According to an eye-tracking study by Ladders Inc, recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds looking at résumés during their initial screening process. In that brief amount of time, they consider the document’s layout and formatting and whether it includes specific keywords — and swiftly decide whether to move the candidate along to the next stage or reject them right then and there.
Screening résumés quickly and effectively can help you sort through a large number of applications in relatively little time. But you must be confident that your approach is effective; otherwise, you can end up rejecting (or shortlisting) candidates for the wrong reasons.
In this article, we’ll talk about the dos and don’ts of screening résumés, and tell you everything you need to know about this part of the pre-employment screening process.
Why is résumé screening important?
When done effectively, résumé screening has a number of benefits for both the hiring manager as well as their company. In this section, we’ll talk about the three main ones. Efficient résumé screening matters because:
It saves you time
Depending on the industry they work for and the size of their company, hiring managers can receive upwards of 200 applications per vacancy they advertise. Developing the ability to swiftly screen résumés can help them manage their workload better and shortlist suitable candidates within the expected timeframe.
It helps eliminate bias
Screening résumés entails looking out for very specific things such as job titles, skills and qualifications. When you laser-focus on what the applicant brings to the table, it increases your chances of selecting someone for their expertise and qualities, leaving less room for unconscious bias to influence your decision.
It improves the quality of the hire
The better you become at conducting an effective initial screening, the more certain you can be that you will end up onboarding the most suitable candidate.
When new joiners are a good fit for the role and make a great cultural fit as well, they’re likelier to get along with existing team members, carry out their duties as expected and stay with your organization longer.
Manual vs automatic screening: Which is best?
Manual résumé screening can take a considerable amount of time, especially when you have a great employer’s brand and find yourself attracting dozens of skilled candidates for each vacancy. However, it can be worth it, as it gives you greater control over your hiring decisions than using an applicant tracking system does.
That’s because ATSs are built to “read” specific résumé formats, meaning they aren’t always capable of accurately extracting information. This can lead to the exclusion of strong candidates. On the other hand, manually scanning dozens of résumés can lead to fatigue, making your efforts progressively slower and potentially less accurate.
Generally, it’s considered good practice to make use of both an ATS for your initial assessment and then manually go over the résumés that pass the initial screening. For lower seniority roles, you can rely more on ATSs; for higher seniority ones, you might benefit more from scrutinizing the information you receive on your own.
What to look for in résumés
Even if you use an ATS for your initial résumé screenings, you’ll still end up looking at résumés yourself sooner or later. When scanning applicants’ documents, it can be helpful to keep an eye out for:
Keywords from the job listing
A tailored résumé tells you that the applicant took the time to read and understand your requirements, and didn’t just submit a hurried, generic application. This can indicate professionalism and a higher interest in the role on their part.
Beyond that, the more keywords you can identify from your job listing, the better equipped the candidate should be to carry out their duties — if they are selected, that is.
Errors and inconsistencies
An error-free document can also be a sign of professionalism: the applicant is taking time and care to double-check everything before sending in their application.
But it’s not just spelling and formatting errors you want to keep an eye out for. Depending on your process, you may have already looked at the candidate’s LinkedIn profile or cover letter — inconsistent information, such as different job titles or employment dates appearing in different places can be a red flag.
Employment gaps
Although at first glance employment gaps can raise the alarm, it’s not always a good idea to reject candidates because of them. Instead, you’ll want to take note of any gaps you notice and ask the candidate to provide more information on how they made use of that time.
Job tenures
Although short job tenures can signify undesirable traits in a candidate, job hopping sometimes says more about a person’s previous employers than about them. Therefore, much like with employment gaps, it may be worth approaching the subject with an open mind and investigating it.
Overall suitability and cultural fit
Besides informing you of a candidate’s technical and soft skills, experiences and qualifications, a résumé can tell you a bit about their character and personal qualities too. The better you become at identifying these subtler cues, the better you can assess candidates’ overall suitability.
How to screen résumés
In this section, we’ll be outlining 10 résumé screening tips so you can make the process more efficient and effective.
1. Be clear about what you’re looking for
Ultimately, it’s impossible to filter candidates successfully unless you’re using clear criteria. And to get clear about your desirables and non-negotiables when filling your positions, you have to know exactly what your company culture is all about, as well as what the role entails down to the last detail.
Coming up with a clear, concise list of must-haves and nice-to-haves prior to looking through people’s résumés will make the screening process more efficient.
2. Look out for tailored résumés
When a candidate submits a tailored résumé, they’re letting you know that they’re serious about their application. After all, it can take a significant amount of time to go over a job listing and understand what an employer is looking for, as well as what their values and mission are, and relate your experiences, skills and qualities with all of it.
Instead of submitting the same generic document to several employers, the candidate invested time and effort in introducing themselves to you: this can only be a sign of genuine interest in your company and role.
3. Use an ATS
Applicant tracking systems are designed to analyze what candidates bring to the table, matching up their skills and knowledge against your needs and expectations.
This is typically achieved through résumé parsing (a key feature that most ATSs share), which essentially refers to the automated storage and analysis of résumé data. Keyword-based parses are perhaps the most widely used, built to identify keywords or phrases which are relevant to the job requirements.
According to database management company Oracle, “78% of recruiters using an ATS report that it has improved the quality of the candidates they hire” and “86% of recruiters reported that using an ATS has helped them hire faster”.
4. Check for your non-negotiables
Depending on the role you’re looking to fill, you’ll likely have some non-negotiables in terms of candidate skills and qualifications. For example, this could be proficiency in a particular software or a certain credential that, without it, carrying out the job would prove impossible.
Although you will generally want to form a more holistic impression of candidates, considering the bigger picture and making some allowances, having some non-negotiables where necessary can save you time, removing underqualified applicants from your list.
5. Check for relevant work experience
Keeping an eye out for previous, relevant work experience is a must when screening résumés. Even though a diploma, degree or credential can vouch that a candidate possesses the necessary knowledge to fulfill their duties, work experience vouches that they have previously put that know-how into practice.
If you’re hiring for an entry-level role, primarily targeting recent graduates with your job ad, then the applications you receive will likely focus more on the candidates’ educational background. In this case, it can be beneficial to consider any volunteer work they have done or assess their transferable skills.
6. Consider soft and transferable skills
Although technical skills are likely to be part of your non-negotiables for a role, soft and transferable skills can tell you how well a candidate might fit in with your team and how fast they could adapt to workplace situations that are new to them. That’s why it’s important to take note of these skills, and not focus entirely on hard skills.
Some soft skills that can prove beneficial regardless of industry or seniority include communication, leadership, teamwork, time management, adaptability and problem solving.
7. Take note of accomplishments
When screening an applicant’s document, keep an eye out for quantifiable achievements. Unless there is a dedicated achievements section on the résumé, look for these in the work experience section, under each role held previously.
These sentences will typically read like: “Led a team of 15 staff members” or “Increased revenue by 30%”. Unlike some more generic words that candidates include on their résumés (such as “hard-working”), quantifiable achievements are specific — and it’s easier for you to verify their validity.
8. Assess cultural fit
When a candidate makes a great cultural fit, their values and attitudes match those of the organization. Although cover letters and interviews can provide you with more insights into candidates’ work style and beliefs, their résumés can still reveal valuable information.
For example, the words they choose to portray themselves in their summary can hint at personal traits such as creativity, humor and confidence.
9. Take steps to eliminate bias
Becoming aware of unconscious biases and doing your best to eliminate them can significantly boost the quality of your hires and your organization’s performance on the whole.
According to data by BCG, diversity in the workplace creates a psychologically safe work environment, increases employee happiness and motivation, reduces voluntary turnover, and boosts the company’s financial performance.
As Forbes Coaches Council member Krumma Jónsdóttir recommends: “Always exclusively compare the candidate to the role’s responsibilities. Never compare candidates to the person who is leaving or to other candidates. There’s no better or worse; there’s a ‘fit’ or ‘not a fit’.”
10. Check for consistency
Although this might not be applicable in your first round of screenings, where the volume of application materials is larger, it’s something that you should aim to do as you begin to shortlist your candidates.
If an applicant’s résumé states job roles, qualifications and employment dates that contradict the information shared in their cover letter or on their LinkedIn profile, you should investigate this. In some cases, it will be an honest mistake; in others, the candidate may intentionally be trying to skew your opinion with false information.
Résumé screening checklist
As we have seen, there is a lot to bear in mind when screening résumés — and there is also a lot to do, such as investigating employment gaps and inconsistencies. To help make the hiring process a little more straightforward, we have created this résumé screening checklist for you to use:
Key takeaways
Screening candidates effectively and efficiently can save you time and resources, result in a smoother onboarding experience, and maximize the chances of your new joiner hitting the ground running.
Remember:
- Set clear expectations and non-negotiables before beginning the screening process, taking into account the role and your company culture.
- Use an ATS feature like keyword-based parsing to vet candidates’ suitability, but avoid relying entirely on automated processes, especially for leadership roles.
- When going over résumés manually keep an eye out for keywords as they appear in the job listing as well as relevant experiences and accomplishments.
We hope our guide on how to screen résumés has been useful! Do you have any more tips or advice to share with fellow hiring managers? Join the conversation below.
This article is a complete update of an earlier version originally published on July 18, 2017.