We’ve posted several articles on employer recruiting tips and what to look for when searching for the right candidate. Today, we’re focusing on reviewing resumes and how to spot a great candidate when reviewing multiple resumes. Indeed, it’s an art to be able to scan a resume in a quick and efficient manner to find the best candidate. Many employers have their own trick on scanning resumes. A recent study evaluated over 2100 employers who discussed some of the key factors they look for from candidates.
– Resume has been customized to their open position: 63%
– Skill sets are listed first on the resume: 41%
– A cover letter is included with the resume: 40%
– Application that is addressed to the specific hiring manager: 22%
– Resume that includes a link to a candidate’s blog, portfolio or website: 16%
It’s always interesting to see what other employers focus on when reviewing candidates. Still when you’re searching through countless resumes, the process can seem daunting. Below are some great tips for hiring managers to find the right candidates in no time.
Under 30 Seconds – What to Look For On a Resume
Most Recent Position: Without a doubt experience counts immensely when searching for the right candidate. Employers can start by scanning a candidate’s current/last position to see if they can be a good fit for a position.
Company Name: A company with significant brand recognition can carry a ton of weight with most employers and it takes a few seconds to spot those who have worked with recognizable ones. Still, when searching for a hard to find position, you may want to focus more on job skills and not have a company brand name carry so much weight. It all depends on the needs of a hiring manager.
Job Length: Job hopping can be a turn-off for some employers and also if a candidate remains stagnant in one position at the same company for too long. Most employers are looking for a candidate who’s been in their role for approximately two years. Again, if there is an issues with a candidate’s length of stay in a position and employers are desperate need to fulfill a position, they may need to dig deeper and find if there any extenuating circumstances about a candidate’s job length.
Candidate’s Accomplishments: Is there a section that highlights a candidate’s accomplishments clearly? Most employers look for statistics, years or percentages in this section. Depending on the resume, these may be highlighted up front under a summary or under a position. If you’re not finding this information in seconds, then either the candidates haven’t accomplished much or they haven’t taken the time to feature it.
Special Tip: Look for key words the feature the job skill that’s needed for the position. Depending on the resume layout, these can either be added in the job description, located in bullet points, bold font and or possibly pulled out in a highlighted section.
One Last Look
Organizations and Associations: Don’t let extracurricular activities be ignored. Employers can learn more in depth information about a candidate just by scanning a resume for this. For example, if they’re members of certain association or organizations and you’re in the same industry, you might even know some of the same people.
One Google Recruiter was quoted that the new standard for review resumes is about 6 seconds at least in the highly skilled arena of technology. Although not every company is like Google and receives millions of resumes, many employers are still challenged reviewing the resumes they do get. These resume scanning tips are truly helpful when reviewing hundreds resumes to find the right candidate. And if your one of the many businesses searching through numerous resumes and not having any luck finding the right candidate, give us a call.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Ingrid Moore
Ingrid Moore is the President and Owner of Corporate Resources of Illinois, an employment & staffing agency with over 20+years’ experience located in Schaumburg, IL. Ingrid and her team assist employers with finding the right hire for their business. For more info, follow us on our LinkedIn Company Page, or follow us Corporate Resources of Illinois‘s Google+ page.
