The Hiring Process: Jennifer McClure on How to Read Resumes

Posted on Tue, Jul 10, 2012

The days of hanging a Help Wanted sign in the store window are disappearing. Job seekers and employers are turning to more modern methods, from LinkedIn to social networks, to find each other. But whatever your hiring scenario, you probably still request resumes from serious applicants. Once those resumes start flooding your in-box, how do you sift through the pile?

Although most small-business owners may know exactly what they’re looking for in a candidate, there’s a tried-and-true art to reading resumes that can’t be replaced by newer science, such as keyword screening, says Jennifer McClure, president of Unbridled Talent, a consulting firm that specializes in HR and recruiting.

So, what’s the best way to read a resume in 2012? The Intuit Small Business Blog asked McClure to provide a few pointers.

ISBB: How has the practice of reading a resume changed in recent years?

McClure: While the science of resume review has certainly evolved in recent years — electronic submission and review, keyword screening tools, resume parsers, etc. — in my opinion, the art has remained relatively unchanged. Recruiters who find the best talent are those who read between the lines to identify accomplishments and results as well as potential, versus inexperienced or poor recruiters who match keywords, random experience requirements, and unrelated competencies. Strong recruiters also realize that job seekers aren’t professional resume writers and can look past small imperfections that aren’t relevant to future success.

What’s the first thing a small-business owner should read when reviewing a resume? Second? Third?

When reviewing resumes, I’m always drawn to the objective statement or professional summary first. Ideally, applicants should make sure that the information at the top of their resume is targeted (who they are, what type of role they’re seeking, and why they’re a great fit for that role) and succinct, no more than one to three brief sentences. A well-written, targeted objective can start the resume review process off on a “this is a potential candidate” note. A generic or poorly written one, such as “team player looking for a company where I can apply my skills to help them grow,” opens the door to the No pile.

Second, I look at the most recent job title and employer to see if the person has held a similar role or is on track for the position I’m trying to fill. For example, if I’m looking for a CFO, I’m thinking “possibility” if I see titles like CFO, VP of Finance, or Director of Finance. But if I see Accounts Payable Clerk or Cost Accounting Manager first, then I would assume the person is not a fit — and even more so if the most recent position is not even in the fields of accounting or finance.

Third, my eye is drawn to numbers on a resume. I’m looking for accomplishments and how a person has created positive change or impacted results in their previous roles. Bullet points that include dollar signs, percentages, and the like are ideal. What doesn’t catch attention? Listing job duties and phrases such as “responsible for,” “participated in,” “managed,” and so on.

What are the biggest warning signs I should watch out for?

Resumes that include gaps in employment, especially long ones, are typically suspect. The mind starts to ask natural questions about what happened. Why did the person leave their last job? Why were they unsuccessful at obtaining another job prior to leaving that position or in a reasonable time frame thereafter? Life situations and depressed economic conditions may have resulted in some legitimate gaps in employment. However, it’s incumbent upon the applicant to answer the obvious questions up front and fill in the gaps on the resume.

How can employers who are short on time and staring at a giant stack of resumes get through the pile efficiently?

I’d never recommend speed-screening resumes. Hiring decisions are too important and potentially long-term. It just doesn’t make sense to cut corners during this process. That being said, to use time more efficiently during the resume screening process, I recommend reviewing all of the resumes submitted in one sitting, if possible, and, based upon initial impressions, tagging them or placing them in three categories: Interview, Possible, and No. This can be a quick way to identify the resumes that warrant a more in-depth review, although you may miss an undiscovered gem or two by cutting corners.

 

by Kevin Casey

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Tags: Recruiting, Resumes, talent, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Hiring

Asking For Facebook Passwords Is Risky

Posted on Wed, Mar 28, 2012

News of job interviewers demanding Facebook passwords from applicants caused a media storm. Top news outlets published numerous reports about job applicants being asked to give their Facebook passwords to hiring managers during job interviews so the potential employer could inspect personal profiles on the applicants’ Facebook pages.

California employers should think twice about engaging in this practice during the recruiting and hiring process.

