Resume screening may seem like a boring backend process that you have no control over. But you actually have major control — if not in the screening itself, in how successfully your resume makes it through the resume gauntlet!
Although you know that your resume plays a key role in getting you that all-important interview, there’s a part of the picture most people don’t know anything about. It’s the dreaded resume screener. And I was one of them as part of my hiring responsibilities.
So let’s start by taking you behind the secret curtain to help you understand a bit more about those mysterious interview / hiring process steps. And what you can do to maximize your chances.
Exactly who is resume screening?
Resume screeners come in all sizes and shapes. You can’t order them from Amazon. You can’t spot them in a crowd. But they’re out there. Ready to either pass you through to the next level. Or alternatively give you — or more precisely your resume — the boot.
Unfortunately, there’s no handy-dandy picture guide to help you identify resume screeners ahead of time and prepare accordingly. So here’s a short primer on who some of them are (based on my experience). Or at least who some of them MIGHT be. And why they might do whatever it is that they wind up doing to you:
- Recruiters (deciding if the employer even gets to see your resume)
- Employment agencies (ditto)
- Experienced HR
- New HR
- Tired HR
- Angry HR
- Just got dumped by boyfriend HR
- Happy HR (a rare breed, except of course the nice ones I know)
- New to screening MANAGER
- Experienced screener and good at it MANAGER
- Experienced screener and really bad at MANAGER
- Just anyone in the department who gets picked
- Professional consultant screeners
- Professional consultants asked to be screeners
- Owner of company
- Administrative help who sort of has heard about screening and wants to be extra careful
- Administrative help who just got a new job and could care less
- Person who used to do the job and will still be there in a new role
- Person who used to do the job and can’t wait to get out
OK. You get the idea. Useful thought: pretty much anybody can screen your resume. On top of that, who knows what kind of mood they’re in that day or how much they know about screening in general.
Also automated resume screening!
And they use key word and key phrase screening. You may know that your resume on occasion (more and more often in fact) has to go through an electronic key word or key phrase screening process or automated resume screening.
Nothing all that new there. But have you ever thought who tells the computer which key words / key phrases to check for?
It doesn’t just happen. Someone has to actually select and enter the screening criteria into the screening software. And not always does that person really think through or fully understand what they’re filtering out or including by the words they choose.
Automated screening is an art, But not all the people who choose the criteria are truly skilled at doing this. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying many of them are NOT! (See list above to refresh your memory.) I know that’s not fair, but at least now and then, your resume will have to make it through less than ideal resume screening hurdles.
Can you outsmart resume screeners?
For the most part you can’t. You have no idea who or what will be handling your resume first. Or how well anyone has thought-through that initial part of the screening process.
And after that, for as long as the hiring process lasts, your resume could get passed around — winding up in the hands of anyone in the company or elsewhere. Each person ready to offer his or her own opinion of your qualifications.
Does anyone survive this obstacle course?
Of course they do. And in most cases it’s not quite that bad. But since you never know what your resume will be facing, it pays to give it your absolute best shot at all times. As much as is humanly possible, you need to make your resume and cover letter idiot-proof!
Important resume steps to consider
Take the time to think about who you are and what you want. Make your resume reflect your brand. Make your resume sing with your most valuable talents and skills. Target it and your skills to the specific job.
What makes you special? This is not the time to be shy. But you don’t want to brag either. Make your resume reflect a person who is competent but likeable. And whatever it takes … make it the best you can!
Why a well-crafted resume matters
In many cases, you have only a few seconds for your screener to select your resume from the big pile and decide if they want to put you in their small “Yes” pile. Some resumes don’t even get to be read all the way through before being vanquished to the “No” pile. That’s why good enough is simply not good enough.
Critical to your chances of getting selected … make sure your resume and cover letter speak directly to the employer’s needs and not yours. And the place to start is the job ad itself. Also your clue for key words and key phrases — just in case. And of course, use your cover letter to support you in all of that!
