The resume is often the defacto piece of evidence required by most employers when sorting through potential candidates for a job. It’s also probably the least effective measure of success for a new recruit. Blame it on human nature’s tendency to exaggerate their work history, or the inability of a piece of paper to truly reveal anything significant about the candidate. Whatever the reason, there are certain things you just can’t learn from a resume by itself. Follow a five-step process for recruiting and hiring your candidates, and you can reduce a lot of the headache associated with a poor hire. When you consider the typical cost of hiring an employee can expend a lot of company resources, it’s important to make the right choice the first time.
What the Resume Means
The resume is an indicator of whether or not an applicant can clearly organize their work history and accomplishments on a two to three page document. No candidate should be allowed to advance who has grammatical errors, inconsistent information or a sloppy construction on their resume. Think of it this way, if the candidate can’t put in the time to properly construct a resume, then you can’t trust them to perform at a high-level at work.
The Waiting Game
After you’ve tossed at least half of your potential candidates based solely on the cleanliness of their resume, it’s time to wait. You’re going to wait to see who gives you a call or sends you an email about the job. The people who take the effort to send a follow-up email a week later are the people you want to interview. Everyone else can be dismissed as not serious enough about the job to warrant further review. It’s a tough game to play, but you don’t need employees who aren’t able to think on their own and pursue what they want.
Go Beyond the Resume
By now, you should only have a few resumes left in your pile. The only people you should be considering are the ones who have submitted clear resumes and have shown a real desire for the job. Set up a phone interview with your candidates. Make sure you schedule the interview, so that you have a chance to see how they are able to perform on a timeline. Ask them questions about the details on their resume, and get a feel for how the person communicates. Ask casual questions in the initial phone interview, and save the more serious questions for when they come in to the office for a second interview. The goal is to get a feel for what the candidate values and how they respond to casual conversation.
References Aren’t Always Enough
Your candidate has provided you with two to three references who they have carefully selected. Make sure when you contact the references, you ask for one additional person that you can contact to get further information. By doing this, you can get a more accurate picture of the candidate. Just make sure it’s legal in your area to ask a reference for additional references. If it isn’t, feel free to ask the candidate in the interview for one additional reference you can call upon.
Use Technology and Review Your Final Candidates
Now that you’ve gone through all of the stages of hiring and evaluating a candidate, it’s time to check your HRIS to make sure you haven’t missed anything during the interviews. Narrow your list down to three candidates using the past information you have gathered, and ask one other member of your team to do a final independent interview to help you make the final decision.
Hiring a new recruit is something that is time-consuming and expensive. By making use of an effective Human Resource Information System, and carefully checking all of the details of your candidates, you can better ensure that you’re making the right choice. When you finally offer a position, don’t offer a full-time position if you have any doubts. Make it clear that the position is probationary, and a full position will only be granted after the employee has had time to adjust to the job and show your company how well they perform.
