Regardless of
where you find candidates, it is important to be aware of the power behind a Resume
or these days, the candidates’ Digital Identity.
How can you best
utilize the digital identity and or resume to your advantage?
In the early days of Conscious Hiring we had a Resume Red Flag check list. While many elements of that check list still
matter, the way we interpret those elements needed to shift to reflect the new
world we are living in.
It starts with
creating a match checklist before you begin screening resumes. Help yourself
out by proactively detailing out “what right looks like” so by the time you
have your short list it contains candidates with the right stuff.
Top Line Resume Quick Screening
I teach my new
recruiters to Screen candidates resumes or digital profiles for 8 elements:
Work History: Geography,
Aesthetics, Continuity “Theme”. Past Jobs, Core Functions, Skills,
Accomplishments and Education.
The initial
screen is a once over quick screen, and for the experienced eye takes about
45-60 seconds to review. Those resumes or digital identities need to be
categorized into pile 1 & 2. The 1’s
get a more thorough evaluation and the 2’s only get attention if there are not
enough 1’s.
Profiles that do
not make the 1 or 2 pile are not worth spending any time with because they are
littered with typos, have no real information on them, the work history has no
logical progression to it, is or they are so unqualified that it would take an
act of transformation and embellishment to turn them into something appropriate
for the role.
Work History-Dive Resume
Evaluation and Scoring
Whether you are
reviewing a Digital Identity profile like Follr.com or Linked in or you are
reviewing the good old-fashioned resume; it is important to discern a match
score for what the candidate has done and how it compares what you need them to
do.
How long has the
candidate actually been doing a job where they use comparable skills and
competencies required in your job?
Is exact
experience really required or can you train a person who has similar skills
and competencies in another environment?
Breaking it down
further I have the recruiter look at each element of the digital profile /
resume for specific evaluation in each element:
Past Employment (job title,
type of work) – 30 points
Core functions – 20 points
Skills – 20 points
Accomplishments – 20 points
Education – 10 points
Total Possible Work History Score = 100
Once you are
clear what you need and what you want then you can allocate a scoring methodology
that makes sense.
Red flags
As part of your
scoring formula it is important to highlight areas for further questions, if and
when the candidate makes it to phone screen.
Long periods of unemployment
between jobs
Changing careers on an annual
basis for multiple years in a row
Multiple full time employers in
multiple disciplines every year, contracting or free agent is one thing; jumping
in and out of roles multiple times per year however reduce a person’s ability
to become proficient at anything.
The checklist also
needs to include a good amount of detail so that anyone doing the screening
located internally or externally (whether it be San Jose, Salt Lake City or
Bangalore) can screen and score resumes.