To successfully qualify a resume and decrease time to hire, internal recruiters or an organization’s hiring team should spend 2-3 minutes on each resume scanning for quantitative accomplishments that align with the job description during the recruitment process.
In a candidate-driven market, niche talent is often only on the market for 10 days or less. In a talent shortage, organizations must screen for reasons to hire rather than to disqualify.
If you’re responsible for engaging qualified talent while decreasing time to hire for your organization, this information will provide insights into the average time recruiters and hiring manager should spend reviewing resumes and what they should be looking for to fill the job opening.
Best practices for reviewing a resume to decrease time to hire
During the recruitment process in a talent shortage, it’s important for organizations to find ways to quickly access talent, increase hiring manager satisfaction and decrease turnover – and the average time to hire.
While seven seconds is the bare minimum that the most experienced staffing agency recruiters can spend reviewing a resume, internal recruiters should target 2 – 3 minutes.
Once an initial resume screening is completed and a summary sheet created, a hiring manager should aim for 3 – 5 minutes per resume that advances to their desk.
Qualifying resumes efficiently is underpinned by deeply understanding the role’s factors of fit – the characteristics and qualifications of a candidate who can excel both in the role and the organization.
What to screen for: Quantitative accomplishments
To qualify candidates faster and decrease time to hire, it’s critical to scan a resume for quantitative accomplishments – these are results orientated statements rather than role responsibilities.
Where to find quantitative accomplishments:
- Headline
- Work history section
- Awards and accomplishments
What quantitative accomplishments look like:
When reviewing a resume to qualify talent faster and decrease time to hire, it’s important to look for numbers. These numbers can come in the form of:
Percentages
- Targets achieved
- “Increased website traffic via social media by X% within X days.”
- Service provision
- “Decreased escalations by X% within X days.”
- Costs saved
- “Reduced department spending by X% within first X days.”
Sizes
- Portfolio
- “Managed a customer base of X clients.”
- Teams
- “Lead a department team of X staff members.”
- Project
- “Managed a $X expansion project across X location.”
Locations
- Countries and cities
- “Trained new employees across X countries/cities.”
- Offices
- “Managed regional sales teams across x offices.”
Budgets
- Budget responsibility
- “Led Project X with a budget of $X, resulting in X% increase in sales.”
Technical Skills
Qualifying resumes and decreasing time to hire means recruiters and hiring teams must also pay attention to the technical skills section on a resume. Technical skills are the knowledge and abilities needed to take on mathematical, engineering, scientific or computer related duties. Does the candidate have the technical skills required to fulfil the job duties?
Qualifications and Certifications outside of post-secondary education
In the skills economy, a candidate may still be qualified for a role even without a four-year degree. In order to qualify talent and decrease time to hire during the hiring process, ask yourself: Does the individual list any certifications, courses or hands on experience in the field that could provide them with the skills required to do the job? Assessments can be used to drill down on these candidates.
How a staffing agency can help your organization access talent and decrease time to hire
A popular strategy to decreasing time to hire is partnering with an experienced staffing firm. An experienced recruiting firm will provide flexibility, service differentiation and expert guidance to help its client organization navigate through the current and unchartered business environment.
When recruiting remotely, it can prove overwhelming amid the distractions that come from working from home. An experienced agency that understands your talent needs will source, screen and onboard resources for you.
As the agency is responsible for the recruiting component of the process, the administrative time and costs associated with the process are removed from your budget – saving time and money. The enhanced exposure of your opportunity through the staffing agency’s resources can increase the odds that the talent you’re seeking finds your role. Staffing agencies are also aware of what talent has recently entered the market and can source that resource quickly and effectively on both a full-time or a contingent basis.
The Re-Imagined Recruitment Playbook
Over the past two years, we have captured hard won lessons learned across thousands of worker hiring engagements by our team of professional recruiters and distilled them into practical ideas that you can start using immediately. The Re-Imagined Recruitment Playbook is a step-by-step guide to help source, screen, select, onboard and retain talent in the New World of Work.
