Reviewing Resumes

[Razors Edge ★]

...always drives me insane.  I've got ten applicants for one position, and am trying to weed it down further for phone interviews (which are time sucks), and what I find from all resumes is that, in general, resumes suck as a way to find and hire people.  Not the worst way, but certainly a fairly crappy way.  Especially when filtered through our HR and recruiters.  Sucky sucky sucky.

[jsharr ★]

I detest that as well.  
In person is so much better, but I suck at in person interviews as well.
Need to design a job specific challenge / obstacle course and make them all compete on it for time and bonus.  Lowest time with highest bonus wins.

[Indy]

Just now, Razors Edge said:

...always drives me insane.  I've got ten applicants for one position, and am trying to weed it down further for phone interviews (which are time sucks), and what I find from all resumes is that, in general, resumes suck as a way to find and hire people.  Not the worst way, but certainly a fairly crappy way.  Especially when filtered through our HR and recruiters.  Sucky sucky sucky.

Well if it helps, you throw the ones that can't get the name of the university they graduated from right in the trash.  Yes, I had one of those a couple weeks ago, of course based on the University, I probably would've thrown it there anyways if they had it right.

 

But no, reading resumes is kind of an art form.  I've seen people with spectacular looking resumes be completely inept, and people with the most underwhelming ones be absolutely fantastic.  It's to the point that if their resume seems to good, they must be lying.

[maddmaxx ★]

2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I detest that as well.  
In person is so much better, but I suck at in person interviews as well.
Need to design a job specific challenge / obstacle course and make them all compete on it for time and bonus.  Lowest time with highest bonus wins.

Simultaneously email them all "first man here and still standing gets the job".

[Indy]

2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I detest that as well.  
In person is so much better, but I suck at in person interviews as well.
Need to design a job specific challenge / obstacle course and make them all compete on it for time and bonus.  Lowest time with highest bonus wins.

I prefer to just a blind draw from a hat.  Your odds of getting the right one is just as good.

[Indy]

Just now, maddmaxx said:

Simultaneously email them all "first man here and still standing gets the job".

So you want the most desperate person willing to jump through any hoop for the job?  Yeah, that might not turn out to well in the long run.

[maddmaxx ★]

Just now, Indy said:

So you want the most desperate person willing to jump through any hoop for the job?  Yeah, that might not turn out to well in the long run.

Many times that person is just the right ticket.  You want a self starter who likes the job enough to fight for it.

[bikeman564™]

Just hire RG. It'll be a good time , and we look forward to future posts.

[Indy]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

Many times that person is just the right ticket.  You want a self starter who likes the job enough to fight for it.

In my work, you also don't want someone who makes rash decisions.  You need someone who is methodical and comes to the right decision.

And more often than not, the person who's willing to fight for the job, really needs the job and there is usually a reason for that.

[maddmaxx ★]

Just now, Indy said:

In my work, you also don't want someone who makes rash decisions.  You need someone who is methodical and comes to the right decision.

And more often than not, the person who's willing to fight for the job, really needs the job and there is usually a reason for that.

Or they are just excited about that particular job.  The last job I took I signed on with a hand shake an not even an idea what the pay would be.  Then because the absolute final approval wouldn't come till a vice president returned from Australia I showed up to work on the discussed day without even being totally sure I had the job.

Worked for me.

[late]

They're making software to test applicants at how they handle the sort of situations they'll face on the job. Word is, it's pretty good, but of course that also means even more work.

I like the hat idea.

[Indy]

8 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Or they are just excited about that particular job.  The last job I took I signed on with a hand shake an not even an idea what the pay would be.  Then because the absolute final approval wouldn't come till a vice president returned from Australia I showed up to work on the discussed day without even being totally sure I had the job.

Worked for me.

I prefer how my last one went.  I applied to it just to fill my unemployment quote for the week.  They called me the same week to sell me on the job, didn't really interview me.  Ended the call saying they had to check on a few things but I would be hearing back from them, an hour later they called me with an offer.  First time I met anyone or even been in that town was the day I started.

 

I took a leap of faith on this one, it was the third time I'd been offered a job there without an interview.  Figured something was trying to pull me there, maybe I should listen for once.  So far, has worked out great.

[jsharr ★]

23 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Simultaneously email them all "first man here and still standing gets the job".

person.  no gendered words, you chauvinistic moran.

[jsharr ★]

25 minutes ago, Indy said:

Well if it helps, you throw the ones that can't get the name of the university they graduated from right in the trash.  Yes, I had one of those a couple weeks ago, of course based on the University, I probably would've thrown it there anyways if they had it right.

 

But no, reading resumes is kind of an art form.  I've seen people with spectacular looking resumes be completely inept, and people with the most underwhelming ones be absolutely fantastic.  It's to the point that if their resume seems to good, they must be lying.

