Overwhelmed by Resumes

Listen here:

You posted your ad on-line and now your email box is being overwhelmed by resumes! What a great problem to have….but wait…now to read and go through all the resumes.  Worse yet, so many people are qualified for the position – what to do?

Again, what a great problem to have.  The question becomes on how to sort through all these resume and make sure you have the best person for your business.  Well, the first thing is to relax and before starting to look at one resume, decide how you are going to narrow down the list.  You want to do this before looking so you won’t be overly influences by what you are reading.

First – determine what your “must haves” are as far as experience, education, and skills.  Be careful to not judge by position title, they can be deceiving. You must read what they have done and accomplished.

Second – determine your “nice to haves”.  These are those nice “bonus” skills that would help out but aren’t necessary to the job.

Lastly – determine a grading system. Yes, it sounds like school but it is a quick reference to how the resume stacks up to your requirements. It can be either A, B, or C or +, -, or ± – whatever works for you.

Now go back through your A’s or +’s or whatever other grade you have for the top candidates.  How many do you have? Are you willing to call each one individually or would an open house work? The answer to this question is also dependent on the type of position you have, entry-level and staff positions lend themselves more to an open house but I wouldn’t discount it for management positions.

Open Houses are a great way to give many people an overall view of the business at the same time.  Have a schedule for the event and send out “invitations” to your top candidates. The invites can go out either via email or snail mail – whichever you are most comfortable with and ask for a RSVP.  Let them know they can determine their interest in pursuing a position further during or after the open house, you just would like to know if they will be there.

Make sure you are at the front door (or close by) when the candidates arrive, great them and have them feel welcomed.

Use your other employees to help out, have them be tour guides and/or if you have several departments they can be the “go-to” person who explains the department and can answer questions.

Part of the schedule should be gathering all the candidates together to tell them about the company, introduce managers/employees, the position(s) available, what is expected of those who work for the company, benefits offered and how to show their interest in an interview.  Also, be open to questions and answer them the best you can.

By having them show interest in a position either during or after the open house, you won’t be wasting your time on people who don’t feel they can’t or won’t do the work.  Consider this “self-selection”. Even those who aren’t interested will leave with a positive impression of the company and will be advocates.

Contact those who have a desire to be interviewed and start the process. Can you think of a better way to show off your company and find great candidates?

Need help in pulling this together – contact us!