Your job is to make it easy for the screener to quickly see why you belong in the “yes” pile. No matter how much they know about resume screening. No matter what kind of day they’re having.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
More resume & cover letter tips:
10 Things I Look for When I Screen Resumes and Cover Letters
10 Resume Writing Tips For Stronger Resumes
How To Match Your Resume To The Job
Why a Resume Gets Rejected — Even Good Ones!
Right on Jennifer! After all…this is about finding a job and NOT pleasing recruiters. As long as folks are careful about not crossing the line between networking and stalking 😉 they should definitely try to get names and politely make their own initial contact when possible.
One note of caution: If you’re already working with a recruiter, be careful of boundaries since both sides there often give priority to their relationship.
~ Ronnie Ann
So true! This whole recruitment process really has gone down the toilet hasn’t it?
It used to be so much simpler when we all communicated in person before we all converted to living our lives through e-mail, text, and twitter.
It’s no wonder the recruitment process fails so often. Wait about six weeks after you first apply for a job online and you will see the same job advertisement listed again. You’ll probably shake your head and wonder why they didn’t call you too.
“Crapshoot” is exactly the term I would use as well.
I have started encouraging people to stop following the directions on job advertisements. Instead, I encourage people to start networking to get those resumes in the hands of real decision makers.
Now I suspect a recruiter or hiring manager might jump on here and freak out about getting personal contact…but it’s working for the people I work with so arguing against personal contact is going to convince me that my advice is actually good advice. 😉
Awww…thanks Rick. Crapshoot is so right. Agree that a strong targeted resume that clearly matches the employer’s needs goes a long way toward setting and making the point…er…getting the job.
~ R
To anyone who isn’t familiar with craps, setting and making the point are parts of the game. 😉
Hi BA!
Nicely said. I’ve worked in IT and you’re so right about people applying for things they are vastly unqualified for. And especially in IT, keywords and phrases really do matter. Having worked in an Oracle shop, I’m smiling at what you said about Oracle. But agree it’s smart to leave out a skill like that if you don’t want to do Oracle any more – as long as you still include your related accomplishments.
Just want to add this one thought…sometimes when we’re hiring for an IT spot, we are willing to hire someone with only some of the key requirements. I’ve done it myself. It all depends on how you word your cover letter and how you come off in your interviews. Don’t be afraid to apply places where your keywords are a bit lower than your current criteria. Just include a good cover letter and aim at what you see as the company’s most important need, explaining why you are the right person after all. A strong honest story that brings it all together can sometimes make up for a few missing keywords.
Good luck, BA!
~ Ronnie Ann
Nice job RA! Just goes to show that the job search can be a crapshoot unless your resume meets the eye of someone who knows what he or she is doing.
But all the more reason to make sure that ANY resume you send out must be targeted at the employer’s needs. The more skills and qualifications you have that link up with words in the job posting, the better.
I was in the job market a year ago and now it looks like I’ll be in it again in January. Being in IT, I’m very aware of keywords in my resume. Most job postings insist you submit your resume in Word format so they can scan it (I prefer PDF so I know my formatting will stick).
Most of my current co-workers look down on tech certifications because so many inexperienced people have them. While I agree they are totally over-rated, they sure help on your resume. This is especially true with smaller companies where the only technical person on-site is the vacant position in question. I posted my resume on a few job boards a year ago and still get steady calls because of a few specific keywords. One of my certs is technically expired (I’m working on renewing it now) but I leave it on my resume anyway so I show up in searches. On the flip side, there are certain keywords (like Oracle which I know but don’t enjoy) that I purposely leave off my resume so I don’t get calls for those jobs.
It’s frustrating but I can see the employer’s side of it as well. When you’re getting bombarded with resumes for every position, you need to weed out obviously unqualified people ASAP. I have a few friends who routinely apply for CTO-level positions even though they have only managed small teams and budgets. And I’m sure entry-level techs are applying for the same senior admin and engineer positions as me. If my resume doesn’t have keywords that legitimately hit about 60-70% of a job posting, I typically don’t apply.