Can You Identify a Top Candidate by Their Resume?

As the economy recovers from the recent recession, workers who have long been unemployed or underemployed are seeking work once again. While the increase in candidates gives a hiring manager more opportunities to find the right candidate, it can also make the process more difficult. A larger talent pool requires more time and effort from hiring managers.

How can hiring managers reduce the work involved in finding top talent? Working with a staffing firm can help you target star talent in a stack of resumes. Your staffing partner can also help you find top candidates by ensuring the resume pile contains qualified individuals who are likely to be a good fit with your firm – saving your company time and money that would otherwise be spent on scanning the resumes of unsuitable candidates.

Can you identify top candidates on a first pass through a resume pile?  Consider the following tips:

  • Know what the job requires.  Every position has a core set of required skills and abilities, and a peripheral set of “desired-but-not-required” skills and abilities. Discuss hiring with a position’s supervisor to ensure hiring managers know what is required and what is desired, and keep these categories in mind when examining resumes.
  • Get good at spotting promise.  Candidates who are self-motivated, have a passion for learning independently, and who are a good fit with your organization’s culture are more likely to be top candidates for your company than candidates with similar skills who lack these traits. On a resume, look for volunteer work, challenging hobbies, or further education – particularly if the candidate pursued these while unemployed or working outside his or her usual field.
  • Compromise on experience, not character.  In highly competitive fields, your top candidates may not be your perfect candidates, but they may be nearly perfect. If you must compromise to find a good fit, compromise on job experience, not on character traits like organization, communication, or perseverance. Motivation and passion for learning can drive a candidate to learn new skills.

At THE RIGHT STAFF, LLC, our experienced recruiters sift through the pile before presenting you with candidates, ensuring you can choose top talent from a fully qualified field. Contact us today to learn more!

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