That is why I went to A&M.  Easy to spell.

[Indy]

Just now, jsharr said:

That is why I went to A&M.  Easy to spell.

That doesn't mean someone couldn't screw it up and put it down as M&A.

The one I got, they apparently spent four years at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.  I looked, I could only find Indiana University in Bloomington.  Just for curiosity I managed to find his FB page (yeah, when I research someone I try to leave no stone unturned) and he's was apparently even a big sports fan of them, from the state and still can't get the freaking name right on his resume.

I'm really surprised that one made it past HR.  Apparently they have the same attention level to detail.

[maddmaxx ★]

10 minutes ago, jsharr said:

person.  no gendered words, you chauvinistic moran.

Bonus points for a woman who doesn't let that get in her way.

[Razors Edge ★]

8 minutes ago, jsharr said:

That is why I went to A&M.  Easy to spell.

You must thank god that some muckity muck - likely not an A&M grad - decided to shorten it from "The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas" to Texas A & M.  That greatly reduced the risk of a misspelling!

[Indy]

Just now, maddmaxx said:

Bonus points for a woman who doesn't let that get in her way.

Does that mean a woman with small boobs?

[maddmaxx ★]

Or let that get in her way either.

[Indy]

3 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Or let that get in her way either.

Code for big boobs?

[maddmaxx ★]

No.  Code for not letting the old boys network get in the way.

[Razors Edge ★]

6 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

No.  Code for not letting the old boys network get in the way.

Hiring young chicks is the way to go! Big boobs, small boobs, medium boobs are all good!

[groupw]

My last interview was as much me interviewing them as the other way around. For the final test, they had sabotaged a PC and I had to figure out what they did. I not only fixed what they had done, I found and resolved another issue. 

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, groupw said:

My last interview was as much me interviewing them as the other way around. For the final test, they had sabotaged a PC and I had to figure out what they did. I not only fixed what they had done, I found and resolved another issue. 

Are you sure they just didn't want to pay Geek Squad to come fix the boss's PC? 

[groupw]

4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Are you sure they just didn't want to pay Geek Squad to come fix the boss's PC? 

We compete with them. Actually, we are better techs, we just don’t have the advertising budget and shorter store hours. 

[Prophet Zacharia]

You never know how good or disastrous a person will be until they are on the job. You can weed out the worst with resume reviews and interviews, but until they are in their role, working at it’s full capacity, you just don’t know.

[12string]

I find resumes much easier to read when they have money clipped to them

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, 12string said:

I find resumes much easier to read when they have money clipped to them

A coworker (50 yrs old) said her HS teacher instructed them to always attach a photo to a resume.  She says she was quite cute back then and never got turned down for jobs (entry level, but still jobs).  It is pretty amazing to think how that has changed until you realized sites like LinkedIn will have your head shot, so it's still an option and likely one that helps some and hurts others.

[Road Runner]

5 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Reviewing Resumes

What made you stop reviewing?

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Road Runner said:

What made you stop reviewing?

You know, things.  Just things.  Some one stops to chat or you finish one doc and pause before starting the next. You know, small stuff.

[shootingstar]

Rather amusing to hear from hiring managers in  our organization where the job clearly states preferred application with experience with xxxxxx software in terms of application development.  Then the hiring manger gets over 100 resumes, where 90% of the candidates have never used the software.  We are looking for application developers, not end users.  Or resumes that name all sorts of techie software terms/names and the hiring manager decides to...put it into the garbage bin.  No attempt by applicant to group the software for what its purpose is for a lay manager.

the above has happened for several technical job postings.  It is not IT hiring, it is the client dept. manager for embedded tech. expertise.

[Longjohn ★]

Where I worked they gave up on resumes and if you can pass the drug test they will give you a shot. Seven out of ten fail it. If it turns out you are too uncoordinated to chew gum and walk at the same time you will probably quit on your own. They have a probationary period to weed out the bad ones but it hasn’t been used very effectively.

[Square Wheels]

I have ten openings and no resumes, can I have some of yours?  Mine is a dying field as far as available applicants, but not the need for qualified people.

[Longjohn ★]

36 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I have ten openings and no resumes, can I have some of yours?  Mine is a dying field as far as available applicants, but not the need for qualified people.

Boost the pay and they will come. You might have to double it. Some jobs pretty much suck but if the pay is good enough someone will want to do it.

[Square Wheels]

Just now, Longjohn said:

Boost the pay and they will come. You might have to double it. Some jobs pretty much suck but if the pay is good enough someone will want to do it.

I've been singing that song for a long time.  Feels like they still are not listening.

[maddmaxx ★]

12 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Boost the pay and they will come. You might have to double it. Some jobs pretty much suck but if the pay is good enough someone will want to do it.

 You have been detected infringing on the value of the compensation deserved by the board of directors.  Stay where you are.  Company security will be with you presently.