Recruiting: 5 Keys to Selecting Candidates Based on Their Resumes

Like any buyer, you must be careful not to fall into the trap of packaging when you meet a job applicant. Just because the box is nice and big doesn't mean it's full and the product inside is of good quality. It's the same with candidates and their resumes.
I strongly recommend that you analyze resumes with a magnifying glass. The formatting of the document is there to help the candidate sell themselves and get an interview. It can also help to hide interesting elements.

1. Prioritize content

Even if it's tempting to spend more time on beautiful resumes, it's important to disregard the layout. A beautiful body can hide a low-quality product.
Similarly, resumes with less attractive formatting can be very interesting. Try to read between the lines, there may be interesting information that you could miss.

2. Investigate

Do your little investigation on past experiences.
The experience section normally provides the names of employers for whom the candidate has worked or is currently employed. You may personally know some of them. If you have contacts in these companies, you can try calling them before scheduling an interview with the candidate. This will save you time. Your contact may be able to tell you whether or not it's worth meeting the candidate. Also ask them about the project he worked on, and if he succeeded in what was asked of him. It would be a shame to hire someone who cost their employer money...

3. Look for contradictions or inconsistencies

Contradictions and inconsistencies are more numerous than one tends to assume. Remain wary of people who would sometimes do anything to get a job.

Some examples:

• Unless you are a high-level athlete, you are rarely an expert at 22 years old
• Can you be a manager or director of 130 people at age 21?
• Can you speak 6 languages perfectly without having lived abroad?
• Why was a candidate who made his company 5 million euros last year just fired?
• He is very interested in the position but he lives 200 kilometers away and he does not wish to move.
• He was quality manager in a 5-person SME (this is inconsistent with the size of the company).
• He is applying for a team or project manager position, but his last experience indicates that he was an intern and that he is fresh out of school.
• He does not have a valid work permit, but his last experience indicates that he worked in a company located in France.
• He shows very strong motivation and a lot of insistence in his application.
• Too much can be the enemy of good. It's good to be motivated but it may be a smokescreen hiding something. Be wary! Ask yourself the question: "Why does he need this position so much, and why not another one?"
• He mentioned some references in his cover letter or resume, and all the phone numbers are mobile phone numbers. These numbers can belong to anyone, including friends.

4. Be meticulous about language

A resume is an essential tool in the job search. It should normally be impeccable.
Look for spelling mistakes and words belonging to the familiar register. Agreement errors must also be tracked.
You are looking for a professional, able to express themselves and write a professional document without slipping into the repertoire of words used with their friends.

5. The case of anonymous resumes and resumes without photos.

Why does the candidate need to hide? Will he come to the interview disguised as a ghost and covered in a white sheet to try to disappear?
Some use anonymous resumes to avoid discrimination related to belonging to a community or an ethnic group, to hide excess weight, to hide a disturbing name, pimples on the face or a huge tattoo on the neck.

It is true that some recruiters can make a selection based on the physical profile or the names of the candidates. At first glance, the anonymous resume is a good idea because it allows to give an equal chance to everyone. This reflection is purely theoretical, because you must always take into account the human component.

When you receive the candidate and he is in front of you, you will not be able to avoid analyzing him and judging him according to your criteria, some of which will be purely subjective! One of the human behaviors (among the most basic) is to surround oneself with people who resemble us. We understand others better if they are a bit like us. We feel things. Moreover, the expression "I don't feel it", speaking of someone else, indicates this attitude well. One doesn't feel the other, simply means that the unconscious analysis of all the verbal and behavioral signals by the first person, does not allow to create enough links to establish a minimum level of trust. It then becomes difficult to create a relationship allowing more in-depth exchanges.
Our defense system needs to see who we are dealing with. This is the basis of relationships with others. The photo helps the recruiter in this unconscious approach which will allow him to establish a first judgment. This will lead, or not, to a recruitment interview.

To summarize, the anonymous resume only obscures the tracks and makes your work even more difficult. So, in a logic of efficiency and time saving, don't spend too much time on resumes voluntarily made anonymous by their author. You can take a look at it, because there may be a rare gem. In any case, you remain responsible for your recruitment.

You will find many keys to analyze candidates in my books "How to detect lies" and "Don't be mistaken about their intentions".
The behavioral analysis method presented is based on more than 60 years of research in neurosciences.

Eric Goulard.

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