Be a Better Recruiter — Qualify Resumes

If you are like most recruiters you will see that online recruiting has your inbox full of great resumes. Have you spent hours reviewing resumes to find a candidate to hire for your job opening? Do you receive resumes of candidates that are over/under qualified for your position? Have you received a job opening and remember seeing a perfect resume from a previous recruitment, only to spend endless hours scanning and searching to find that resume? Do you think it will take forever to find?

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Most recruiters have experienced similar situations. If you take a few extra steps to qualify your resumes you will turn those “what if’s” into “how to,” allowing you to:

  • Reduce soft costs
  • Improve turnaround time on hiring
  • Build an effective database of pre-screened resumes

How to Qualify Resumes

Your first priority is the current job opening. Read the job description. Write the recruitment ad outlining the job description, skills, experience, education, duties, department overview and employment package. Send the hiring manager a copy of the recruitment ad for review. Make any changes and begin your search. As you read the resume begin to qualify the strengths. Next:

  • Review and highlight the key skills, experience, and education that match the job description
  • Sort the resumes by strength and select your top 10 for pre-screen
  • Conduct a telephone pre-screen to review the job descriptions and skills and to confirm the candidates’ interest
  • Select your top 6-8 candidates from the telephone screen to interview
  • Select your top 3-4 candidates and schedule a second interview with the hiring manager
  • Once the hiring manager has made his/her selection, contact the applicant and extend an offer
  • Process the applicant’s new hire paperwork once they have accepted the offer

You have successfully hired your ideal employee for the position. This is a great time to qualify the resumes in your inbox and create a working database for future job openings. Create a folder for each job description within your company. Let’s say you hire administrative assistants, marketing assistants, customer service representatives, purchasing representatives and accounts payable/receivables processors. Your folders could be categorize by department or duties:

  • Sorting Hat & Qualifying ResumesExecutive Admin. Asst.
  • Admin. Asst./Marketing
  • Marketing/PR/Social Media
  • Advertising/Media
  • Admin. Asst./Customer Service/Sales
  • Customer Service Representatives
  • Inside/Outside Sales
  • Admin. Asst./Accounting/Financial
  • Accounts Payable/Receivable
  • Accounting/Financial Statements

You should sort through each resume and qualify the best job title that meets the skills, experience, and education for the various job descriptions. Begin to email the candidates and thank them for applying. Explain which position you feel they may have interest in being considered as a possible interview in the future. If they express interest, give the candidate a call and conduct your pre-screening questions. Add the qualified candidates to the job titles, and create your working database.

The next time you open your inbox and read a new job opening, you can show 1) your effective recruiting skills to reduce soft cost by scheduling your pre-screened candidates for interviews, 2) how you effectively recruit and improve turnaround time on hiring, 3) how you continue to write online recruitments to find the best candidates for your job openings, and 4) how you grow your database. Both the human resource manager and the hiring manager will be impressed by your work ethic, and you may just be considered for a promotion.

Written by Diane Bogut, author, speaker, coach, part-time radio co-host, and expert on employment relationships. Connect with Diane on Twitter.

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Written by

Rachel Dotson is a former digital marketing manager and former blog contributor at ZipRecruiter. She is based in Venice, California.

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