Some people take pride is perusing a resume quickly. But, it's not race. It's a journey. By speed-reading resumes, you’re doing your team, and your candidates a disservice. Instead, keep these 6 tips in mind for effective, and time-efficient resume review that will give your small business a competitive edge.
1. Don’t be fooled by the brand names on a resume.Sometimes great brands hire bad talent. If you don’t see accomplishments, let someone else hire him. If a sales guy doesn't mention performance, take a pass. If a project manager can’t speak to being billable, on time or budget - take a pass. If she's a marketer who isn't a zealot for ROI, stay away. You need steak, not sizzle.
2. The job record is the track record.Short tenures are becoming more common. While they’re not necessarily indicative of a problem, you must understand the reason for short stints. Did a great opportunity come knocking, or are you looking at a problem that's based on personality, or competency?
If an executive tells you his company went out of business 6 months after his arrival, you must question his judgement. If an unemployed applicant tells you she resigned because the job wasn't what she expected, don’t buy it. Would you quit before you had another job? What does that decision say about a person’s character and savvy?
3. Who has he played for in the past?Some people thrive in big companies, some don’t. To understand if a candidate will thrive in your environment look at both who the employer is and how long he or she stayed there. If you see a pattern of long tenures with big companies and short tenures at small companies, it’s a pretty good indication they thrive in big places.
4. Some of the best people have weird resumes.Have you ever seen a resume that expresses a sense of humour or commentary? These people don't have a vanilla resume because they don't aspire to be a cog in the machine. Take advantage of these odd-balls, they often have diverse skillsets that will complement your small team. Never forget, the best performers in a given field usually have mediocre resumes. They don’t need a resume because they don’t look for work. It finds them.
5. Seek out the re-inventors.These are the people who studied music and then started programming. Or maybe, it’s the construction foreman who's managing large-scale implementations. There are linear careers where you can see exactly how and why they got hired, usually for their domain expertise. This is getting hired for the past. But, there's a caliber of people who get hired for their potential. If you're operating in a dynamic market, seek out people who can re-invent and morph themselves
6. It’s all relative.Next time you get a resume via email, go straight to LinkedIn. Who do you know in common? What do you think of these people? If your candidate has thousands of connections, why hasn't someone else hired him or her? What do those connections know that you don't? Don't put too much faith in the recommendations and endorsements. All too often, these are acts of mutual self-promotion.