If we go way back, it is no news that resumes have been a game-changer, especially when it comes to sending resumes online. Compiling all of one’s work experience and skills on a document felt like the easiest way to go about the recruitment process.
Until the talk about forging resumes came along. According to a report by CNBC, about 75% of recruiters have found blatant lies on resumes. The number is so evidently large, and while it is unethical, applicants find it easier to lie on their resume to qualify for a higher post than paving the way for the deserving candidates.
That being said, if big companies with thousands of applicants face this problem, what on earth could start-ups do to dodge this?
Here are a few areas you can focus on to make your recruitment process a lot more efficient and quicker as per industry trends, not to mention that it’s a huge relief for low-capacity recruiters.
Be on the Lookout for Inaccurate Dates
Most of the inconsistencies on a resume can be detected through common sense, especially dates. While this method may not apply to all cases, it can help weed out illegitimate resumes by a great deal.
When it comes to details on education, you can do basic research to find out when a university onboards fresh students and when they pass out to check for inconsistencies. However, when it comes to the professional experience section, you may have to find out if that particular job had a job posting online at the time.
Both of the tips may take a bit of an extra effort, but they will bear fruition when it comes to accepting the right candidate, knowing that they are fit for the job.
Scrutinize Their Work Experience
Based on the educational qualifications the candidate has enlisted and the work experience they had done previously, it can be easy to gauge if they are genuine or not.
Candidates are not hesitant to hide employment gaps on resume and to improve the quality of hire, managers must decipher hidden meaning within strange employment timelines.
The first step you can take is searching the company on google and check if they have the job post that the candidate has enlisted in their resume.
After performing plagiarism tests online and cross-checking the work experience with the actual profile title, you can more or less assess if the candidate is authentic. The initial two-part process will make the process a lot easier to cancel out the blatantly dishonest resumes and save time as well.
Along with that, you could ask for references from their previous employers and if the numbers or email addresses do not exist, you know what that means.
Cross-Check the Key Skills
Owing to the popularity that ATS has gained in recent years when it comes to improving the efficiency of the recruitment process, there have been various efforts to deal with that by unethical means.
To pass the ATS, one could extract any skills from the job description and pretend as though they actually possess those skills.
A simple test is to cross-check if the skills section of the resume falls in line with the professional experience section, education section as well as certifications section. The skills that the candidate lists must check out with their work experience or course modules from their degree.
You could also create a quick test or any sort of an assessment to see if those skills are genuine. Along with that, look out for any major skills that simply don’t align with their career trajectory or seniority level.
Conduct Thorough Interviews
All said and done, no level of assessment beats the interview process. It can be the hiring manager’s golden chance to figure out any inconsistencies along with having a deeper understanding of their prospective employees.
You could run by their work experience, certifications, education, skills, and any other detail to check for inconsistencies in explanation. While cross-checking is crucial, the best way to know more about your applicant is through interviews.
By engaging them in a conversation, you could also see if they are passionate about their work and if the applicant has what it takes to join your organization by asking them relevant questions.
Pay extra attention to the dates as it won’t be very far off if the person had actually worked with the companies and ask for references from their previous employers as well.
Key takeaways
As a start-up, it might be difficult for you to assess the sea of applicants and choose the right fit. Being in a fast-paced environment, you would be looking out for an individual who is actually passionate about their job. It might be disheartening to spot blatant bluffs on a resume and it might feel strange to trust candidates based on a document alone.
Here are some tips you can use to combat this dilemma:
- Be on the lookout for inconsistent dates and formatting by cross-checking it with online sources to find out if the opportunity was even available at the time that the candidate mentions
- Pay attention to the professional experience section and gauge if it had actually been done by the applicant by scrutinizing it based on their seniority level and the functions they performed
- Notice any far-fetched claims on their key skills by referencing the applicants’ work experience, degree course modules, and certifications
- Conduct a thorough interview where you ask all of your doubts about their resume and ask key questions to know if they are the right candidate
Even if you select the wrong candidate, you are safeguarded by the probation period! Keep these in mind and go ahead with your recruitment process to get your company a passionate individual who checks all of your boxes.