As discussed in HR Allen’s social media white paper (sign in required), peeking at an applicant’s Facebook page could reveal information to the person conducting the interview that the person is prohibited from asking about, such as religious affiliation or sexual orientation.  

What if the employer learns from the Facebook page that the applicant is pregnant? The employer now opens itself up to a discrimination lawsuit if the employer does not hire the applicant. The applicant may argue that the reason she was not hired was because the employer learned she was pregnant from her Facebook profile and discriminated against her. Further, an individual’s privacy rights under the California Constitutions may be violated.

Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan issued a statement warning that Facebook may take action against employers who demand passwords. “We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers, or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action … ,” Egan said, citing concerns that the demands violate Facebook’s terms of service. 

Two U.S. Senators asked the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the practice of demanding passwords violates federal laws. See the full letter

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Tags: Ask for Facebook password, Employee privacy, Employer Facebook password requests, Log into Facebook, Recruiting, Requiring applicants, Social media and recruiting, Social media recruiting, HR Allen Consulting Services, Hiring, HRCalifornia

Why It’s Bad Idea to Check a Job Applicant’s Facebook Profile

Posted on Tue, Mar 06, 2012

The online era arms small-business owners with myriad tools and information for finding and hiring employees. It can be tempting to scope out a potential employee’s social profiles, too. Yet using social media to dig up dirt on an applicant can lead to hiring mistakes and even legal trouble.

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Tags: Recruiting, LinkedIn, HR Allen Consulting Services, Hiring, facebook

5 Tips for Recruiting Big Talent in a Small Town

Posted on Mon, Feb 20, 2012

When you’re a big fish in a small pond, recruiting the right people to fill senior-level positions can be a problem. After all, the smaller the town, the smaller the talent pool is to draw from.

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Tags: Recruiting, small town, staffing, Hiring

Should You Use a Recruiter to Hire Employees?

Posted on Mon, Nov 21, 2011

You’re looking for that key staff member who can take your business to the next level. You’ve tried the mega job boards, but the candidates who’ve applied aren’t remotely qualified for the position — and you’re tired of weeding through your inbox. Should you turn to an employment agency? Maybe. Consider these factors before you do.

  • Industry-specific recruiters know where to find qualified candidates. Experienced headhunters working within a particular industry generally understand its key players and where to promote open positions. Often, they contact employees of competing firms to see whether they’re interested in a job, which is probably not a tactic you’d dare to try on your own.
  • Anyone can call himself a recruiter. Unlike for lawyers and real estate agents, there are no licensing requirements for recruiters. When considering using a headhunter, pay close attention to his prior experience and clients. Ask for referrals to make sure that he’s made good matches in the past.
  • Recruiters are motivated to find employees fast. Because a recruiter isn’t paid until she matches a job seeker with a job, she’s eager to find you a candidate quickly. This can be a good for you if she’s careful to vet the candidate’s qualifications; however, if she rushes to fill the job for the sake of getting paid, you may not end up with the ideal person.
  • Recruiters may rule out candidates you’d like to hire. When you give recruiters a set of criteria, they tend to make sure that all potential candidates fulfill everything on your wish list. That means they’re likely to rule out any candidate that’s even slightly lacking, but whom you may have liked despite the fact that they weren’t the whole package. Make sure to clarify details such as whether you will accept relevant experience in related industries or might allow telecommuting for the right candidate.
  • Recruiter fees can drive down employee salaries, shrinking your pool of potentialemployees. Although you don’t pay anything out of pocket to use an employment agency, you’ll need to budget its fee (typically, around 20 percent of the candidate’s salary) into the amount you’re paying for the hiring package. That means that if your dream hire asks for an extra $10,000 in salary, you may not have room to negotiate — and could end up losing the candidate as a result.
  • Recruiters can save you time. By outsourcing the application review and interviewing process, you’ll free up your time to focus on more profitable business ventures. Although you’ll have the final say in hiring a candidate, all of the time-consuming work that goes into making that decision will be handled by someone else.
By: Kathryn Hawkins
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Tags: Recruiting, recruiters, employees, employee, Hiring