Many HR professionals and managers develop the criteria for hiring, as well as the interview questions, before reviewing any résumés. This allows for a streamlined process with specific guidelines already set before reviewing a résumé. For example, criteria for a project management job might include the following:
- Two years of experience managing a $2 million or more project budget
- A bachelor’s degree in business or closely related field
- Ability to work on multiple projects at once
- Problem-solving ability
- Conflict-management ability Ability to manage a team of five to six diverse workers
- Score of at least a 70 on cognitive ability test
- Score of excellent from most recent employer
By setting criteria ahead of time, the hiring team has a clear picture of exactly what qualifications they are looking for. As a result, it is easier to determine who should move forward in the selection process. For example, if someone does not have a bachelor’s degree, given this is a criterion, their application materials can be filed away, perhaps for another job opening. Likewise, the HR manager can include those résumés with two or more years of experience and bachelor’s degree in the interview pile and then develop interview questions that show the candidates’ problem-solving, multitasking, and conflict-management abilities.
Résumé parsing or résumé scanning software is readily available and can make the initial screening easier. For example, Sovren software allows the HR manager to include keywords such as bachelor’s degree or management. This software scans all received résumés and selects the ones that have the keywords. While it still may be necessary to review résumés, this type of software can save time having to look through résumés that obviously do not meet the minimum qualifications.
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