It seems as though the recruiting industry has
become challenged by resumes. On the far right
there are the extreme conservatives, who still
hold on to the traditional values of a
professionally printed resume on fine linen
paper—kept to one page, of course. On the far
left there are the radicals, who believe in
banning resumes completely. They believe that a
very brief capabilities profile will suffice as
an introductory step in the process. There is
neither a right or wrong viewpoint as long as
the end result is achieved: the best candidates
are hired, in the shortest amount of time, at
the least cost.
I myself take the more centrist viewpoint on
resumes. To me a resume is a tool that helps
take me to the next step in finding the right
candidate, in the shortest amount of time, at
the least cost. As a person who often uses a
butter knife as a screwdriver and athletic socks
as winter jogging gloves, I try to make best use
of the materials I have available. I do the same
for resumes.
Here are a few tips on how I use a resume as
a tool:
- Recognize that most people do not
know how to write a good resume. The
first thing I force myself to keep in mind
is that most people do not know how to write
a good resume. Even Ph.Ds in English
Composition have trouble appropriately
communicating on a piece of paper called a
resume, their entry ticket to the next step
in their careers. Keeping this in mind, I do
not immediately reject a candidate on the
first review of the resume if there appears
to be some value in their experiences.
Instead, I make an effort to build a total
picture of the person, read between the
lines, and then determine if they may be
worth exploring further through a phone
conversation. Additionally, if I only
receive a brief profile or capabilities
summary of a candidate, I use it the same
way I would a detailed resume, and do not
reject a potential star because I was not
presented with a formal resume. Star
candidates are not typically in the job
market and as a result do not have updated
resumes. Most equate writing a resume with
having a root canal, so if I demanded a
perfectly written, updated resume, I would
never be able to hire these star candidates.
- Utilize information as a resource to
finding other candidates. In the event
that I determine that a candidate is not
appropriate for the position (which is true
with over 80% of the resumes I review), I
then take a new look at the resume for
resource information to help find the right
candidate. If the candidate was strong, but
just not a fit for my particular position,
the resume typically provides a wealth of
information. I make notes about the
companies for which they have worked,
projects they have worked on, organizations
to which they belong, and educational
institutions they have attended. Later, when
I am actively sourcing candidates, I have a
list of companies, organizations, projects,
etc. that I can use as a basis for my
networking and research. Also, if I come
across a number of resumes from a particular
company, it is a signal that there may be
some internal restructuring happening. This
is a great time for me to research the
company for potential candidates that do fit
my needs. It is easier to sell an
opportunity when your candidate is in a
company that is undergoing change because
they are typically more vulnerable and open
to listening.
- Manage hiring manager's resume
expectations. While I may be a resume
"centrist," the managers whom I support may
have the fetishes of the "right-wing resume
extremists". Recognizing this, I try to
educate managers on the current state of
resumes and then work with each manager
differently. I quickly learn their hot
buttons on resumes and manage around them.
With over 90% of the resumes received today
being electronic, formatting becomes the
biggest issue. All e-mail and word
processing programs are not compatible so
from a formatting perspective, often what we
receive is dramatically altered from the
original. I encourage managers to review the
resume for content and not format. I also
encourage them to overlook some
typographical errors because they may be the
result of e-mail conversion process (R's
become N's, N's become M's etc..) and not
the result of a poor speller or poorly
edited document. Also, before presenting a
candidate, I do my best to quickly
"clean-up" a resume. I try replace the ?'s
back to appropriate bullet points and delete
all the unnecessary tabs that have turned
the 8.5" X 11" resume into a 4.5" X 20"
resume. In the short run this takes a bit
more time, however, it goes a long way in
making the best candidate presentation. I
would rather spend 5 minutes today
reformatting a resume, then 10 hours
tomorrow looking for another candidate.
To reiterate, my goal is to hire the best
candidate, in the least amount of time, at the
lowest cost possible. A resume is a tool to help
me get there. If the tool is not perfect, I work
with what I have. I also recognize that a tool
can be used for other purposes than its original
intent and still helps me complete my project.
Being a centrist may be boring, but it gives me
the flexibility to accomplish my goals faster
and more effectively than the left- or
right-wing extremists.
-Karen Osofsky
Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer
www.TiburonGroup.com
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