I would like to have some good tips on resume reading. Also would like to know when should a resume be read top - bottom or bottom - up.
What are the ways of identifying a fake resume while reading a resume.
Thanks.
From India
What are the ways of identifying a fake resume while reading a resume.
Thanks.
From India
Hi,
A resume is supposed to be a formal document which the candidate is expected to prepare meticulously - it must speak for the person. Thus, the scope is vast & involves aspects such as format used, language, use of correct grammar, terminology used & career goal phrasing.
The amount of effort invested by a person in preparing the resume can be easily guaged at a glance if you consider the aforementioned factors. A good resume will appeal to the reader on all fronts - it will have a simple layout, neat format, use correct language (spelling / sentence formation), be grammatically correct, have an original sounding career goal & use correct terminology. Significantly, it will not contain information which is blatantly plagiarised without acknowledging the source - you will find this glaring error in the paragraphs describing the company a person works for / the projects executed - in an illprepared resume, these will be out of sync with the rest of the resume, mainly in language & grammar.
That being said, you may well have experienced that the aspects mentioned above are hardly noticed in a majority of resumes - so should all of them be weeded out in during screening? No. It would be a fallacy to do so. Writing a resume is not everybody's strength. So, it is necessary to identify the salient aspects before screening out a resume.
To achieve this, focus on the job description & skill set - these are the most important aspects to be considered at the screening stage.
Identifying a fake resume is a tough nut to crack - especially if you are willing to consider badly drafted resumes. The obvious method would be to identify glaring inconsistencies in the resume - for example, if the work experience & the claims of tasks performed by a person are not justifiable. Also, if you have some factual data, it is possible to validate correctness of claims - for example, if a person claims to have acquired certain qualifications from an institution, the correctness could be verified.
Best wishes
Sushant
From India, Hyderabad
A resume is supposed to be a formal document which the candidate is expected to prepare meticulously - it must speak for the person. Thus, the scope is vast & involves aspects such as format used, language, use of correct grammar, terminology used & career goal phrasing.
The amount of effort invested by a person in preparing the resume can be easily guaged at a glance if you consider the aforementioned factors. A good resume will appeal to the reader on all fronts - it will have a simple layout, neat format, use correct language (spelling / sentence formation), be grammatically correct, have an original sounding career goal & use correct terminology. Significantly, it will not contain information which is blatantly plagiarised without acknowledging the source - you will find this glaring error in the paragraphs describing the company a person works for / the projects executed - in an illprepared resume, these will be out of sync with the rest of the resume, mainly in language & grammar.
That being said, you may well have experienced that the aspects mentioned above are hardly noticed in a majority of resumes - so should all of them be weeded out in during screening? No. It would be a fallacy to do so. Writing a resume is not everybody's strength. So, it is necessary to identify the salient aspects before screening out a resume.
To achieve this, focus on the job description & skill set - these are the most important aspects to be considered at the screening stage.
Identifying a fake resume is a tough nut to crack - especially if you are willing to consider badly drafted resumes. The obvious method would be to identify glaring inconsistencies in the resume - for example, if the work experience & the claims of tasks performed by a person are not justifiable. Also, if you have some factual data, it is possible to validate correctness of claims - for example, if a person claims to have acquired certain qualifications from an institution, the correctness could be verified.
Best wishes
Sushant
From India, Hyderabad
Dear Member
The article has certainly given me sum added knowlede
finding loop holes such as
break in education
skill acquistions
psychy interview questions will certainly find 60 % resume validity
thank you very much for sharing your value thoughts with forum members
Thank u
Yandamuri
From India, Visakhapatnam
The article has certainly given me sum added knowlede
finding loop holes such as
break in education
skill acquistions
psychy interview questions will certainly find 60 % resume validity
thank you very much for sharing your value thoughts with forum members
Thank u
Yandamuri
From India, Visakhapatnam
1. The resume looks right
There are thousands of resume templates online, so putting one’s work history in the right format should be routine. Spell check only takes a minute and even those errors that spell check doesn’t catch should be caught by a friend reading over the resume in question. If an applicant can’t get a resume right, it’s a warning sign right off the bat that maybe she doesn’t want the job or wouldn’t be a particularly good catch.
2. Clear advancement on paper
One of the most important characteristics a resume can show you is that the candidate keeps moving forward. It’s rare that you want to hire someone who can’t—or won’t—advance in your company or grow in their own career. You can see from a glance at the job titles listed on a resume if a potential hire has simply moved sideways at each company she’s worked for or if she has moved up the ranks.
It’s worth noting that, especially with younger job applicants, advancement often requires moving to another company. While job hopping may be a sign that the applicant has trouble sticking with a job, it may also signal that she is able to move on to bigger responsibilities quickly and has been able advance with each hop. In fact, advancement by job hopping isn’t uncommon when you consider that many managers expect employees to put in time in the trenches before a promotion.
3. At least a little diversity
Diversity can be a crucial strength for companies; great ideas are often generated by teams whose members have different viewpoints and experiences. However, racial, ethnic or gender diversity aren’t the criteria you’re looking for—you don’t want to tangle with a suggestion of that kind of discrimination—but there are other types of diversity to look for. If you can find good applicants with different educational backgrounds or hobbies or career paths, you can bring a wider range of viewpoints into your company.
