The job application process used to be stressful. You need to drive to the office to drop your resume and wait for a few weeks to get the results. These days, you can send your applications to hundreds of companies in a day right in front of your computer without leaving home.
Nowadays, several businesses have entirely automated their hiring process, making it easier for them to sift through hundreds of applications in a few minutes. However, there are times when the systems don’t filter all the qualified applicants effectively. That’s why it’s crucial to look for a couple of red flags when screening resumes. To help make things easier, you need to consider a couple of factors when filtering out resumes.
Create a candidate profile
The first thing you need to do is create a list of all the attributes you think are essential in a candidate. The Balance Careers call it a candidate profile. You need to list the key traits, skills, and experience relevant to the job. You can also put in the educational level and other crucial factors required to select the right candidates.
Having a candidate profile will make it easier for you to review the resume while giving you valuable candidate comparison criteria. It also serves as your basis during the job interview to use for screening candidates.
Using social media to review candidates
In this day and age, social media offers more than just a way to express yourself. You can use it to screen candidates, too. Before hiring a person into your company, you need to know the real person behind the resume. Fits Small Business says that 84% of companies and organizations use social media for the recruitment process.
Meanwhile, 43% of them use it to screen most of the applicants. Since businesses these days also use social media for advertising their job openings, it’s only practical for them to use it to recruit potential candidates.
Check for red flags
Candidates will do everything that it takes to make their resume stand out. You need to check any subtle red flags thoroughly to ensure that you only get the qualified applicants. Aside from using an online applicant tracking software, sifting through all the files can also help you find the best candidate. Some of these subtle tell-tale signs may even outweigh an applicant’s otherwise ideal fit for the position. A few red flags could be unexplained gaps in their employment and brief tenure from every one of their jobs.
It can also be a sloppy resume or a lack of professional details. Given all the accessible software to check a resume, there’s no reason to present a sloppy resume filled with errors. It also means that they don’t focus too much on professionally presenting themselves.
Resume screening is a crucial step in the entire recruitment process. It ensures that you only get the most qualified applicant for the job post. Although it can take a lot of your time, sifting through each resume can help you compare every applicants’ skill sets effectively.
