Screen Resumes

 Toolkit for Recruiting Association Executives

5. Screen

ResumesGuidelines

The goal of the resume screening process is to select the top candidates that the Search Committee will contact for the first round of interviews. Screening resumes will help you determine which candidates to move forward in the interview and selection process by comparing their qualifications to the minimum position requirements (see “Determine Position Requirements,” Section 3 ).

Narrowing the list of candidates that apply for your position can be challenging, especially if there are many qualified applicants. The first step with selecting appropriate candidates is to screen the cover letter and resume of each applicant. The resume will tell you what the candidate has done, but not how well he/she did it.

What to look for when reviewing resumes

A resume is a written summarization of the candidate’s experience, skills, knowledge, and education. When reviewing candidate information, compare the resume to the job requirements outlined by the Search Committee (see “Determine Position Requirements,” Section 3 ). The job requirements provide the screening parameters for the selection process.

When reviewing each resume, review the questions below to determine whether or not the candidate is the right fit for the position.

• Is there a consistent and stable employment history?
• Are there gaps in employment dates, overlaps in time, or frequent job-hopping?
• Are there inconsistencies in education or experience?
• Are there examples of accomplishments and advancement?
• Are the accomplishments specific or vague?
• Is the resume organized, neat, and free of errors?

Sample Candidate Selection Form

A candidate selection form can be developed and used in the screening process to review candidate information against position requirements. This method is an objective way to determine which candidates should be selected for a phone interview.

The scoring process will provide you with a consistent way to rate candidates based on their resumes. When reviewing resumes, sort the resumes into three piles: 1) meets requirements; 2) meets some requirements; and 3) does not meet requirements. After you have reviewed all of the resumes, the total scores for each candidate can be used as a tool for prioritizing which candidates to contact first.

Sample Candidate Selection Form

* Add or subtract from the technical criteria list above based on the position requirements that the Search Committee defined (see “Determine Position Requirements,” Section 3 ).

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Go to Chapter 6: Conduct Interviews .

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