Hiring People_ Recruit and Keep the Brightest Stars - Kathy Shwiff [14]
Many employers find that using a recruiter is well worth the money, especially when they are trying to fill a job that requires highly specialized training or experience. Headhunters have more freedom to solicit employees who work for your competitors than you would. Also, because recruiters bring a different perspective to the hiring process, they can encourage you to consider candidates you might miss or rule out. Many have an in-depth knowledge of the technical qualifications of positions in one or more specialty fields. And although the agency does most of the work, the final hiring decision remains with you.
The Association of Executive Search Consultants, a professional association of retained executive search firms, has created a Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Guidelines. You can find the code, as well as a list of its members at www.aesc.org. The Directory of Executive Recruiters lists retainer and contingency firms by geographical location and business areas. You can also seek agency referrals from your local chamber of commerce, business associates, or networking groups. Ask for two to three references from companies and two to three from candidates they have placed and then check them out.
SCREENING AND EVALUATING RESUMES
When you advertise a job opening, you will most likely be flooded with resumes or job applications. To efficiently screen and assess candidates’ skills—and to prevent stars from getting lost in a mountain of submissions—you must establish a process for evaluating resumes.
Evaluating Resumes and Job Applications
Resumes remain an essential tool for employers in screening job candidates, determining if the candidate is a good fit for the position, and deciding whether or not to go on to the next step, an interview.
Although resumes tell you only what the candidate wants you to know, they still reveal a great deal. What is the overall look of the resume? Sophisticated? Sloppy? The visual presentation is important. A resume for someone looking for a job as an art director should be creative, with an interesting choice of typography that would be inappropriate for, say, a young lawyer’s resume. Organization is key, in that it tends to predict how the candidate would prepare written material to present to customers or clients. In fact, some say that the structure of the resume—or lack thereof—reveals the working of the candidate’s mind.
When evaluating resumes, look for stability by assessing how long the candidate has stayed at each job. Traditionally, stability is defined as at least three or four years in the same job, although corporate mergers and economic trends such as outsourcing have cost many people their jobs and resulted in shorter tenures in each job. A series of lateral career moves could mean that the applicant has been willing to take on new responsibilities even without an increase in pay or status.
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Red Flags
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RESUME RED FLAGS
When dozens or even hundreds of resumes are piled on your desk, you need a way to narrow down your search. Here are a few things to watch for when weeding out candidates:
Typos
Misspelled words
Grammatical mistakes and poor punctuation
Outdated information
A non-chronological organization or lack of dates, which could be an attempt to disguise either a history of job hopping or a long period of unemployment
Use of vague titles or descriptions such as consultant, without specifying tasks or jobs performed related to that position
Irrelevant personal information or photographs
A job history that indicates a lack of progress and promotions
Frequent job changes
Responsibilities listed that seem too important for the job title
A grandiose job title for a junior employee
Missing standard information that you would expect to find, such as a degree or educational history
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Progress and promotions in previous jobs is often a good sign. Look for statements of results—such as “introduced new processes that