Hiring Tips: The Resume Quick Scan

If you provide recruiting support to your expansion stage company, you know that when looking at applicants, the first step is to read their resumes. But, with a stack of resumes in front of you, where do you start?

If you have a large number of applicants (lucky you!), the best way to gain perspective of your candidate pool is with the resume quick scan. This quick scan of all your applicants will allow you to gain a better understanding of your candidate pool and help you to determine who your top candidates are, who you may consider, and who you will not.

Here are the basics of what to look for in the resume quick scan…

• Right type and amount of work experience for the role
• Proper educational, certification or licensing requirements
• Correct technical background and skills if necessary
• Current location of the candidate (in case of relocation)
• Software efficiency
• Names/industries of previous employers
• Dates of employment (are they reliable)

During this quick scan, place candidates in separate piles (or files) so you can continue to prioritize in your deeper dive of each resume. These may be “A” pile, “B” pile, etc., of each candidate’s background for the role, or a “Yes”, “Maybe”, and “No” pile of who you would like to conduct interviews with.

Once you go through this initial scan, you should have a much better idea of the backgrounds of interested applicants and of your overall candidate pool. You can then take a more thorough look at the resumes and cover letters of your top applicants (and beyond) to make sure that you are moving forward with the candidates you and your management teams are most interested in speaking with.

Time is money, and the quick scan should help you get the ball rolling on determining your top applicants and moving forward with interviews. Happy Hiring!