Many of us struggle to get the right candidate into the position we are hiring for. While we may not always know the best place to look for these candidates, we do post our openings in a few relevant places and hope to receive some good choices.
1. Use a filter: If you are looking for the candidate to have a CPA, make sure the resume has CPA on it. There are a few ways to detect this – any good online applicant tracking system that receives your resumes for you will have a keyword function in it. Make sure you put in filters like CPA, CPCA or whatever long and/or short form credentials you require. If none of these terms appear in the resume, these will not be at the top of your review list.
Of course, be as broad or narrow as you think you need to be for a particular skill or position.
2. Application form: When you publish an opening on a job board or social network, make sure that you use a custom application form that requires candidates to input specific experiences, skills and recommendations that you are looking for. This sounds generic, but if you create these forms on whatever application system you are using – it can act as a strong filter. Asking simply to email resumes will add to the pile.
Having too many resumes is hardly a good problem given the limited time you have and the number of applicants out there. Here is a video of how Bob, a manager at Stark Inc, manages resume screening .