Should Your Resume Look Like an Instagram Post?

Summary

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WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode Summary: Should Your Resume Look Like an Instagram Post?

Date: August 14, 2019
Host: J.R. Whalen
Guest: Chip Cutter, Wall Street Journal Reporter

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Episode Overview

This episode examines how members of Generation Z are revamping traditional resumes by incorporating visual and digital features—like emojis, photos, and animations—to stand out in the job market. The discussion focuses on the tension between creative self-expression and recruiters’ expectations for professionalism, addressing the benefits, pitfalls, and biases associated with “Instagram-style” resumes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of Creative Resumes

• Generation Z’s Influence: Job seekers born after 1998 are making resumes more visually dynamic and personalized.
  • Chip Cutter (02:33): “We’re seeing applicants do a range of things to try to add a little more personality... from adding a personalized Bitmoji... to people including their headshots, to icons of their favorite hobbies.”
• Purpose: These creative touches aim to make job seekers stand out and convey more personality than “black type on white paper.”

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2. Employer Reaction: Novelty vs. Professionalism

• Some employers appreciate attempts at personalization; others find it unprofessional or distracting.
  • Chip Cutter (03:03): “Some employers say that these resumes have gone too far. One CEO joked to me that she looked at a resume that looked more like a Tinder profile than an actual resume.”
• Memorable Example:
  • An engineering candidate submitted a resume with multiple personal photos—“in a suit, hiking, in the street in New York”—which confused the CEO reviewing it (03:14).

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3. Relevance and Appropriateness

• Companies and recruiting experts caution: only include visuals or personal statements if they directly relate to the job.
  • Chip Cutter (03:42): “Focus on what really matters here. Focus on the skills that will be relevant for the role... cut those things that are related to your love of cooking or that might have your kind of soft skills on them.”
• Advice from Glassdoor Recruiters: Stick to the basics and keep resumes job-relevant.

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4. Practical Concerns: Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

• Many companies now use software to scan resumes for keywords.
  • J.R. Whalen (04:09): “Anything other than text can really throw off that process.”
• Graphics, emoji, and photos often confuse or are lost in these systems, potentially reducing a candidate’s chances.

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5. Reducing Bias and Fostering Fairness

• Some employers remove identifying details (even names and addresses) from resumes to promote inclusivity.
  • Chip Cutter (04:24): “Some companies are actually even going as far as trying to blind resumes... just as a way to make sure they're being as inclusive as possible.”
• HubSpot Example: HR discourages including photos to reduce unconscious bias at the screening stage.
  • Chip Cutter (05:03): “[The head of HR at HubSpot] told me she just wants to remove as much bias from the process as possible.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Creative Resumes Going Too Far:

  “One CEO joked to me that she looked at a resume that looked more like a Tinder profile than an actual resume.”
  — Chip Cutter (03:09)

• On the Importance of Relevance:

  “Stick to the basics. Focus on what’s relevant to the job.”
  — Glassdoor Recruiter, paraphrased by Chip Cutter (03:44)

• On Technology and Fairness:

  “These systems are called applicant tracking systems, and they really are just trying to glean the best bits from resumes... Some design flourishes are going to get lost in these systems.”
  — Chip Cutter (04:24)

• On Reducing Bias:

  “She does not want her recruiters to have a photo of someone in the early stages... she doesn’t want this identifying information there.”
  — Chip Cutter, recounting a conversation with HubSpot HR head (05:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:33] – What Gen Z is putting on resumes: Bitmoji, headshots, hobby icons
• [03:03]–[03:34] – Employers’ mixed reactions; memorable “Tinder profile” anecdote
• [03:42]–[04:09] – Recruiter advice: relevance over flair
• [04:09]–[04:48] – Applicant tracking systems and the risk of non-text elements
• [04:48]–[05:30] – Issues of bias, blinding resumes, and anti-photo policies (HubSpot example)

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Conclusion

The episode captures a generational shift in how young professionals present themselves, balancing genuine self-expression with evolving expectations of recruiters and new hiring technologies. While creativity can help candidates stand out, both technical limitations and the need to eliminate bias mean that job seekers should be strategic and mindful about how much “Instagram” to bring to their resumes.

Transcript

[Small Business Owner]

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.

[Retail Industry Representative]

Inflation is killing me, but who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill.

[Small Business Owner]

See banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources

[Retail Industry Representative]

they need while increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they?

[Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson]

Tell Congress stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.

