Hiring -- Reviewing Resumes

Screening resumes is often time-consuming process.  Estimates of the time that employers spend reviewing resumes vary from 5 to 30 seconds each.  Can you make a decision to reject a candidate or to learn more about him/her in just a matter of seconds?

Begin by looking at the overall appearance of the resume.  Is it easy to read?  Does it include grammatical or spelling errors?  Is it difficult to understand?  Immediately screen the resume for required skills, and eliminate those that do not include what is essential. Compare previous work experience with your position job requirements.  Do similar job titles or responsibilities exist? Check for action verbs that are comparable to those in your position description.

If you are still looking at the same resume, direct your attention to the detail.  Typically, the more detail that is provided about previous jobs, especially the more recent ones, the more reliable the information is.  Resumes that contain detailed information about previous work as well as achievements typically reveal a higher-quality candidate.
 
Some Resume Red Flags  

• Typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors  
• Non-relevant experience  
• Vague job descriptions  
• Gaps in employment  
• Inconsistent information  
• No description of results or accomplishments  
• No job advancement  
• Too much personal information

After you have taken the time to properly screen your resumes, you should have narrowed down your search to those candidates about whom you'd like to learn more.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/