When my agency was asked to help hire a paralegal for a large law firm, we received an application from a candidate who looked great on paper. She had a law degree, several certifications, and a background that appeared to match our requirements perfectly. As we do with every candidate, we invited her for an interview and had her resume on hand to reference during the conversation.
As she spoke with a recruiter, discrepancies began to emerge. It started with small things, like giving dates for previous jobs that didn’t align with her resume. Then, she described working in a legal area I’m familiar with. I personally know several attorneys related to the work she claimed she did. After speaking to the recruiter and talking to her, I noticed that some details didn’t add up. With a little digging, it quickly became apparent that she had just added keywords to her resume without actually working on these types of cases.
Had we not been paying close attention to this candidate’s resume, we never would have caught her fabrications. We may have made the drastic error of hiring an untrustworthy person for a role where integrity matters a lot.
Reviewing resumes is a part of the hiring process that some managers feel is a waste of time. However, this is just one example I have of why it’s a step you absolutely shouldn’t skip or do carelessly. It pays to improve your resume reviewing skills for both speed and precision.
Being able to zero in on the best candidates–and do it quickly–will make the difference between quick and accurate hiring or slow and unreliable hiring. Whether you’re new to hiring or have been doing it for years, this guide will help you hone your resume screening abilities.
The Importance of Reviewing Resumes Accurately
A resume is just a document, and it’s impossible to get to really know a candidate on paper. Even so, it’s the best resource hiring managers have to get a concise summary of a candidate’s abilities. Until the hiring world develops a better method, resumes are still our number one screening tool.
And, consider this: a resume shows you what a candidate wants you to see. In the early stages, we can only judge what they give us, and the content a candidate provides speaks volumes about their knowledge and level of professionalism. The top applicants will have done the best job they can put together in their resumes, which is why only the best ones deserve further attention.
How Long Should You Spend Reviewing Resumes?
While screening is the hiring activity that collectively takes the most time, this doesn’t mean you should spend much time on each resume. You should be able to scan a resume and categorize it as a yes, no, or maybe in under a minute. You can always come back for a more in-depth pass over the yes and maybe piles later.
Reviewing resumes is a skill you can get better at with time. If you’re spending five or ten minutes on every resume right now, aim to limit it to one or two minutes. From there, you can get even faster until you can find the information you need in a matter of seconds.
As for how long it takes to review all of the resumes submitted for a position, that’s a different question. The answer will depend entirely on how many applications you receive, how niche the position is, and whether or not you’re using an ATS to help with some of the heavy lifting.
Steps to Review Resumes When Hiring
1. Review the job description
You’re excited and ready to dive into the stack of resumes piling up in your inbox, but there’s one thing you should do before opening a single application: review the job description. Make sure you know the primary criteria you outlined when posting the position and that the requirements are fresh in your mind. This only takes a few seconds, making a big difference in how quickly I can spot the most important qualifications. It’s an especially important step if you’re simultaneously interviewing for multiple similar roles.
2. Screen out unqualified candidates
When reviewing resumes, most hiring managers find it’s much easier to say ‘no’ than to give a definitive ‘yes.’ I agree, and so I like to start by weeding out clearly unqualified candidates.
These people fail to meet the bare minimum job requirements, such as having far too few years of experience or not holding a required credential. It also includes people who are blanket applying to dozens of jobs and don’t seem in any way suited for your position.
As you sort out the no’s, make two other piles: yes and maybe. You want to return to those two piles next for a closer look.
3. Pinpoint keywords
The words that describe the most important skills and job duties should be like a magnet for your eyes. They’re also the same words you used in the job description, so reviewing them first is helpful.
Make a list of the top five to six keywords (and their synonyms) to consider when scanning resumes. This is an easy way to quickly jump to the most relevant parts of a candidate’s resume.
Staffing your team doesn’t have to be hard.
Reach out and see how we can help.
4. Look for customization
Look for resumes tailored to the position, pulling in keywords and phrases from the job description and citing experience highly relevant to the role. This shows that a candidate has taken the time to customize their resume just for this job, which indicates both their conscientiousness and level of interest.
5. Identify career progression
A strong resume demonstrates career progression from one job or company to another. You can spot this progression by referencing the job titles and dates of employment. For example, a senior marketing candidate might have spent a year as an account associate and then three years as an account executive before becoming an account director in their most recent promotion.
Remember that career progression doesn’t always follow a clear and linear path. A strong candidate might have undergone a lateral move to a different company or backtracked a bit in seniority when changing fields. This isn’t necessarily cause for concern. I’ve seen many candidates with mysterious employment gaps or title changes that are easily explained. Maybe they went back to school or moved across the country. If everything else points in the right direction, I will usually take a few extra moments to review and to decide if it’s still worth my time to reach out.
Every case is unique. You should look to see whether their moves make sense in the overall trajectory of their career or if they seem to have moved aimlessly without any discernible path.
6. Avoid bias
If possible, use a program that blocks elements of a resume that can induce unintentional bias, like a candidate’s name or school. If you don’t have such a program, make it a habit to scan past this information and focus instead on technical qualifications.
Related: Beware of These Subconscious Hiring Biases
7. Watch out for red flags
A resume doesn’t usually deserve to be tossed over a single typo or some wonky formatting. There are other red flags, however, that should give you serious pause. Things like multiple lengthy employment gaps or several glaring spelling errors probably don’t bode well for a candidate’s level of dedication or attention to detail.
If a resume shows red flags but still reflects a strong candidate, at the very least, note the items you discovered and be sure to ask about them during the interview.
Related: The Top 9 Resume Red Flags
8. Keep an open mind
It’s impractical to give lengthy consideration to each and every resume you receive. Some need to be thrown in the reject pile immediately out of necessity to reserve the bulk of your attention for the strongest candidates.
But there are some reasons to allow for a bit of wiggle room rather than maintaining totally inflexible hiring criteria. For example, consider candidates with a nontraditional background or make an allowance for a lesser degree if a candidate has specialized experience.
Should I Use an ATS to Review Resumes?
There are pros and cons to using an applicant tracking system, or ATS, to review resumes. My team at 4 Corner Resources uses one to arrive at a shortlist of interview candidates faster, giving us more time to speak with each candidate and allowing us to consider a greater volume of applicants overall.
While convenient, using an ATS can have downsides, like the fact that some resumes are accidentally screened out because of the file type or other factors that have nothing to do with the candidate’s skills. It’s something to take into account.
Using an ATS to screen resumes is a good idea if you’re receiving several dozen applications for each open position and/or if you’re hiring for multiple positions every month. An ATS can save you time and reduce your cost-to-hire while streamlining the hiring process for both interviewers and candidates.
Related: The Pros and Cons of Applicant Tracking Systems
How 4CR Can Help Your Team Review Resumes
As I said earlier, reviewing resumes is a skill. My team at 4 Corner Resources has spent decades perfecting it, and I’d say we’ve got it as close to a science as you can get. We can help your organization fine-tune your hiring criteria, narrow down the most important qualifications, select the best keywords to focus on, and leverage technology to review resumes faster and with greater accuracy.
Investing in a more precise resume review process saves time and prevents bad hires. Set up a call with us today to take the next step toward more streamlined hiring.
