For those who aren’t already staffing veterans, sorting through resumes can often be the most difficult and time-consuming part of the hiring process. Reading through hundreds of pages of strangers’ experience and accomplishments, whether it takes 10 minutes or six days, can lead to the same lackluster results for inexperienced eyes.
Being able to efficiently read a resume will save you from a thousand headaches. The hours of reading can quickly become minutes and you’ll improve your ratio of meetings with qualified candidates.
Found yourself at the bottom of a resume pile? Assuming their qualifications are right, these are some traits of an interview-worthy candidate.
Clear and Organized
Resumes aren’t incredibly complicated. Name, information, experience, education, maybe a few professional achievements. Some fields encourage creativity in presentation, but if you can’t understand the flow or content itself that’s an incredibly large red flag.
Being able to send a message as briefly as possible is key to communication in most fields. Applicants may list it as a skill of theirs, but the earliest and best test for it is already in your hands.
Outside Experience
People shouldn’t eat, sleep and breath their career. While that may mean they’re enthusiastic, it doesn’t always speak much for their skills.
Whether directly stated or implied through their experience, knowledge of other industries and many hobbies entail skills far beyond just what’s required for the job. For example, someone coming from a shipping warehouse may seem like an odd fit for your retail store, but the earlier job has an inherent need for expert tracking of large quantity merchandise. Do their interests say they’re fond of songwriting? That creativity will find a home in your ad agency.
Sticks to the Facts
What sounds more appealing?
Customer Service Associate (2015-2018)
- Noted for being a people person
Or
Customer Service Associate (2015-2018)
- Increased customer satisfaction by 80%
Candidates who are coming up empty-handed on reasons why you should hire them to tend to stick to the earlier, while those with strong skills in the field show that with hard facts. If you’re reading the highlights of someone’s career and thinking “well, duh, that’s necessary for the job,” then they may not be such an impactful addition to your team.
