Many years ago, as I entered the human resources field, a very experienced and intelligent mentor offered a few words of advice regarding the hiring process. He simply said, “Hire hard and you will manage easy.” Sounds simple, right? But as we all know and have experienced, hiring can be one of the most difficult and frustrating parts of business.
Today’s labor market is one of the most competitive in history. The 21st-century workplace has taken on an entirely new look and, if you want to be successful, you must put in the time and effort needed to obtain and retain the type of employee who will help ensure the future success of your business.
While there are many important stages to the hiring process, we’re going to focus on one that I feel is the most neglected: the dreaded résumé review.
Does this sound familiar?
As you arrive at work, you begin to plan the day and remember that you have an 11 a.m. interview. “Great,” you think, “I can get a lot done between now and then and will look over the résumé a few minutes before. Or maybe I will just look it over while I ask her a few questions.” Sounds good, right? Wrong. Reviewing a candidate’s résumé a few minutes beforehand or while they are sitting in front of you is setting yourself up for failure, big time.
The evaluation and review of résumés, in my experience, is one that is vital to successful hiring. Do not shortchange this important activity. Put the time and effort into doing it right and it will pay dividends in the long run. The opposite is also true—shortchange and minimize this part of the process and guess who will be paying for it down the road?
Here are some suggestions on the proper way to evaluate and review a résumé:
Examine the overall appearance and organization of the résumé. Does it indicate good writing skills regarding spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Is it laid out in a sensible format?
As you review the résumé, does it tell you what you need to know about the candidate and their possible ability to do the job?
Do you see any obvious missing information about their work history or experience?
Carefully review past employment and note any interruptions in the time between jobs. Be sure you don’t make assumptions as to the reasons for any gaps; simply ask the candidate about the circumstances surrounding the interruptions.
Look for and address what you might consider discrepancies in things like job titles and duties, actual experience, and exaggerations in past accomplishments. Ask questions about past job duties that are not clearly described on the résumé.
Review each prior position and ask specifically why the candidate left each of them. Do not make the mistake of assuming the candidate is a “job hopper” just because they have had several jobs.
Be aware of and question any vague phrases; ask for explanations of duties versus responsibilities.
If prior work history includes the terms supervisor, manager, or leader ask the candidate to define them and explain how long they held each of these positions or titles. Don’t assume it was for the entire length of time with that employer.
Be sure to ask for and expect details when a candidate refers to numbers or dollars on their résumé, such as “I was able to increase sales by 150%” or “I met my goals each year.”
Always verify a candidate’s education and certifications. These are the areas that tend to be the most falsified and/or exaggerated by candidates.
Keep in mind that your job in hiring is to determine which candidate best meets the qualifications of the job opening. There are many components to this process and reviewing the résumé is just one of them. However, it is one that I believe is given the least amount of attention.
A key point, and one that I stress continually, is that past performance is the best indicator of future success. And a candidate’s résumé should be the first place you look to determine past success.
