Stop Hiring a Resume

By Peter T. Guy, Ph.D. and Renata Skawina, CHRL, CPCC, ACC

How often do we get deceived by perfectly written resumes only to find out at the interview stage that the candidate cannot substantiate the listed experience?

A feeling of wasted time is undeniable – not to mention the indirect cost of time spent in interviews multiplied by each committee member’s salary.

Also, in many cases, hiring committees blindly base their hiring decision on how skillful the candidate is in ‘selling’ themselves in the interview.

Too often, this ‘best story’ wins leading to decisions that focus heavily on the candidate’s behavior during the interview but fail to accurately assess their competencies and ability to function effectively within the operating team and organizational culture.

Also, on occasion, the judgment is based on the selection committee members’ preferences and not necessarily on who best complements the immediate supervisor’s character and the team dynamics.

Our experience shows that people who have a history of poor work performance submit the most polished resumes and master their interview responses because they have difficulty sustaining employment. They hire specialists to write and re-write the resumes and facilitate mock-up interviews to help them best ‘sell’ themselves.

As a result, the hiring managers often miss the most qualified candidates entirely because they don’t know how to ‘sell’ themselves, or their resume format may not be as attractive. These candidates tend to be unfamiliar with resume writing because they are continuously employed and do not necessarily keep up with the latest trends in resume advertising.

And what are the consequences of a bad hire?

According to the Brandon-Hall research commissioned by Glassdoor, a staggering 95 percent of employers surveyed admitted to making hiring mistakes by recruiting the wrong people each year (https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/the-true-cost-of-a-bad-hire).

The Undercover Recruiter developed a bad-hire cost formula: hiring cost + total compensation + cost of maintaining employee + disruption cost + severance + mistakes, failures and missed business opportunities can equate to a loss of $840,000 (https://breezy.hr/blog/cost-of-bad-hire).

In conclusion, many agree that too often, hiring decisions are based just on intuition. And the candidate match is a hit-and-miss exercise if not supported by a reliable assessment tool that adds objectivity and insightful data that is not accessible by a mere interview.

THERE IS HELP, HOWEVER!

With the online Optimax Assessment, you can quickly identify the optimal candidate based on reliable insight about their character, competencies, talents, and passions.

It also helps estimate the candidate’s performance potential, fit with the manager and the team, as well as can predict the candidate’s future growth. With this data, you don’t have to schedule numerous interviews to find the best match. You invite just the top three to five candidates to meet face-to-face and make an educated hiring decision.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Optimax Recruitment Strategy helps the hiring manager create a mathematical model of the job, called the Job Competency Matrix, derived from the job description and critical competencies assessment completed online in just a few minutes by three to five subject matter experts.

Based on the Job Competency Matrix, the selection committee receives a report that summarizes the individuals’ performance level of the required competencies and ranks the candidates based on how well they match the job model (see the table below).

This method reduces the number of interviews and identifies the top candidates. They best meet the demands of the job and are most compatible with the supervisor’s management style, team dynamics, and have the highest potential for further development.

In general, there are four priorities for successful selection:

• Find a person whose competencies match best the needs of the position.
• Ensure the selected person fits into the existing team.
• Acquire a candidate with the highest potential for future advancement.
• Align with the candidate’s development expectations and job satisfaction.

The Optimax Recruitment Process offers a quick, objective, and affordable candidate selection based on the scientific Cybernetic Theory of Character (psychocybernetics) by Prof. M. Mazur (not related to the work of Maxwell Maltz).

The process consists of six stages:

• Job Description review based on the Optimax Job template.
• Job Description Feedback – a practical tool to screen candidates writing style, their understanding of the position and the requirements, and the ability to highlight relevant experience and transferable skills.
• An online Competency Matrix Assessment – a mathematical model of the role to identify ALL competent candidates.
• An online candidate Character Assessment – a sophisticated tool to determine the best match and the candidate’s success potentials.
• The Candidates Ranking Report based on the Character Assessment and Job Competency Model.
• An Interrelationship Report of the candidate’s alignment with their direct supervisor and other team members.

YOUR BENEFITS

• Time savings – you engage only with pre-screened qualified candidates.
• Assessment of the candidates’ engagement – those who do not reply to the Job Description Feedback eliminate themselves from the process (usually about 70%).
• Verification of the candidates’ understanding of the job requirements.
• Character and competencies insight that is not discoverable by a mere interview.
• Assurance that a qualified candidate will not be missed.
• Practical insight on how to inspire the new hire’s best performance.
• Informed hiring decisions.
• Match based on competencies and passion.
• Increased long-term commitment.

IN SUMMARY

The Optimax Recruitment Process helps managers efficiently build their high performing teams. Thanks to the character and competency insights, the manager is now equipped to effectively motivate employees, maximize their strengths, build upon their proven competencies, and optimize the overall individual and team performance as a whole.

It is a powerful tool that assists recruiters and managers to source the right people, surpass organizational performance goals, and maximize the potentials of each employee.