that a job search - despite all the algorithms, resumes, checked boxes - is ultimately an exchange between two human beings.