So you advertised the job and a pile of resumes have landed on your desk.  Now what?  Kathy Hughes helps you sift through and find the people worth interviewing.

"Please disregard the attached resume -- it is terribly out of date."

If someone is really interested in your job, they will have put effort into their resume; after all it is their showcase.  A resume doesn’t need to be a novel, but it does need to give you a concise work history with detail on significant achievements.  A hurried paragraph may denote someone with a slapdash “she’ll be right” attitude and not someone who is really keen on your job.

"You are privileged to receive my resume."

Verbose introductions leave me cold.  “Rising like cream to the top of everything I’ve done”, presents someone with the arrogance to blow a trumpet that others probably wouldn’t.

"I perform my job with effortless efficiency, effectiveness, efficacy, and expertise."

Personal statements are just so much hogwash and often the same hogwash turns up in seven out of ten resumes.  Often the objectives have been written for one job when the applicant has actually applied for another. 

“I aim to find a challenging sales position in the furniture trade that will reflect my experience in retail and provide an opportunity for continued career growth.” 

Great!  So why are you applying for a reception role in a sausage factory employing six people? 

"Work Experience: Dealing with customers' conflicts that arouse ."

The work experience section should tell you about the previous jobs as well as provide clues on the applicant’s abilities and knowledge.   Read this bit carefully.  No matter how well the resume is written, close examination may uncover gaps and inconsistencies.   Resumes that only detail the year of employment make me immediately suspicious.  Look at how many jobs there are.  This pattern of employment can reflect possible behaviours.  Previous behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour.  If you have a candidate who moves jobs every two years, do you want to be their next pit stop?

A sudden change from stable to unstable could indicate a change in personal circumstances.  Conversely clear job details with specific achievements may indicate that the person has been working steadily towards career or personal goals. 

"Here are my qualifications for you to overlook."

Similarly with education, have they actually completed the degree or qualification, and how many changes did they make?  How long have they been studying and do the years of study coincide with part time work?  Training or continued studies might show a person who is keen to improve or a perpetual student lacking in commitment, depending on the circumstances.

"Special skills: Thyping."

Read the skills but don’t take them as read.  Testing, testing and more testing is the only way to be sure that the person who types 65 words per minute and is a whiz on Word, can actually switch on a computer and write a decipherable letter.

“I am very detail-oreinted."

Typographic, spelling or grammatical errors are my biggest personal bugbear.   A recent application for general manager introduced a “profesional” in large bold font at the top of the page.  I didn’t bother to read any further.  If a candidate can make a simple mistake on a resume, they could probably make a lot more mistakes in the job and if they didn’t care enough to have someone else proof read their work ask yourself whether they will take enough care in the job?  Who wants to employ someone who’s good with the pubic?

"I worked as a Corporate Lesion."

Succinctness is sweet.  Verbosity in a curriculum vitae may hide the talker who can’t walk.  While we are on clichés, keep an eye out for them.  Really good people have humility, talk straight and back up statements with fact.

If the skills and experience seem to match, don’t stop there.  Have a look at the other activities.  Hobbies and professional involvements can tell you a great deal about a person, not least that they have a balanced lifestyle, some social skills and may actually be interesting to work with.  These can be particularly important if you are seeking graduates whose previous work experience is limited.  Sporting activities, volunteer work, and creative arts can all indicate a person with motivation, determination and organisation.

Don’t assume a resume tells the whole story and look beyond the actual information.  Who ever coined the phrase “read between the lines” must have been a recruiter.