For Recruiters and Staffing Professionals - How are you dealing with the tsunami of resumes that you get for every job posting?
As a person with many years corporate staffing experience I've sifted through enough piles of resumes to sink a ship. These days recruiters and staffing offices must be overwhelmed with a flood of resumes in the first 20 minutes of posting a job. I'm beginning to think that they are so covered up with resumes that they don't even bother to sort through them.
I think that because I'm currently in a job search and have applied to many things on-line and sent resume emails etc. etc. etc. I've been very fortunate to get several interviews but NOT ONE is a result of something I applied on line to. Every interview I've had is a result of the company finding my resume on line and calling me based on that. I'm guessing that recruiters are forgoing the resume responses and simply pulling candidates from an on-line search.
Do you think there's anything to my guess?
Amanda
Answers (3)
Dawn B
Director, Business Development & Human Resources
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Amanda,
The smart recruiter doesn't even touch a paper copy of resumes any more.
Nowadays, the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) collects the resumes online, and recruiters run a query on the key skill words that will determine whether an applicant is qualified enough to become a candidate.
The query will end up with approximately 5 - 10 qualified applicants, the recruiter glances over the resume to determine if the job seeker really has enough on the resume to determine if they might fulfill the needs or be able to handle the taskings. AND then they e-mail the resume to the hiring manager for review to see if s/he likes what they see. If they do, they will have the recruiter call the applicants who has now become a candidate for pre-interview questions. AND then the recruiters will set up interviews.
You are correct there is a tsunami of resumes for each job opening, but there is not always an applicant who qualifies. (I have encountered one job seeker who applied for all 80 jobs I had posted, causing me a lot of wasted time marking him as disqualified for all of them. I also marked him as disqualified for all future jobs for the burden he placed on me.)
I worked at defense companies where there were about 200-500 job applicants for each job posting, and yes, it's physically impossible to read every one. Hence the query for those that come up at the top of the pile during a query.
AND, there may be no qualified candidates for those positions - so recruiters have to go out to other databases to seek the best qualified candidate.
If you wish to get your resume to come to the top of the heap, check out my PowerPoint Presentation on Resume Tips on my LinkedIn profile. You'll be surprised how the game is played! But you'll benefit from reviewing the information and putting it into effect for your own resume.
Good Luck in your job search!
I accept all LinkedIn invites: Dawn.Boyer@me.com
Links:
I wish I had that problem, in healthcare the exact opposite is true. I spend all day sourcing hoping to catch one MD,RN or Allied at the right time, most people in healthcare have a job and are not looking. However in IT you are exactly right according to my colleagues who go through hundreds of resumes and field calls all day long sent by people that are anything but qualified for the position. With all of that said depending on the level of the position it is rare that we find the right person on the boards it is more of ATS and other sourcing methods to pull resume's.
Linda L
Client Relations at The Staffing Company
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As we don't use a 'database' or a 'tracking software', I do go through every single resume. I immediately disregard any that are not qualified for our positions (in a field we don't work with, ie. medical, legal, etc.). The rest, I sort into different electronic folders: call now, hold until later, maybe, and 'no really, call now'! I have called candidates two months later for a different position because I thought they may be a good fit. I prefer an 'interested' candidate, one who sent us their resume, as opposed to calling from a search I performed. The difference is their level of interest. There seems to be more of a commitment from those who send us their resumes. The trick for us, is that we only posted a fraction of the positions we have open. Sometimes it's as simple as going back through some of the resumes, or someone I already talked to, to find the right fit for that new position. Since our goal is to get as many people back to work as possible (here in Michigan), I do review each and every resume. Sometimes it just takes a while!
