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| Hiring, Terminations and Retention |
| What To Look For In a Resume: Avoid hiring errors |
Elsa remembers looking at the resume. It was beautifully written and eye appealing. It was printed on quality bond paper, and included a detailed list of job experience that suggested that the applicant was the perfect candidate for the job. It was only after the applicant was hired that Elsa realized that the resume was really just an artful cover-up for a poorly qualified candidate with a history of job-hopping.
Any of us who have ever reviewed resumes know that people with the best-looking resumes can sometimes have the poorest skills. That’s because “resumes are part fact and part creative writing.”1
How do you avoid hiring errors when you have such sketchy details to go on, and former employers are so tight-lipped about passing on accurate information for fear of inviting a lawsuit? Here are a few tips:
- Look for clear, articulate writing as an indication of an applicant’s ability to think clearly and be precise.
- Watch out for overuse of adjectives. Candidates with legitimate abilities usually resist the urge to dazzle an employer with fancy language.
- Clichés like “team player,” and “results-oriented” can be red flags. Look for candidates who can give you much more specific examples about their abilities.
- Look for a progression of responsibility in the applicant’s career.
- Be wary if you notice lapses in time between jobs, or indications that the candidate “went backwards” in career growth. You should also ask lots of questions about jumps between unrelated industries.
- Consider a temp-to-permanent arrangement that will allow you to get a real feel for a candidate’s abilities. This is far less costly than making a hiring error.
1Source: Allen, Becky. “A Resume Gets the Candidate to your Door, But You Have to Open It.” Associated Financial Group.com. September, October 2001. 21 March 2005. http://www.associatedfinancialgroup.com/cfgupdate/2001/sepoct/resume.asp
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