Who Are You Really Hiring?

So you run an ad to fill a position you have available. You receive some really good resumes and you move to step two, screening them. With the intense competition for employment, how do you know if what you have before you is real or maybe…a bit over inflated? There are a couple of things that you can look at to help you to spot potential problems.

I view resumes and applications as a “test” to see if the candidate can spell, write properly and comprehend the questions and information requested. After all this person wants the job, you have the job, you would think they would want to put their best foot forward in their first impression. Integrity is one of those.

In the years that I have been a hiring manager I have found a few items to look at that help me sort good from bad.

Dates of Employment: I have found this to be one of the most lied about items on a resume or application. Let’s say the candidate has had three jobs. They were fired from job number two and do not want you to know about it. Instead of listing job number two, they simply stretch the dates of jobs one and three to cover. So, verify the dates of employment.

Over- Inflated Titles: Many times when you look at the resume you will find that a title does not fit the experience or even the age of the candidate. The resume shows a string of titles like this: Dock Worker then Dock Lead then Dock Supervisor then Dock Manager then Director, Central Intelligence Agency, then Dock Manager, Central Intelligence Agency. The candidate is 24 years old. Okay, maybe this was a bit of a silly example but you get the idea. Pay attention to titles and age.

Resumes That Are Too “Slick”: Most of us are not the greatest writers. Look at me. But we can get across our experience in basic form. Someone whose resume reads like an advertisement for a new car company probably had some serious help which could mean a professional resume writer put it together. This may be all right for some companies. But you have to ask yourself is this the person I am really hiring. It could also mean that the professional writer, in some cases to make their customer happy, over inflated the candidate’s experience. Does the resume seem too good to be true? Then it probably is.

All Candidate’s Should Fill Out An Application: This is in addition to their resume. Compare the two. You will be surprised in some case when you actually compare the two. They may not remember the lies they told on the resume. Always require both and compare them.

If they lied at this point in the application process what do you think they will do when they work for you?

Bill Bregar is the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems. He can be reached at 770-426-7593 x101 or at www.LossPreventionSystems.com