Do Recruiters Really Read Resumes?

Conventional wisdom has it that most resumes get an initial read of about 10-20 seconds as the reviewer is sorting through the stack, separating them into "circular file" and "investigate further" categories. Once past that initial sorting, though, what happens next? A professional forum I participate in has an ongoing thread on this topic, and the input from recruiters is worth noting.

One former internal recruiter indicated that she accumulated resumes for review once or twice a week. She then went at them with highlighter in hand and her job order book on the desk, reading objectives or titles and separating the resumes into piles. One pile was those that matched her current job orders, the other was for return to the recruiter pool.

She then skimmed each resume, starting with screen-out factors such as education and special certifications, and looked for specific experience directly related to the position. The ones that survived that screening went into a pile for more thorough review - sooner if there was a matching job order in hand/later if she knew a matching job order was coming up at some point in the future.

She did NOT read every word until and if she was ready to call someone for an interview.

A second former recruiter said that if the resume didn't pass the 10-second test (catch his interest in 10 seconds or less), it went in the circular file. This former recruiter, now in the resume distribution profession, also noted that when sending out your resume, results are very dependent on the market for a particular set of skills on a particular day. In other words, assuming your resume passes that 10-second test, a lot depends on the luck of the draw.

Are the Natives Growing Restless in the Executive Job Search Jungle?

This week's Herman Group Trend Alert warns employers that a candidate uprising is waiting to happen and that employers' rampant lack of sensitivity in the hiring process is going to come back to haunt them, and soon.

In the late 1990's when a shortage of qualified workers created a seller's market for employment seekers, executives and managers could pretty much pick and choose the right opportunity and incentives were high — often including signing bonuses, great perks and benefits. Since the atmosphere was very much one of courtship, hiring managers and human resource departments would go the extra mile to be courteous and communicative with candidates. Companies with bad reputations for treatment of applicants found them staying away in droves.

Then came the new millennium and a buyer's market, and employers quickly forgot the common courtesies. Many routinely failed to acknowledge receipt of resumes, thank candidates for interviewing with them, or even bother to let them know when a decision has been made to hire someone else.

With recruiters recently complaining about serious difficulties in finding qualified candidates, critical shortages in many skill areas, and employee turnover rising, the tables are clearly turning. In the executive office, concern is high about recruiting and keeping qualified talent. Boorish employers will soon find themselves watching their more courteous competitors snatching away the plum candidates, from entry level through the executive suite. It seems that a little brush-up on Emily Post would be prudent for recruitiers, hiring managers, and others competing for today's candidates.

Could the Tide Be Turning on IT Outsourcing to India?

In a recent ZDNet article, Michael Kannelos points out that India is now facing U.S.-style labor pains. He outlines a number of trends in the IT business in India that indicate the honeymoon may be winding down a bit with U.S. corporations who have been sending thousands of IT jobs - techie to Director-level - to the Indian subcontinent.

India has 250,000 students entering college programs in computer science and electrical engineering annually, and graduates flood the market each year. Infosys, for instance, receives a million applicants annually, of which only 1% or 10,000 are actually hired. However, those who do land positions soon find themselves in tremendous demand with unsolicited and very attractive offers flowing in. Salaries for IT professionals in India are growing at 18 to 20 percent annually.

The fact that workers at Indian companies are plentiful and cheap to employ in comparison to U.S. workers has ironically led to explosive growth and fierce competition for qualified employees, driving the double-digit salary inflation mentioned above. And the trend applies to managers and executives, too. Director-level managers earn between $30,000 and $51,000 per year, and Division Managers can command $76,000. While these salaries are half the going rate in the U.S., the trend is rapidly upward and the gap is closing.

As the gap between U.S. and Indian salaries grows ever smaller, issues of distance, culture differences, communications, time zone logistics, etc. may begin to outweigh historically strong financial incentives for corporations to send jobs to India.

Of course, it can be argued that other countries will simply step in to fill the gap. But this is a phenomenon that executives will want to monitor closely.

Don't Drop the Ball After the Interview!

Much as we might like it to be, executive employment search is not simply a matter of creating a high-impact executive resume, landing an interview, and going home with a great job offer. Particularly at executive level, hiring decision-making is a relatively long-term process with a series of steps leading to the offer. All along the way, others are aggressively vying for the attention of the hiring authority, making follow-up after each and every phone or in-person interview critical to ultimately landing that offer.

As soon after the interview as possible, you will want to develop or have your executive resume writer craft for you a well-thought-out, focused, and explicit thank-you letter. Ideally this letter should be sent within 2 to 3 days after the interview. Covered in the letter should be either your anticipation of the next step indicated to you in the interview, or a request for information on next steps. You'll want to cover what you perceive as key qualifications covered during the interview, and why yours are a perfect match. This is also an excellent opportunity to provide some insights into issues the company is facing and outline (in broad strokes) strategies that you recommend and would be pleased to implement for them.

In this letter you will also want to let the interviewer know that you will be following up by telephone, and give them an approximate timeframe in which to expect your call. This call will be a brief, friendly conversation to express your continued interest, offer to provide any additional info they may need, and inquire about next steps. This would not be the time to discuss specifics covered in the interview; rather your goal is to reinforce that you have a strong interest in the position and are eager to move on in the process.

Once you have had a good interview, don't drop the ball and miss out on a potentially great opportunity! The executive who follows up well will more than likely emerge as the winner.