Personal and professional recommendations complete the picture that a
resume portrays — and recommendations can complement, or even replace,
resumes in an application.
Depending on the source, some employers are more inclined to trust a
recommendation. If a highly trusted colleague said, “Hire this person
and don’t think twice about it,” you might just do it out of fear of
losing an ‘A’ player.
Are job seekers really who they say they are? It is the responsibility
of the Human Resources manager-turned-investigator during the recruiting
process to answer this question.
Job seekers will strategically place themselves in the best light to be a convincing force for your company.
Here are three reasons why employers should consider recommendations —
at times even more so than resumes - in order to determine the truth
behind a potential employee’s credentials:
Trusted vs. biased sources
A resume is a subjective document written by the candidate tailored to
meet the key responsibilities of the advertised job. Though job seekers
often do not seek to tarnish their resumes, there can often be
inconsistencies and even the slight embellishment – after all, a
confident job seeker will talk themselves up to grab the attention of
potential employers.
When taking into consideration the materials presented to you by the
job seeker (i.e. portfolio of previous work, certificates of attainment
and so on), it is important to identify the source, hence the importance
of being able to cross-check this with a referee.
On the other hand, recommendations are written or rated by trusted
sources with reputations of their own to uphold. Along with providing a
referral comes responsibility. The referee has to be confident enough in
the candidate’s ability to succeed or else they will lose their
credibility along the way.
Given two resumes with equal work experience and a similar educational
background, the one with a solid referral from a trusted source would
have the upper hand, every time.
Actions speak louder than words
A potential hire may be able to talk-the-talk, but can they
walk-the-walk? If a person is a great articulator and communicator, they
will be able to sell themselves in an interview over and over again.
However, the employer needs to know if they can really communicate
consistently and in different situations, and that can only be
determined by a testimonial from a trusted source.
Talking and doing are two different things. With the power of
recommendations, the written skills and accomplishments on a resume are
brought to life.
For example, the potential employee may have been a station-hand or a
property manager, but what kind of experience (on top of skills and
qualifications) was it for those surrounding the person? Was the
potential employee hands-on and also diligent with all other
responsibilities as well as proving to be a good motivator for his or
her staff?
With recommendations, these questions can be answered by a trusted
source confirming their actions. Recommendations are the proof in the
pudding when it comes validating the candidate’s written qualifications.
Time saver
The recruiting process can be time-consuming. Reviewing resumes,
checking references and screening consume time that you will not get
back if the candidate does not work out for one reason or another.
By recognising the value of recommendations in the recruiting process,
distinguishing between top candidates and the average Jack or Jill
becomes simplified.
Consider the resume as your initial filter of candidates. Within six
seconds of examining a resume, you have already started to determine if
the candidate is the right fit for your business.
Using specific keywords you’re able to filter through the candidates,
focusing on the key characteristics in their resume. However, do you
still have enough information to determine the ‘A’ players?
By adding personal and professional recommendations revealing the
personality, determination, and intelligence of your next potential
hire, you can speed-up the process and be certain if an in-person
interview is the next appropriate step.
Resumes and recommendations are not mutually exclusive, but relying on
one more so than the other can give undue justification of the
candidate’s qualifications.
The resume is the sketched outline and recommendations create the full, colourful portrait.
While the merits of a resume may assist the employer consider a
candidate for the role, at the end of the day, a great recommendation
and good cultural fit goes a long way. Skills can be taught but there
are intangible qualities which makes an employee a good fit in the long
run can be hard to come by.
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