[J.R. Whalen]

Here's your money briefing. I'm J.R. whelan at the Wall Street Journal in New York. Ah, these kids today. Generation Z, or people born after 1998, are revolutionizing the resume writing process, adding in photos, emoji and animation to help tell their story. But not every employer thinks it's very cute. Will explain in a moment. First, some money and market news you should know. Inflation rose at its strongest two month pace since early 2006. The Labor Department says the consumer price index rose 0.3% last month as compared to June. That number excludes volatile sectors like food and energy. But when looking at all the price increases, they were broad based last month, but mostly driven by energy and services such as health care, shelter and transportation. And mortgage balances rose by $162 billion in the second quarter to about $9.4 trillion. That's a new record, according to the Federal Reserve of New York. Mortgage originations, which include refinancings, increased by $130 billion to $474 billion in the second quarter. Mortgages, by the way, are the largest component of household debt, which has been on the rise since the middle of 2013. Overall, household debt rose by 1.4% from the first quarter to 30 $13.8 trillion. That's the 20th consecutive quarter of increases. There isn't a lot of glitz and glamour in resume writing until now. Generation Z, or people born after 1998, are redoing the art of the resume, and Wall Street Journal reporter Chip Cutter is here with some details. So, Chip, there are limits to how much personality a potential employer can glean from a candidate' essentially black type on white paper. So many job applicants are trying to jazz up their resume.

[Chip Cutter]

That's right. And so we're seeing applicants do a range of things to try to add a little more personality to these. It ranges from adding a personalized Bitmoji, those illustrated avatars to the top of the page, to people including their headshots, to icons of their favorite hobbies. Say you like to do home renovations or swimming. People are adding those icons onto their resume. So just a range of different design flourishes to try to make these stand

[J.R. Whalen]

out for the P and for the right kind of business. Adding some flavor can help an employer get to know an applicant.

[Chip Cutter]

Companies say they want to get a sense for who someone really is, but I do think there's a limit to some of this. I mean, some employers say that these resumes have gone too far. One CEO joked to me that she looked at a resume that looked more like a Tinder profile than an actual resume. In this particular case, someone for an engineering position had included a range of photos of himself at the bottom of the resume. So it was a photo of him in a suit, it was a photo of him hiking, it was a photo of him in the street in New York. And she said she really dumbfounded by this and just did not know why those photos had made it onto a resume.

[J.R. Whalen]

Well, they're a job in recruiting companies that in your article that say, only add illustrations and personal statements if they're relevant to the job.

[Chip Cutter]

Well, that's it. I mean, focus on what really matters here. Focus on the skills that will be relevant for the role. And so one of the companies I spoke with is Glatzdoor, the job and recruiting site. They actually held a session for their interns a couple of weeks ago, and there their recruiter said, stick to the basics. Focus on what's relevant to the job. Cut those things that are related to your love of cooking or that might have your kind of soft skills on them.

[J.R. Whalen]

There are some limits, though, to how effective graphics, photos and emoji can be on a resume. Lots of companies are using scanners these days to pick out key words and phrases on a resume to weed out unqualified candidates. And anything other than text can really throw off that process.

[Chip Cutter]

That's really true. These systems are called applicant tracking systems, and they really are just trying to get glean the best bits from the resumes. Your name, your experience, your relevant skills. Some companies are actually even going as far as trying to blind resumes, even excluding someone's name or perhaps even their address, just as a way to make sure they're being as inclusive as possible. I think some of these design flourishes are going to get lost in these kind of systems.

[J.R. Whalen]

Well, that was a big topic in your story. Also is the idea of bias. There are companies that only want recruiters to see someone's qualifications just on the merits of what their job is and not be skewed by any flashy objects that are there in the resume.

[Chip Cutter]

That's right. One of the companies I spoke with, it's a marketing software firm called HubSpot. They're based in Massachusetts. And the head of HR there told me that she just wants to remove as much bias from the process as possible. So she does not want her recruiters to have a photo of someone in the early stages. Now, of course, it's pretty easy to find someone's photo if you go to LinkedIn or look at social media. But she says when they're at that process where they're just sifting through resumes, trying to get a sense for who might progress in the process, she doesn't want this identifying information there.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right. That's Wall Street Journal reporter Chip Cutter here in our studio. Chip, thanks for coming on the show.

[Chip Cutter]

Thanks for having me.

[J.R. Whalen]

And that's your money briefing. I'm JR Whalen in New York for the Wall Street Journal.

[Small Business Owner]

Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.

[Retail Industry Representative]

Inflation is killing me, but who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill.

[Small Business Owner]

See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources

[Retail Industry Representative]

they need while increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they?

[Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson]

Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.