  Technologies play an important role in the hiring process for software
professionals. Within this process, several studies revealed misconceptions and
bad practices which lead to suboptimal recruitment experiences. In the same
context, grey literature anecdotally coined the term R\'esum\'e-Driven
Development (RDD), a phenomenon describing the overemphasis of trending
technologies in both job offerings and resumes as an interaction between
employers and applicants. While RDD has been sporadically mentioned in books
and online discussions, there are so far no scientific studies on the topic,
despite its potential negative consequences. We therefore empirically
investigated this phenomenon by surveying 591 software professionals in both
hiring (130) and technical (558) roles and identified RDD facets in substantial
parts of our sample: 60% of our hiring professionals agreed that trends
influence their job offerings, while 82% of our software professionals believed
that using trending technologies in their daily work makes them more attractive
for prospective employers. Grounded in the survey results, we conceptualize a
theory to frame and explain R\'esum\'e-Driven Development. Finally, we discuss
influencing factors and consequences and propose a definition of the term. Our
contribution provides a foundation for future research and raises awareness for
a potentially systemic trend that may broadly affect the software industry.

Software Engineering;Computers and Society