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Resumes, Part 2

In the last issue of HIRING LINE we addressed some of the practical aspects of collecting resumes. Our discussions will center arond the practical aspects rather than the theoretical. In the next few issues we will discuss the reading of resumes and the pitfalls therein. Remember, resumes are only one-dimensional, and while they may try to be qualitative, by their nature, they can't. They are quantitative at best and if they are seen for just what they are, no more or less, they can be of value .

Who Should "Screen"

It is best that a direct-hiring manager theoretically screen and read all resumes. Even though it is very difficult to thoroughly read 200 or so resumes, only a hiring manager should, because he is closer to knowing what the candidate is representing. We have seen resumes that had it not been for our experience, we would not have known what kind of business the candidate conducted. People have a tendency to think everyone knows who they work for and what they do. They will often write resumes as though all readers will be familiar with the companies they have worked for. A direct-hiring authority is going to be able to better evaluate previous companies for whom the candidate has worked.

Objectives

Objectives on a resume should be discounted for the most part, as either so specific they eliminate the candidate or so general they don't mean anything. Some of the objectives we have seen over the years would blow you away: they range from downright ridiculous to laughable and absurd. What they really mean is: "I want to go to workl" We have seen great accountants eliminated from great opportunities because they hinted in their objective that they wanted to someday grow into a controllership position. Since the controller of the client firm was reading the resume, and wasn't planning on going anywhere (or he felt threatend) he eliminated this candidate. Another recent candidate was eliminated from being interviewed because his objective read that he wanted to be associated with a progressive firm. The president of the firm, reading the resume, didn't think his firm was progressive. Silly? Well, it happened. The objective on a resume has nothing to do with a candidate's ability to perform and the job he accepts could have nothing to do with his objective. Qualifications are not related to objectives.

Generic resumes that begin with "offering 20 years of experience as..." usually don't get read. Most of the time they are written to cover up "holes" in the times of employment. Unfortunately most of us won't wade through the minutia to get to the facts of "who, what, when, where and why." Lately, a popular format has been a two-page generic, cosmic description of a person's intangible attributes followed by three or four lines of dates and places of employment. Although it's hard to blame a candidate if he gets professional advice to do it this way, the format just doesn't get read. People are leery, and rightly so, of anything more than plain bold facts that they can easily find, read and evaluate.

Titles

Titles should be swallowed with a big chunk of salt. They can be so misleading and for the most part are not indicative of what a person would consider. One company's sales manager is another company's vice president. We know firms who make all their salespeople vice presidents subscribing to the idea that their clients will be more receptive to them. Some production managers have the authority and responsibility of plant managers, while others do not. The size of a candidate's employer will often dictate the title. Previous or present titles should have little impact on a candidate's ability to be hired, since the scope, function, and performance of the job are what is important.

Unfortunately, we have seen, time and time again, candidates eliminated from consideration because their previous title was perceived heavier or superior to what the client company was interviewing for. Titles just don't mean much. Job duties and responsiblities do. The key is to question and discover the scope of the person's previous functions, and neither consider nor eliminate him because of previous titles.

Remember the nature of resumes is perceived to make a person appear as big as he can be. Unfortunately, that's different than the purpose of interviewing, which is to discover the best candidate for a particular situation, verify his track record and successfully hire the right person.

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