Assuming that the applicants you’re considering are equally qualified in other respects, it’s worthwhile to make a list of some of the qualities your current employees have. That will provide you a point of comparison to check whether a new hire will bring a new point of view to your business.
It’s worth noting that many companies immediately disqualify resumes that mention information that could potentially be used to discriminate between candidates—information about race and other protected classes. If you have any questions about what information you can use to make a hiring decision, consult with a legal professional who has experience in human resources issues.
4. A way to learn more
Not all jobs require a portfolio or a list of references, but a good resume should at least give you an idea about how to learn more about your candidate’s abilities. That may take the form of a website or a portfolio or a second or third page of the resume, but the best hires will always anticipate your needs and make it easy for you to move past their resume.
It’s rare that a resume tells you everything you need to choose an employee. Interviews are a standard part of the process, but when you can look at examples of a candidate’s work, or even follow some of their ideas on a blog, you can tell much faster if you’ve found the right person.
5. A cover letter that explains oddities
There are few job applicants who have had careers that are tailor-made for sharing through a resume. If I applied for a job tomorrow, my resume would likely make some human resource managers cringe—I’ve been self-employed, held overlapping jobs, and generally haven’t had a career that could be summarized in a neat list on a piece of paper. Resume quirks don’t have to stop you from considering a good candidate, especially if you’ve got a cover letter that clarifies the situation.
Explaining big gaps, non-work experiences and other relevant parts of one’s background are indications that an applicant has thought through potential problems, as well as why she would still be a good fit for your company.
Going beyond the resume
Just because the resume is a perfect fit for your business, it’s worth remembering that no candidate is just the piece of paper he sent your way. It’s always worth double checking the information, as well as doing a trial run with the applicant to see if she can live up to her resume. Or maybe a game of chess will help you decide.
From India, Bangalore
There are thousands of resume templates online, so putting one’s work history in the right format should be routine. Spell check only takes a minute and even those errors that spell check doesn’t catch should be caught by a friend reading over the resume in question. If an applicant can’t get a resume right, it’s a warning sign right off the bat that maybe she doesn’t want the job or wouldn’t be a particularly good catch.
2. Clear advancement on paper
One of the most important characteristics a resume can show you is that the candidate keeps moving forward. It’s rare that you want to hire someone who can’t—or won’t—advance in your company or grow in their own career. You can see from a glance at the job titles listed on a resume if a potential hire has simply moved sideways at each company she’s worked for or if she has moved up the ranks.
It’s worth noting that, especially with younger job applicants, advancement often requires moving to another company. While job hopping may be a sign that the applicant has trouble sticking with a job, it may also signal that she is able to move on to bigger responsibilities quickly and has been able advance with each hop. In fact, advancement by job hopping isn’t uncommon when you consider that many managers expect employees to put in time in the trenches before a promotion.
3. At least a little diversity
Diversity can be a crucial strength for companies; great ideas are often generated by teams whose members have different viewpoints and experiences. However, racial, ethnic or gender diversity aren’t the criteria you’re looking for—you don’t want to tangle with a suggestion of that kind of discrimination—but there are other types of diversity to look for. If you can find good applicants with different educational backgrounds or hobbies or career paths, you can bring a wider range of viewpoints into your company.
Assuming that the applicants you’re considering are equally qualified in other respects, it’s worthwhile to make a list of some of the qualities your current employees have. That will provide you a point of comparison to check whether a new hire will bring a new point of view to your business.
It’s worth noting that many companies immediately disqualify resumes that mention information that could potentially be used to discriminate between candidates—information about race and other protected classes. If you have any questions about what information you can use to make a hiring decision, consult with a legal professional who has experience in human resources issues.
4. A way to learn more
Not all jobs require a portfolio or a list of references, but a good resume should at least give you an idea about how to learn more about your candidate’s abilities. That may take the form of a website or a portfolio or a second or third page of the resume, but the best hires will always anticipate your needs and make it easy for you to move past their resume.
It’s rare that a resume tells you everything you need to choose an employee. Interviews are a standard part of the process, but when you can look at examples of a candidate’s work, or even follow some of their ideas on a blog, you can tell much faster if you’ve found the right person.
5. A cover letter that explains oddities
There are few job applicants who have had careers that are tailor-made for sharing through a resume. If I applied for a job tomorrow, my resume would likely make some human resource managers cringe—I’ve been self-employed, held overlapping jobs, and generally haven’t had a career that could be summarized in a neat list on a piece of paper. Resume quirks don’t have to stop you from considering a good candidate, especially if you’ve got a cover letter that clarifies the situation.
Explaining big gaps, non-work experiences and other relevant parts of one’s background are indications that an applicant has thought through potential problems, as well as why she would still be a good fit for your company.
Going beyond the resume
Just because the resume is a perfect fit for your business, it’s worth remembering that no candidate is just the piece of paper he sent your way. It’s always worth double checking the information, as well as doing a trial run with the applicant to see if she can live up to her resume. Or maybe a game of chess will help you decide.
From India, Bangalore
Find answers from people who have previously dealt with business and work issues similar to yours - Please Register and Log In to CiteHR and post your query.