You’ve advertised a job and been inundated with applicants: dozens of CVs to look at, and not sure where to start? This is a perfectly normal response to being overwhelmed with job applications and you shouldn’t feel bad for feeling this way. In order to make the task of processing them easier, we have broken it down into a few helpful ‘dos and don’ts’ to help you find the stars you need to take through to the next stage.
Do:
- Have a clear list of ‘essentials’ and ‘desirables’ relating to specific skills, experiences and qualifications you can score each candidate against. Having this scorecard handy while you peruse CVs can make it a lot easier to keep track of what it is you are looking for. It is perfectly normal to go a bit “CV blind” from reading the same things over and over again at some point during the process. It would be easy to forget what it is you are trying to achieve if you didn’t have the scorecard as a handy reminder.
- Look for more than a list of responsibilities under each of the candidate’s jobs – a list generally means those were the things the candidate was required to do, but it doesn’t show what they did, or how well they did it. Even if they had what could be a mundane job, they can still explain how they met / exceeded targets.
- Look for individual achievements – things the candidate has described that they successfully managed or contributed to, and which fit with the type of work you would want them to do.
Don’t:
- Assume anything from a job title, apart from the fact that the candidate had that job title! Job titles can actually mean very little and sometimes a job title that sounds more senior was actually given in lieu of a pay rise and didn’t have the level of seniority that you may otherwise have expected it to.
- Assume anything from gaps in a career history either – there could be many reasons for some time-out, some of which candidates won’t wish to disclose on a CV without having the chance to explain in more detail. Sometimes people have quite dramatic reasons for career gaps such as having to suddenly uproot to get away from an abusive ex, so try to cut them some slack with this particular point.
- Accept their assertion that they have excellent skills until you see evidence in their CV of how they would have used them.
One final point to remember - if you see something on a CV, and want to know more before you decide if someone should be shortlisted for an interview, then there's nothing to stop you getting in touch for some clarification.
This can be as easy as calling or emailing the applicant and having a quick discussion about the point in question and doesn’t need to be anywhere near as complex as a full phone interview. If you don't, you could be missing out on a real top performer!
