When you’re hiring you’re likely to be receiving a high volume of potential candidates vying for the role but not all of them will be the right person for the job offered. How can you save yourself time, early on in the recruitment journey?
Screening the CVs you receive is the best place to start and we’ve given you a head start with 4 ways to do this:
1. Is the candidate’s work experience relevant?
One of the first things most recruiters will begin to look at is the candidate’s work experience history, this section of their CV covers areas such as their professional history, things they have accomplished, and areas of responsibility they’ve had which you can identify as to whether or not it is relevant to the position being offered.
This is a great opportunity to shortlist candidates from the outset based on what the job role requires to be successful.
2. Is the candidate’s prior education relevant?
Similar to the candidate’s work experience, as a recruiter, it is important to identify if their education has any relevance to the role. Perhaps you’ve found the candidate doesn’t have any relevant work experience for the role but they have a degree in a related area.
This can also include taking a closer look at their certificates listed under education.
Are they looking to progress their skills and knowledge?
Do they have relevant certifications for the role?
3. Are the candidate’s skills/knowledge suitable?
It is crucial to look for the skills and knowledge that the candidate possesses and there are several ways to do this, whether it’s looking for the keywords that they have included throughout their CV or heading to the key skills section if they’ve included one.
This can help you determine early on whether or not you feel the candidate is suitable for the position being offered. If the candidate doesn’t have the skills and knowledge required they may still be suitable for the role, is the firm hiring offering opportunities for training of certain skills?
4. Do the candidate’s values match that of the firm?
Although deciding whether a candidate’s values will match the firm from a CV is likely to be difficult and something as a recruiter you may decide to leave until the interview, it is still something you can think about at the screening stage.
If the candidate has included their hobbies and interests on their CV, take a look and see if they fit in with the firm’s values. If this section hasn’t been included you can use the information from their CV to assess their personality and values such as on social media platforms like LinkedIn.
The main points to look for when it comes to screening CVs are:
- Relevant work experience
- Relevant education
- Suitable knowledge and skills
- Values matching the firms
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