Today, there are seemingly thousands of candidates applying to every position. Some of them are amazing people that will never get noticed due to their "less than impressive" resume. Some of them are amazingly terrible candidates (we have all been excited over a resume only to be floored by someone that could barely finish a thought!) that have professionally written resumes. So, how do you read between the lines and determine which resume has the best chance of getting you that amazing employee?
You need to determine specifically what you are looking for. Just reading your job description is not enough. If you have an overly talented sales staff, but are lacking operational efficiency, a glowing sales background should not be your top priority. The best approach is to examine the core strengths and weaknesses of your current team, and then determine what are the core values in a candidate that would best complement your team. Write down these "core values" (try to keep it to four or five), and review resumes looking for these values. Do NOT pay attention to the pizza stains or the great reputations of places they have worked, simply look for these values. For example, if you are looking for someone that is very Loss Prevention aware, ignore that pizza stain and look for a common thread in job histories that detail positive shrink results, or a passion for LP. Some people are so good at what they do, or even what you need them to do, that writing a resume is just not one of them.
You should have narrowed your candidate field to people that are all closely qualified to fill your position. If your stack is small enough, interview them all!! If not, this is where you want to take a closer look at the resumes to see who will "fit in" the best with your team. This is the best approach when filling a single position.
When trying to open a new store, or even hire to fill multiple positions, this approach doesn't change too much. Again, you need to determine "core values" that you are looking for. I like to use the acronym "SMILE" to describe my core values.
S- Sales
M- Merchandising
I- Integrity
L- Leadership
E- Everything else...this is where I would allow for a "wow" factor.
...and of course if this person isn't wearing a "smile" they probably won't be happy at work either! When reviewing applications and resumes, I would be looking for these things first.
Just remember, there are LOTS of great candidates applying to almost every position out there. Getting through the "pile" of resumes doesn't have to be a daunting task. Professionalism is very important when hiring, that is why we interview. One of the best employees I have ever hired pulled his resume and application out of his pocket both folded all the way down to about one inch square. I found this to be very unprofessional. He did, however, exhibit the core values I was looking for to fill my operations manager position. I hired him, and he was not only extremely professional, but exactly what my store needed. In retrospect, the precise folds in his application and resume, should have been a sign to how detail oriented he was.
Sorry, I am not quite sure what the pizza stain is a positive sign for!! ;-)
You need to determine specifically what you are looking for. Just reading your job description is not enough. If you have an overly talented sales staff, but are lacking operational efficiency, a glowing sales background should not be your top priority. The best approach is to examine the core strengths and weaknesses of your current team, and then determine what are the core values in a candidate that would best complement your team. Write down these "core values" (try to keep it to four or five), and review resumes looking for these values. Do NOT pay attention to the pizza stains or the great reputations of places they have worked, simply look for these values. For example, if you are looking for someone that is very Loss Prevention aware, ignore that pizza stain and look for a common thread in job histories that detail positive shrink results, or a passion for LP. Some people are so good at what they do, or even what you need them to do, that writing a resume is just not one of them.
You should have narrowed your candidate field to people that are all closely qualified to fill your position. If your stack is small enough, interview them all!! If not, this is where you want to take a closer look at the resumes to see who will "fit in" the best with your team. This is the best approach when filling a single position.
When trying to open a new store, or even hire to fill multiple positions, this approach doesn't change too much. Again, you need to determine "core values" that you are looking for. I like to use the acronym "SMILE" to describe my core values.
S- Sales
M- Merchandising
I- Integrity
L- Leadership
E- Everything else...this is where I would allow for a "wow" factor.
...and of course if this person isn't wearing a "smile" they probably won't be happy at work either! When reviewing applications and resumes, I would be looking for these things first.
Just remember, there are LOTS of great candidates applying to almost every position out there. Getting through the "pile" of resumes doesn't have to be a daunting task. Professionalism is very important when hiring, that is why we interview. One of the best employees I have ever hired pulled his resume and application out of his pocket both folded all the way down to about one inch square. I found this to be very unprofessional. He did, however, exhibit the core values I was looking for to fill my operations manager position. I hired him, and he was not only extremely professional, but exactly what my store needed. In retrospect, the precise folds in his application and resume, should have been a sign to how detail oriented he was.
Sorry, I am not quite sure what the pizza stain is a positive sign for!! ;-)
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