The fourth step in Achilles Group’s Recruiting Effectiveness process is to the Narrow the Field or eliminate resumes from your response pool that don’t fit the bill of what you’re looking for in a job candidate. This involves sifting through resumes and conducting phone screens and occurs after you’ve selected your recruiting methods and posted your job opening.
Here’s our list of Do’s and Don’ts for sorting through job post responses:
DO set aside time to thoroughly review resumes. Doing so will help eliminate distractions, help you focus on the task at hand and make the process of finding your next hire more efficient.
DO skip cover letters…for now. There’s no point in reviewing cover letters from candidates who aren’t qualified for the job. Eliminate these resumes first, then go back and read cover letters from qualified candidates only.
DO consider the actual resume and how much care and attention was paid to it. Resumes riddled with grammatical mistakes and careless errors are a good indicator of how the candidate will perform on the job.
DO make sure the candidate will fit in with your company’s culture. No matter how many boxes they check off, a candidate that doesn’t fit the culture is destined to perform poorly.
DO pre-screen candidates and cull those that don’t meet the basic qualifications.
DO use preliminary screening tools to weed out those who meet the basic requirements for the position, but not might have the skills needed to succeed to the desired level.
DO inform candidates of next steps. Prompt, thorough communication is everything when it comes to hiring. Otherwise, you risk losing great candidates who’ve moved on to other opportunities because they think you aren’t interested, or they aren’t a great fit for the position.
DON’T rush the process. It’s better to take your time and find the right candidate than to make a bad hire. Be open and willing to start the hiring process over if needed.
DON’T assume you are a candidate’s first choice. If they have replied to your job post, there’s a good chance they are actively looking for a job and might be meeting with other prospective employers as well.
DON’T set your sites on a particular candidate too early in the process. Do yourself a favor and get to know the candidate through a face-to-face interview to see if how they read on paper translates to their real-life persona.
Interested in learning more about Recruiting Effectiveness? Reach out to us and we’ll schedule a Discovery Session to assess your needs.
Achilles Group can also handle narrowing down your applicant pool through our Hourly Recruiting service. Contact us for more information! (Former Clients campaign only)
