When perfect resumes turn into disappointing interviews
We’ve all been in these meetings. A candidate you’re incredibly excited about in the beginning doesn’t deliver in culture fit, professional attitude or something else. You’re disappointed and go back to your stack of “B” resumes. On the flip side, a so-so resume can be an incredible culture fit, but you’re wondering about their ability to deliver on the job. What if they’re really good at selling themselves, but not so great on the delivery side? What if they are in over their head once they start? We’ll address how you can find an “A” player to fill your position and give you confidence that you chose the right individual.
Are the best candidates skipped over because of a mediocre resume?
Yes, it’s the candidate’s responsibility to draft an incredible resume that presents their every accomplishment and pertinent detail to your job description, but when we’re talking about a 20-year industry veteran applying for a VP of Quality Assurance, it’s impossible to put their depth and breadth of knowledge, expertise and experience on a 2 page resume. And if it were longer, would HR read it anyway? Of course not.
This is why having an effective vetting process is so important. The resume and even initial interviews can only tell you so much. If you don’t have a process for good candidates to prove themselves great – we recommend implementing one. From our perspective, the essentials to find an “A” player are:
- Making certain your job description is specific. For example, include measures of success that will be used in their first 90 day evaluation. If you’re clear about your expectations, it’ll be easy to assess if they will be able to meet them. When job descriptions are vague, assumptions fly on both sides and there is a lot of room for dissatisfaction to creep in.
- Taking your well written job description and have candidates map their expertise to your essential delivery traits.
This is why we’ve built the Talent Translator℠ . Talent acquisition is both an art and science. Part of the science we use blends industry leading testing to reveal how a professional will perform, preferred communication style, what they bring to a team, ideal environment and potential limitations. In addition, our Talent Translator℠ matches skills and experiences to client’s specific needs. Through our comprehensive approach, we make certain that candidates are the right fit for the right reasons.
Recently, Talencio was asked to fill a crucial VP level position for one of our clients. The position requirements were extremely specific, and by the admission of our client’s CEO, it would be difficult to find a candidate with all of the diverse experience required to check off all of the boxes.
Talencio was able to qualify 5 great candidates through phone and in person-interviews and then to further qualify them using our Talent Translator℠ tool. Using the Talent Translatorr℠, each candidate provided proof points; specific examples how their past work experience matched the client’s position requirements. This tool is a great way to narrow down your candidate pool to ensure you find an “A” player. The result?
Candidate’s Perspective
- Although time-consuming to complete – every candidate felt the Talent Translator℠ gave them the opportunity to shine a light on their capabilities without the space constraint of a resume.
- The Talent Translator℠ provided each candidate immediate feedback on any mismatch or deficiency in their experience to the position requirements.
This is a great way to assess one’s “fit” for the job and serves as an opportunity to highlight the candidate’s experience.
This determines their ability to fit the company culture and ability to be a “fast learner”.
Client’s Perspective
- With a wealth of information on each candidate, the Talent Translator℠ was a quick way for HR and the hiring manger to rank each candidate in terms of fit. In other words, the Talent Translator℠ eliminated the need to parse through each resume and determine who checked off the most boxes.
- In the end, we were able to find an “A” player(s), the decision came down to two excellent candidates with very different but qualified backgrounds. The Talent Translator℠ played a key role in focusing the client on experiences and personality traits that were most important in their hiring decision. The client is thrilled with their new hire and she with them.
The Difference is in the Results
“The candidates that came from Talencio were the best candidates we had. At the time, we were also using two other recruiter services and every time I went into those interviews, I felt like I was just wasting my time. Whereas with every Talencio candidate, I knew to take it seriously because they were always really qualified candidates.” Bill Jacqmein, COO/CTO, Vergent Bioscience | Client
“One of the unique things that Talencio did as I was applying for this marketing position was they had me fill out a Talent Translator℠. It takes the job description and breaks it out into each aspect and asks you to provide proof points that you have both success and experience in those aspects so that you are uniquely qualified for that position that is being sourced.”Amy Clausen, Chief Marketing Officer, Vergent Bioscience | Colleague
Other related blogs that may be of interest are “One Size Fits All?” or “Rotten Egg”.
About Talencio: We help the Health Technology community make progress by putting the right people in the right place to solve problems and identify opportunities to move healthcare forward. To learn more about career opportunities in health technology, or to hear how other companies have partnered with Talencio to tap into our skilled professional talent pool, contact us at 612.703.4236 or email. Talencio has been the preferred provider of vetted, accomplished professionals to the Health Technology Community for over 9 years.