Discussion Topic Chapter 6

Resumes

There are so many ways to create a resume and pretty much each employer and/or school I've spoken to/been to has a different way that they prefer the resume to appear. We as employees don't like to make them, and employers don't like to read them. It's really a lose/lose situation for all of us but for some reason they are still necessary to get a job.

They can provide a first impression (or second) of the applicant, but as the book states the content of that resume and first impression is controlled by the applicant. They can be helpful to the employer too because this can show which applicants meet the required educational training, skills, any related work experience and any equipment or software knowledge, and can also set the applicant apart from others from the get-go.

I heard that people used to be required to submit a picture of themselves with their resumes, I thought that sounded ludicrous, but those were the times. This of course caused some HR issues and is probably why it's not done anymore, but can you imagine? I've heard too that some people lie about their skills and experience in different areas in order to get a job and figure they will be able to learn in if they need to once they get the job.

What are some ways that we as HR Managers could avoid wasting our time on these applicants that pretend to be a good fit for the job so we don't pass up on people who really do know what they are doing? Could we do testing as part of the interview process like many customer service jobs require?