If you are trying to fill an open role at your company, then you likely already know how frustrating finding the perfect candidate can be.
In many cases, you put out a call for a job, and what happens? Even if you’re using hiring software, you’re immediately flooded with countless resumes bogging down your email system and wasting your time.
Screening resumes is time consuming, ineffective, and often exposes biases in the hiring process. All too often you discard candidates who could be a great fit simply because their resume doesn’t contain the right keywords for the role you’re currently looking to fill. Even worse, you may never find the right candidate for the role and simply settle for the candidate that makes it through the screening process.
There should be a better way, and there is. It’s time to get rid of resume screening and move onto a better way of hiring.
The Trouble in the Software You Chose
The trouble often starts with the tools that recruiters are using. Hiring software like an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) does help you streamline the process of recruiting candidates for new positions by compiling every resume into a searchable database. This software can save time, however, not all software is created equal.
Most hiring software simply filters out the resumes you’ll receive based on algorithms and specific keywords you choose. However, what if you choose the wrong keywords for a role? This type of software is really only as effective as the hiring manager using it, and can sometimes even exacerbate or emphasize problems within the resume screening process.
Resumes Can Be Hogwash
Perhaps ERE Media said it most eloquently when they said: “Resumes are, at best, self-reported descriptions of historical events.” They went on to say that “Resumes frequently contain untruths and half-truths…as many as 80% of resumes contain misleading statements. And on average, 53% contain actual lies.”
The reality is that candidates can craft a resume that has all the keywords you want in it, thereby beating any algorithm other software may use. In fact, there are numerous articles out there, helping candidates “game the system” by using techniques like resume optimization, or padding their resumes with highly-searched keywords. All this adds up to a recruiter or hiring manager screening resumes and ended up with a pool of the same talent every time.
The Bias in Algorithms
While candidates pad their resumes to fit a hiring algorithm, algorithms can also get you into trouble as an employer. Resume screening with algorithms can be biased and accidentally discriminative.
According to Harvard Business Review, “Man-made algorithms are fallible and may inadvertently reinforce discrimination in hiring practices…Algorithms are, in part, our opinions embedded in code. They reflect human biases and prejudices that lead to machine learning mistakes and misinterpretations.”
Algorithms can unintentionally weed out prospects that may actually be qualified for the job, and they could get you in legal trouble too. Excluding an applicant based on certain elements is illegal, and algorithms used by some automated hiring systems may risk ending “up excluding applicants based on gender, race, age, disability, or military service — all protected classes under employment law.”
The Proof is in the Interview
A resume can be untrustworthy, but an interview tells it like it is. When you assess a candidate using an expert interview script, for example, you have the ability to quantifiably ensure a candidate is who you’re really looking for. A targeted interview allows your potential candidates to prove that they know what you need them to know, and that they can perform tasks you need completed.
Don’t let the word interview worry you though. This doesn’t mean you will have to sit for hours on end interviewing in the traditional sense. At Vervoe, our end goal is to make hiring simple and painless, after all. With our automated interviews you can interview multiple candidates simultaneously and see how they perform in real-world scenarios.
Once you have customized your interview script, potential candidates will be walked through it automatically, testing test their abilities for the job you are hiring for. You’ll be able to thoroughly evaluate their skills and cultural fit simply by asking questions.
Want to see who they are, and get an impression of them? Our software has video interviewing tools as well. Combine that with our audio, text and multiple choice testing options, and by the end of candidate’s interview, you’ll have a pool of top-notch people to choose from.
Vervoe can help you find qualified candidates in as little as 4 days! But, don’t take our word for it. Want to see us in action?
