Profiling vs. the Resume:
What Works in a Competitive Labor Market |
Successfully Screening Candidates
In today's competitive labor market, it's more important than ever for recruiters and human resources personnel to find a good fit between candidates and positions. "The costs today of recruiting, interviewing, selecting, assimilating, and developing an employee to a contributing status are enormous when items beyond the obvious are calculated. A company must consider recruiting agency fees, relocation, training, office equipment and space, salary, benefits, and retirement contributions," according to the Alliance of Professional Training.
The most common types of pre-employment screening techniques are resume evaluation and conducting an interview. Profiling candidates - determining how their skills and knowledge will benefit the hiring company - has become an integral part of the interview among many recruiters and human resources personnel.
The Death of the Resume?
"Resumes are a baby boom era invention. They require a massive effort and a change in focus. The only people who enjoy creating them seem to be found in small businesses devoted to the subject. They obscure more than they disclose. They seem to require a kind of behavior that resembles outright lying. Have you ever seen a resume that said...'In my last assignment, I screwed up the following things...Here's what I learned?' It very rarely happens. It's more likely that a resume will describe the accomplishment of an entire team instead of the accomplishments of an individual," warns John Sumser in his article entitled Death of the Resume. Another problem - keyword packing - can land an unqualified applicant's resume in the qualified pile.
But is it really true that resumes don't help? Absolutely not. They do, indeed, provide a good starting point for identifying potential employees. However, with an estimated 20 million resumes on the Web, finding qualified candidates can become an overwhelming and time consuming chore. Database management systems that process resumes and identify candidates by keyword are essential for businesses that handle a large amount of incoming resumes.
Resumes introduce you to the applicants. But once you've narrowed down your choices, how do you determine which candidate will be best for the job? Elaine Makris, President of EM-Inc. Legal Search in Houston, Texas says, "I don't use any sort of objective criteria. It's really just my judgment." Ms. Makris believes that her success is a result of her extensive background in law. In addition to being an attorney, she says she's "...been doing this consistently for 13 years so I think that I keep fairly current with what's happening." In her situation, she feels that supplemental profiling information isn't necessary when choosing candidates for a particular position. "I think that we've had a strong success rate because I have a very good idea of what my clients like. I've spent time with them, know what their office environment is, and what type of personality type best fits in that environment. I can really tailor which candidate fits with which client."
Candidate Profiling - What Is It and When Is It Effective?
Candidate profiling evaluates a variety of characteristics that aren't usually evident by simply reading a candidate's resume. Some of the more common characteristics assessed include:
Ability to manage stressful situations
Ability to work as a team member
Creativity
Dependability
Emotional stability
Leadership ability and style
Problem solving ability
Self-motivation
Any number of other personality traits may be probed as well. Some companies examine these factors on a much more detailed level by analyzing the open position and compiling a comprehensive checklist of characteristics possessed by previous successful employees. During the interview, it's along these dimensions that the potential employee is evaluated.
"Clients want to deal with a person about the understanding and tangibles of an individual and those things aren't on a resume. A lot of people write a very generic resume. Their accomplishments aren't on there. People have a very hard time tooting their own horn," says Eric Krueger, President of the Austin Group in Houston, Texas. It's essential to screen candidates in the most effective way and make an objective decision based on the predicted long-term success of the employee - as well as considering the high cost of potential employee turnover.
The Austin Group uses a profiling questionnaire to obtain a particular type of information from candidates. "What we're trying to drive at in our profiles are professional reasons why people are leaving their current positions - other than money. We're also trying to determine how the individual impacted the company in a quantitative and qualitative way - how they saved their company money and time. We evaluate individuals based on their value to a potential employer. {We want to know} what their ideal position is - from job title to duties and function, to corporate culture, to the size of the company, career path, location, etc." explains Mr. Krueger.
Combining Options for Optimal Success
Most recruiters and human resources personnel already use some type of profiling technique whether they're aware of it or not. However, learning to ask the "right" questions during an interview - those that result in a good employee-employer match - is critical. Supplementing your current "regular" interview with structured profiling questions can enhance your selection success rate as well as the hiring company's. |
|
Leslie Burling
/ E-cruiter.com |
|
