We all know the secret: the resume was never a perfect tool, but now it’s becoming a liability. From candidates using AI to "game" the ATS to the struggle of identifying true potential in a sea of rear-facing data, the "Builder" community in HR is facing a systemic crisis.

In this episode of The Missing Manual, Julia Levy and Jenny Cotie Kangas (JCK) sit down for a candid "bits and bytes" session on the state of Talent Acquisition. We aren't just asking if the resume is dead—we’re asking if our current infrastructure is capable of evolving fast enough to keep up with the humans we’re trying to hire.

• The AI Arms Race: How generative AI has turned resume screening into a battle of bots, and why this "optimization" is actually erasing human signal.
• The Infrastructure Trap: Why we are still "baked into" 1990s document-based systems and the immense difficulty of a "rip and replace" strategy.
• Rear-Facing Data vs. Skills Adjacency: A look at why current systems fail to identify "builders" and how to pivot toward a potential-based hiring model.
• The Portfolio as a Solution: Can we move toward a "brochure" style profile that provides the legal justification TA needs while offering the depth leaders crave?

Built for the builders. This isn't a "how-to" for job seekers—it’s a deep dive for the people in the trenches of HR and Corporate functions who are ready to reimagine how we connect talent to toil.

[00:00] The Hook: Is the resume dead or just outdated? Julia and JCK kick off the "Bits and Bytes" session.

[01:54] Systemic Bottlenecks: Why TA systems are "baked into" the resume at the core level and the high cost of a "rip and replace" strategy.

[02:40] The AI Arms Race: How conversational AI is shifting the way we collect candidate data and the potential for a "resume-less" application process.

[03:38] The Signal vs. Noise Crisis: Why AI-optimized resumes are making it harder for HR to find the actual human "builder."

[04:12] The Legal Reality: The "Hot Take" on why resumes aren't going away—the necessity of legal justification and data points in large-scale hiring.

[05:40] Brochure vs. Blueprint: Rethinking LinkedIn. Why it should be a conversation starter, not a carbon copy of a CV. [06:30] The Problem with Rear-Facing Data: Why the current infrastructure fails to identify potential and "skills adjacencies" in seasoned leaders.

[07:44] Predicting the Shift: The rise of upfront assessments and the technology sitting on top of the ATS to reduce the noise.

[08:38] The Verdict: Our "Hot Take" on the future of the resume and the ever-evolving human.