I saw this gem of advice: ask for a candidate to explain his/her most significant accomplishment when sending a resume. (Found on Recruiting.com.) This is a great screening device (better than technical tests, in my opinion). Candidates, this means you need to be thinking about your significant accomplishments (work-related please, unless you can make a […]
While perusing some of the Joel on Software discussions, I saw the pointer to “Mini-me” syndrome…a major hiring risk for companies. Heather discusses her concerns: Recruiting from certain schools can prevent you from hiring the best — because that recruiting limits your intake of candidates. It tightens your screen before you’ve even gotten to resume
Dave Smith said, One thing I see little of in resumes, but which pops out in a positive way when I do see is, is acknowledgment of past failure, with evidence that the candidate learned something from it, or at least walked away with motivation to improve. .I’ve been thinking about what to suggest. I
A colleague asked today “What keywords should I look for on a resume?” I wish there was a list and you could just scan resumes looking for keywords. (Yes, there are software packages that do that. I’m not talking about tools and technology keywords. Don’t get me started on ruling out people because they’re missing
Some hiring managers use certifications to filter resumes. I specifically caution against that practice in the book. I’m not a fan of certifications. Michael Schrage’s column Hiding Behind Certification is another article about why certifications are not a good predictor of job success. Here are two quotes I particularly liked: “The truth — as we
David, a reader, recently asked for tips about reviewing resumes. Here they are: Read the resume from the top to the bottom. Don’t start somewhere else. Candidates try to grab you with the cover letter or resume. Let them. If there’s an objective, read it. But don’t believe it. Seriously, how many objectives say, “challenging
In some ways, I’m a Luddite. I don’t feel as if I can evaluate a candidate without a paper resume. So imagine my surprise when Keith told me about this video resume website.I have these problems with video resumes: It’s slow. I can read a resume much faster than I can watch a video. We
Take a look at Adam Kalsey’s post on Writing Realistic Job Descriptions. I particularly like this part: “Give people half a chance and they will pre-qualify themselves for a job. No one wants to take the time to send resumes and cover letters and never get a response. If you want to receive quality resumes
If you’re a hiring manager, you’re probably faced with a gazillion resumes. You’ve taken the first step and screened the resumes (more on that in a future tip). Now you’re thinking about bringing candidates in for an interview.Stop. Don’t just bring people in for an interview. Phone screen candidates first. Ask questions to verify the