Dear Todd,
Are you overwhelmed with unqualified candidates? HR professionals
recently reported that resume overload is their number one hiring
challenge. In this 60 Second Solution, you'll find out how you can
cut through the clutter--and reduce your headaches!
Wishing you the happiest New Year, from all of your friends
at Haley Marketing Group*.
Best Regards,
Victoria Kenward
Haley Marketing Group* |
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This Month's Solution:
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 The Challenge:
Too many resumes, and too few hours in the day!
The 60 Second Solution:
Cut through the clutter to find star
employees faster!
The good news is, you're hiring. The bad news is, you've received
over 200 resumes for the three positions you have available.
It's enough to make any hiring manager feel a little overwhelmed.
So how do you find that proverbial "needle in a haystack?"
Here are some quick tips for cutting through resume clutter:
Plan: Do your homework.
- For each available position, develop an effective job description
which details the qualifications, skills, personality traits,
and experience of the ideal candidate.
- Make sure you know which criteria are absolutely required versus
those that are merely desirable.
- Determine the salary range by using a market pay study or
other appropriate salary research materials.
- Set aside a block of time for your work. You'll accomplish
much more in one 60-minute block than you would in four
15-minute periods.
Process: Start with a hatchet; finish with a scalpel.
- Grab your hatchet. If you have it, now is the time to use
your company's resume parsing software. Use keywords to
generate resumes that meet the minimum requirements.
- Create three piles (or electronic folders), based on
easy-to-find, essential qualifications or keywords
(e.g., college degree, related experience, etc.):
"Reject," "Maybe," and "Potential Candidate."
- Reject resumes with careless errors.
- Set aside resumes of those candidates who are obviously
way overqualified, if they may be right for another position
within your company.
- Weed-out electronic resume spammers. Tip: The unqualified
applicants usually fail to write cover letters.
- For the remaining group, scan the customized cover letters
and resumes. Look for correct spelling and grammar, attention
to detail, and a flawless presentation.
- Now it's time for the scalpel. Review each potential
candidate's description of what he says he's looking for in
a job, as well as the summary statement of qualifications
and experience. Select those resumes that have customized
information and contain the most important keywords relevant
to the position.
- Review most recent employers and stated experience,
accomplishments, and contributions. Eliminate those
candidates with red flags that are unexplained:
- Employment gaps
- Decreasing responsibility, or evidence of a career that
has reached a plateau
- Serial short-term employment
- Multiple shifts in career path
- Review your potential candidates against your criteria and
one another.
- Telephone screen the top four or five candidates and schedule
interviews with those who pass your initial screen.
Save Time, Money, and Headaches: Put Your Staffing Firm to Work
Obviously, finding deal candidates is a lot of work – especially
when you're inundated with resumes. A staffing firm can make the
process more efficient and less stressful, by carrying out the
most time--and labor-intensive activities such as:
- Screening large numbers of potential candidates
- Conducting telephone screens and initial interviews
- Administering skills assessments
- Performing background and reference checks, as well as drug screens
Because we specialize in screening, interviewing, and hiring,
Haley Marketing Group* can leverage economies of scale and
cost-effectively present you with only the most qualified
candidates. To make things even easier, we can offer these
services a la carte, or on an hourly basis. You can hand-off
whatever screening activities you choose, while keeping control
of the rest--and save time, money, and countless headaches in the process.
Looking to avoid the headache of sorting through all those
unqualified candidates? We can help!
Call Haley Marketing Group* today at 888.696.2900. We would be
happy to help you find your next superstar employee! |
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