A Comprehensive Guide to Improving Your Resume Reviewing Skills

As you begin the hiring journey, you’ll likely run into a few bumps in the road. With the use of helpful platforms like Indeed, and LinkedIn,  you can post your job description and wait for the resumes to flood in. Piece of cake, right? An easy task at first glance, yet, one that requires devoted attention and diligence from the hiring team assigned to the task.

With hundreds of applicants at times, it’s crucial for hiring managers to quickly and effectively review resumes to find the most qualified candidates. With this task comes an immense amount of pressure to find the right fit for the role at hand. If not done with thoughtful planning and execution, those reviewing resumes may face unexpected challenges along the way.

To ensure that you can fairly compare candidates, identify potential issues, and recognize outstanding candidates quickly, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of how to thoroughly evaluate a resume. Here are our best tips to help you achieve this.

Step 1: Define the Job Requirements

Before you start reviewing resumes, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of the job requirements. What skills and experience are necessary for the role? What qualifications are non-negotiable, and what skills can be trained? By defining the job requirements, you’ll have a better understanding of what to look for in a candidate’s resume.

When reviewing resumes, focus on the candidate’s skills and experience related to the job requirements. Look for specific examples of how they’ve demonstrated those skills in previous roles. If a candidate has experience in a similar industry or role, that can be a plus. However, don’t discount candidates who have transferable skills and experience from other industries or roles. They may have valuable skills that can be applied to the job.

Step 2: Scan the Resume

With so many resumes to review, you can’t spend too much time on each one. That’s why it’s crucial to quickly scan the resume to determine whether the candidate is a good fit for the role. Here are some things to look for when scanning a resume:

• Does the candidate have the necessary skills and experience for the role?
• Are their qualifications and experience relevant to the job?
• Does their resume demonstrate that they’ve achieved results in previous roles?
• Is the candidate’s career progression clear and logical?

By quickly scanning the resume, you’ll be able to determine whether the candidate is worth considering further.

Step 3: Look for Accomplishments, Not Just Job Duties

One mistake many recruiters and hiring managers make is focusing too much on job duties and not enough on accomplishments. While it’s essential to understand a candidate’s responsibilities in previous roles, it’s equally important to see what they achieved in those roles. Look for specific examples of how the candidate made a positive impact in previous positions. Did they increase sales, improve efficiency, or save the company money? These accomplishments demonstrate that the candidate is results-driven and can make a positive impact in the role.

Step 4: Check for Red Flags

When reviewing resumes, it’s important to keep an eye out for red flags. These are warning signs that the candidate may not be the right fit for the role. Here are some common red flags to look for:

• Gaps in employment: A significant gap in employment could indicate that the candidate had difficulty finding work or was fired from a previous job.
• Lack of relevant experience: If the candidate doesn’t have the necessary skills and experience for the role, they may not be a good fit.
• Typos and errors: A resume with typos and errors indicates that the candidate didn’t take the time to proofread their resume, which could indicate a lack of attention to detail.
• Overly generic: If the candidate’s resume seems overly generic and doesn’t demonstrate how their skills and experience are relevant to the role, they may not be a good fit.

Step 5: Keep the Process Consistent

Finally, to improve your resume reviewing skills, it’s crucial to keep the process consistent. Develop a standard process for reviewing resumes, and follow it consistently for each candidate. This will help ensure that you don’t miss any important details and that you’re reviewing each candidate fairly and objectively. It will also help you be more efficient in the review process.

In Summary

As you seek your next all-star employee, keep in mind that those candidates who spark your interest may be worth considering, even if their career history is unconventional.

Although reviewing resumes isn’t everyone’s favorite task (and sometimes overwhelming), it’s important to give it your full attention. Avoid overlooking small details that could mean the distinction between hiring an excellent team member or having to restart the hiring process in a few months.

Glades Talent recruiters are experts at finding overqualified candidates through our proven recruitment methodology. Arrange a call with our experts and discover the Glades Talent difference!