Any small business owner who has tried to find employees to fill open positions can tell you how difficult it is to find good employees. Despite all the talk about high unemployment and difficulty people are having to find jobs it is also true that there are number of vacancies small businesses have that are going unfilled because they cannot find qualified employees. This situation will only get worse as economy improves and more and more people start finding jobs.
Even in normal times, it is time consuming and expensive to go through hiring process. It is always advisable to do whatever it takes to keep good employees currently working for you. However, if you do have to go through hiring process there are things you can do to make the process go faster without spending a fortune and find good employees in the process.
Screening resumes to narrow the list of candidates is one of the most important steps in the hiring process. When you get hundreds of resumes for one position it can get overwhelming to find a “needle in a haystack.” Some of the guidelines described below can help you narrow the pool in an efficient manner.
Rate the person not the paper
This probably was more applicable when job applicants used to send paper resumes. They used to pay extra attention to the quality of the paper as well as typeset and fonts. While you do not want to hire someone who sends his resumes in crumbled paper you should focus more on qualities of the candidate as opposed to quality of the paper. This is applicable even in current times when job applicants are more likely to send electronic version of their resumes.
Focus on personal qualities
After you have narrowed the pool of candidates it is beneficial to focus on qualities the person has rather than the skills required to perform the job. After all, you can always teach new skills to someone who is willing to learn, but you cannot change personal qualities such as teamwork even if the person has the skills required to do the job.
You should also consider the job person is applying for when evaluating resumes. If you are hiring for a personal assistant position proper grammar and organization is more important, however you do not need to focus on these skills when hiring for an auto mechanic position. In the same fashion you should identify qualities required to perform the job and look for those qualities in the resume.
Look for how not what
Every job candidate will try to showcase the qualities they possess and their accomplishments. While you should look at these sections in the resume you should also look for signs and specific examples that bring out these qualities. If the person says he has good leadership skills see if he has done anything that proves this. Was he a class president in the school or did he rise to be a team leader at his previous employment?
In general, you want to look for professional resumes highlighting their skills that are backed up by specific examples. If they took the time to use cv writing services at Employment Tiger or any other professional resume agency that is a good indication that they are serious about the position you are trying fill.
Related posts:
