An Avery Partners Blog Post<\/p>\n
Ryan Gemmill<\/p>\n
Last week David Wessel at the Wall Street Journal sent shockwaves through the HR and Recruiting industries with his article on resume screening software entitled Software Raises the Bar for Hiring. It\u2019s reproduced below. It is likely one of the first actually constructive piece from mainstream media for job seekers in the past eighteen months.<\/p>\n
And he got some of it right.<\/p>\n
It is entirely accurate that in this economy large companies draw thousands and thousands of applications to a particular job post. It is also entirely accurate that there is a need on the corporate side to try and review those thousands, by man or by machine. After all, even after the layoffs of \u201908 and \u201909, human capital is still a large firm\u2019s biggest asset.<\/p>\n
The downside though is that Mr. Wessel focuses entirely too much on the flaws of Corporate America, and casts too much blame on Human Resources for relying on systems that rank candidates and even omit some that seem not to fit. This does cast out candidates that may be a fit emotionally, that may be a fit in work ethic, or that may be a fit in soft skills. It may even include some candidates that match some words but aren\u2019t fits. For example: my resume lists Health IT skills and keywords to represent my search experiences and network \u2013 words that would get me through a screening for, say, a Health IT Implementation Project manager. Alas, I am not a Health IT Project Manager.<\/p>\n
We can all agree that some big companies rely too little on the brains of their team and too much on the strength of their keyword searches. We can also agree that Mr. Wessel is correct in that some junior managers or junior HR people often pile on too much in a job description. This is going to happen, and it is the responsibility of the HR hiring team, or a 3rd party search firm (we\u2019re great at it, btw), to coach a manager around this, and bring them back to Earth.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s where his validity ends\u2026 professionals seeking work aren\u2019t going to get a job through arguing for training or better HRIS systems. They\u2019re going to get work by differentiating themselves from the herd, from working these software systems to their benefit, and from networking with internal employees or recruiters.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the disconnect: Experienced professionals probably learned to write a resume a while back, perhaps while they were in college or earlier. They were taught to use creative phrases and action words to describe what they do. They were taught to explain their work in a way that sets them apart, and to sell themselves creatively. The idea was to keep a manager\u2019s eyes on your resume for more than, say, 7 seconds. At the time, it worked.<\/p>\n
Today though, those creative words and that action language is exactly what a recruiter did not put in a search string. Too much creativity, and too much out of the box language is exactly what a resume scoring system is going to kick out.
\nTake a look at the job you\u2019re applying to and your resume and ask yourself, how many keywords did I hit? How much experience would an algorithm think I have in x title? Are those titles mainstream, something a software tool will recognize, or are they specific to my employer?<\/p>\n
Questions like this are the key. A little time, analytical thinking, and foresight can go a very long way in working a resume screener. Once done, that kind of specific attention and effort will go a long way with a recruiter, and often even with the hiring authority. Tell us about your resume screening stories! Send them to
\nFinally, don\u2019t forget the basics. 95% of hiring comes down to your network and who you know. Relationships and networking, not just who you know but who they know can go a long, long way. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help. Recruiting and consulting organizations like ours<\/a> can be a strong referral source and we are always happy to help a marketable candidate that has a target in mind.<\/p>\n