Why the Resume Is Broken and What Comes Next with Jacob Schlittenhardt | Ep 72

Finding the right person for a job has never been easy. Hiring managers wade through stacks of resumes, each one a carefully curated highlight reel that reveals almost nothing about who someone actually is or how they'll perform in a role. Jacob Schlittenhardt, co-founder and CEO of Planetary Talent, is on a mission to dismantle this broken system.

During his appearance on the Killer Growth Podcast, Jacob made a straightforward but powerful argument: the resume is a fundamentally flawed tool for identifying talent. Instead of relying on formatted documents and keyword matching, he believes hiring is ultimately a storytelling problem. When you understand someone's real story-their journey, motivations, and how they think-you can make far better hiring decisions than any resume will ever allow.

Jacob's own approach to building Planetary Talent reflects this philosophy. Rather than running a traditional sales process, he networked by meeting with people, listening to their stories, and making genuine connections. During one memorable meeting with Samuel McVay, Jacob shared space-themed analogies about talent, then made a straightforward ask: "Do you know anyone I should meet with?" It was networking stripped down to its essence-authentic conversation with an embedded purpose. Samuel appreciated the approach because it didn't feel like a sales gimmick. It felt like genuine relationship-building, which, ironically, is exactly what sales should be.

This philosophy has broader implications for how businesses of all sizes approach talent and growth. Whether you're a local service business struggling to find reliable team members or a fast-growing company trying to scale, the problem remains the same: how do you identify people who will actually succeed? For many businesses, especially those focused on digital marketing, local SEO, and growing online presence, the right team is everything. You need people who understand your market, share your vision, and can execute with precision.

Jacob's insight-that storytelling and genuine human connection matter more than credentials on paper-applies far beyond hiring. It's the same principle that drives effective content marketing and online branding. When you tell your business story authentically, when you focus on real results rather than surface-level metrics, you attract the right customers, partners, and team members.

One piece of advice Jacob shared came from an early mentor: "Just say yes." When someone asks if you can do something, say yes. Then figure out how. It's a mindset that has propelled Jacob's career and shaped how he approaches building Planetary Talent. That willingness to commit first and learn second is what separates founders from employees, and innovators from people waiting for permission.

The conversation with Jacob touches on something deeper than hiring-it's about how to build a company culture where storytelling, authenticity, and human connection are the foundation. In a world of automated recruiting platforms and algorithmic matching, Planetary Talent is betting that the future belongs to those who understand that talent is personal, contextual, and fundamentally about narrative.