Struggling with Resume Shortlisting? Tips on Spotting Fake Resumes Needed

Hi,

Can anyone help me with points to shortlist resumes? Also, how can I identify fake resumes?

Regards,
Chitra Alex

Dear Chitra,

I am not an expert, but can definitely share with you what I follow: Get the job description and the person specification from the department, giving the important responsibilities of the job. The person specification will include the educational qualification, age, experience, skills, and competencies required to do that job. Categorize resumes into A or B categories. The ones that do not fit should be kept in the databank for future requirements. A is for resumes that almost match with the essential skills/person specification, B is for resumes that match to a lesser extent.

When it comes to identifying fraudulent resumes, one will have to carefully go through each and every line. However, an expert may still find a way to get around the system and get shortlisted. Many times, even expert recruiters are not able to detect such cases.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards, Anuradha

I agree that shortlisting is a matter of prioritizing the most important job requirements and sorting resumes into broad categories, maybe something like:

- Strong contender
- Shows potential
- Not for further consideration

Putting aside the third category, either have a closer look at the first two categories to refine your thoughts on how well they meet the criteria, and/or how many of the lower-level job criteria they match up against.

As for fraud, I would not advise appointment based solely on a resume. A follow-up process, whether it be an interview, a small project/presentation, or a group dynamics process, will provide evidence as to how truthful their resume is.

The only other thing I would say is don't discount someone because you suspect their resume has been professionally prepared. The real issue is whether it suggests a good match or not. Secondary selection processes will elicit evidence of claims made in the resume.

There is a fair degree of prejudice about professionally prepared resumes, but the fact is that no self-respecting professional would invent material or skills simply to make a candidate appear suitable at first glance. Any professional with integrity or sense will work on the assumption that any statements made in the resume could be put to the test and should be able to be supported by the candidate.

As a professional working in the field of resumes, I know that my reputation is more important than a quick "win" in getting someone an interview. A real win is about helping them to find the job that draws on their abilities, interests, and enthusiasm.

A happy employer makes me a happy service provider.

My website provides a range of editable templates for candidates. This is another area of extreme prejudice. However, different strategies work for different people. Long live diversity!

Hi Chitra,

I would like to shed some light on the following aspects while shortlisting resumes:

Strategize a standard way of the shortlisting process, which may be similar to or as follows:

(1.) Review the Job Description carefully, understand the skills required as specified, and try to explore the responsibilities listed in the description.

For example, in the case of IT/Non-IT requirements, you may need to spend a few minutes researching terms that might be unfamiliar to you, forming part of the Job Description/skills. This will help you overcome the difficulty in understanding them.

(2.) Once you understand the content of the job description, you may prioritize the skills based on the responsibilities provided in the job description. At this stage, you may seek help from the client/your next reporting authority to cross-check your priority list and ensure they align. Finalize the list you arrived at in terms of the above.

(3.) Based on this list, you may now start reviewing the profiles, mixing and matching the specified skills/requirements with those of each profile and prioritizing according to their extent of matching the requirements.

(4.) Have a phone conversation with the candidate to check their communication skills and ensure that the content of their resume reflects their experience/knowledge in the required field. The research you did in the previous step (1.) should give you the confidence to ask suitable questions to the candidates and assess them.

(5.) Once you feel that the candidate has passed through the above screening process, you may consider the profile as shortlisted.

(6.) You may repeat/edit the above steps according to whichever way is suitable for you.

I trust there is no room for fake resumes in this kind of shortlisting process. The above insights are based on my practical knowledge and understanding. Hope this helps.

I am happy to hear comments from the readers. Please help correct me/advise me so I may gain more insights and share this with the CiteHR team.

Good Luck! 😛

Dear Chithra,

The points quoted by others are exactly what you have to keep in mind, and along with that, I would like to add something. We can check the genuineness of the companies where the candidate has worked. Most of them would be unheard of. Also, you can find the levels of those companies, such as CMM, PCMM, or Fortune 500, etc.

Cheers!!!
Aswathi Nair

Tips for Identifying Fake Resumes

Shoot a million questions about the things mentioned in the resume. Ask for genuine certificates and check the telephone numbers on the internet to call and verify. Ask tricky questions that the candidate can answer only if they have genuinely taken up a particular course or job.

No matter how many questions you ask your candidate, you still can't be sure of uncovering the truth as the applicant comes prepared for all the questioning. After all, he/she may come with the intention to deceive you. According to me, a perfect way to identify a fake resume is by performing past employment verification of a candidate. This is when the work history of your potential employee is verified by his/her past employer(s), and the results acquired through this process are accurate. You can be sure that you are accessing genuine employment details of a candidate and can make the right hiring decisions.

Owing to diverse online platforms for past employment verification, verifying the work history of candidates is not a problem. It can be performed in no time and hence must not be ignored. You can use an online solution called Verified Resources to automate past employment verification. It asks for factual information such as the work experience of the candidate, last withdrawn salary, whether the candidate served the notice period or not, and the status of exit formalities. Access to all these verified details enables you to rest assured that you have the right information about your prospective employee and can make your hiring decisions accordingly.

Here is the link for Verified Resources: www.verifiedresources.com

Good luck with your verification process!

Thanks,

Meesha