Screening resumes is one of the most tedious tasks for some business owners. You may put out one job for a Dispatcher or Receptionist position and get hundreds of resumes to review. The good news is that our Recruiters have screened thousands of resumes and have some things that they recommend that you look out for below.

We like to say, “mind the gap”. If there are large unexplained employment gaps this might be a reason to be concerned. The most common reasons for employment gaps are going back to school, being a stay-at-home parent, and taking care of a loved one. If the candidate has great skills and you would still like to proceed you can address the employment gap via a simple phone screen. If there is no explanation for the gap, then that is definitely a red flag!

Be mindful of applicants that change jobs frequently. This might mean that they will likely not stay very long with your company as well. Experts say that a minimum of 2 years working for the same company is ideal. If the applicant is consistently moving to a new job after staying less than one year, then that is a definite red flag! Hiring and training a new employee costs time and money. Be sure to choose well!

If you are looking at a resume and there is not adequate information included which tells you what the person did and the impact they had in their job, then you should pass on that applicant. We have come across resumes that have no employment dates, contact information, or even proper names. You want to consider applicants that take the time to fully include all of their work history rather than just have one sentence for each job they had. A fully complete resume implies that the applicant is serious about their job search.

A resume should be easy to read with one consistent font that isn’t too small or too large. In addition, it should be in chronological order of employment. A red flag is seeing the job they did 10 years ago first on their resume and the most recent job last. The list of their work history should be in reverse chronological order. The most recent jobs should be first. This is an indicator of not being aware of modern resume best practices and is a red flag.

If you are looking to hire an experienced Service Technician and the applicant has only been a Bookkeeper, then that is a red flag. It is likely that they did not pay attention to the job that they applied for or only applied to fulfill a quota of jobs that they need to submit their application for.