7 tips to help you sort through resumes quickly

You are in desperate need of a new marketing manager and posted a job advertisement two weeks ago. Now, there’s a mountain of resumes piled up on your desk, waiting to be looked at. The perfect candidate for the position is hidden somewhere in this pile of documents. But how do you find them? And how do you do it quickly?

Many businesses face the same dilemma every hiring season. Hiring managers understandably do not have the time to read through 250 resumes to get the right choice. Hence, many businesses have developed their own systems and criteria to weed out the applicants who don’t make the cut. Here are some things you can do to find your dream employee quickly:

1. Bury an “Easter Egg” in the description

Not every candidate will read the job description devotedly before applying for the job. One way of screening out qualified and interested candidates is to place an Easter egg in the job description. It can be something as small as a keyword or phrase. Or you could require a compliance action from the candidate when they submit the application.

2. Add a list of must-have skills to the description

This way, you will already have a prioritized list of skills you want to see on the resume of an ideal candidate. When you sift through the resumes you receive, you can pay attention to the skills section of each candidate. If their top skills don’t match your requirements, you can safely let them go.

3. Ask the candidates to send along a short video

Not every candidate expresses themselves well on paper. Some candidates have loads of hidden potential. When you create the job advertisement, instruct the applicants to include a 30 – 90 second video of themselves to show off their skills and experience. This way, you get to gauge the personality of the applicant before you decide.

4. Don’t read entire resumes, skim them

First, identify three traits that you want to see in an ideal candidate. Then quickly scan each resume to see whether they mention any qualifications that match your expectations. Once you select the few resumes that highlight the right information, you can read them fully to see if you have found the right candidate.

5. Hide instructions within the job description

Not all applicants who send in their resumes will want to work for your company particularly. Some are just applying for every job that pops up on their feed. Therefore, only a select number of candidates would take the time to read through the entire job description. Include a specific instruction such as “Begin your cover letter with the phrase, ‘Marketing is my passion.’” This will help you weed out a whole batch of candidates in one go.

6. Have a candidate you are interested in? Check their social media

One great way to weed out candidates who are not cultural fits for your organization is to run a simple social media check on them. Does the candidate’s Facebook contain inappropriate content? Do they have an impressive LinkedIn profile? What personality traits can you glean from their Twitter? The answers to these questions will decide whether you have found the perfect match for your business.

7. For the first round of screening, aim to select the ones who match the requirements 100%

When you do your first resume sweep, search for applicants who match every single job requirement. This might only work when you have a large pool of candidates. If your first round of screening does not yield satisfactory results, you can lower the bar a little for the next round. This way, you will only have to choose from among a smaller set of applicants.

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