What to Do When You’re in a State of Resume Overload

Pinnacle All, HR & Recruiting Advice 1 Comment

You post a new job opening at your company. The good news: within hours, you’re inundated with dozens – or more! – resumes. The bad news: most of them are from unqualified candidates. It’s resume overload…and you’re in the driver’s seat. What can you do? Here’s how to cut through the resume clutter and find the person you really need:

  • If your company has resume parsing software, use keywords to weed out the candidates you’re interested in…and discard the rest.
  • Create three folders: one for candidates you know you want to interview, one for candidates you might want to interview, and one for candidates you will reject.
  • If a resume has a ridiculous error on it, or seems too boilerplate, reject it. If a resume don’t have a cover letter or the candidate clearly didn’t follow directions (e.g. didn’t include a salary history when you asked for one twice in the job posting), ditch them too.
  • If a candidate seems overqualified, put them in the “might want to interview” folder. Look at them later, after you’ve gone through the rest of the resumes. They may not be right for the position you’re advertising, but they could be a good fit for the company in the future or for a different opening.

If, after all this, you still have too many resumes/candidates to interview, start to hone in on the details.

  • Evaluate resumes and cover letters for incorrect spelling and/or grammar…even if it’s just a small error.
  • Look for red flags, like gaps in employment, a decrease in responsibility (that isn’t well explained in a cover letter), job hopping (four jobs in six months), and numerous shifts in a career path.
  • Review each candidate’s cover letter and resume carefully to see how well they fit with the job and with your company. Focus on those that have clearly provided you with customized information.
  • Compare candidates against each other; only keep those resumes that truly impress you.

At the end of this process, you should have a handful of candidates (4-6) you want to interview via phone. Based on those phone screenings, you will then likely want to bring 2-3 candidates in for an interview and go from there.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. But there is an easier way – working with one of Manitoba’s top staffing agencies. A staffing agency can save you time, money and hassle, not to mention they can cost-effectively find those few top-tier candidates on your behalf, while you focus on your other priorities.

When you’re looking to avoid staffing headaches – like resume overload, we can help. As one of Manitoba’s top staffing agencies, we can handle the hiring process for you and deliver a few, top candidates for you to choose from. No more resume overload!

Learn more now…

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