Processing applications and screening resumes is an integral part of the hiring process.

Take the pain out of sorting through resumes by creating a review process. These tips from Bridgestar will help you find relevant candidates, including talented encore jobseekers.

Step 1: Agree on your resume review process and team member involvement.

• Bridgestar recommends you have more than one person screen resumes in order to provide a balanced viewpoint and that at least one person read every resume so that he or she can provide a consistent perspective on the candidate pool overall.
• Set up a special email address just for this position. This allows you to create an automatic reply, which is a timesaver as well as a prompt way to alert candidates that you received their resumes and to give them a sense of the process going forward. Responding is critical (and a basic courtesy); candidates often feel uneasy about being left in the dark.

Step 2: Create a process by which to review all resumes. As resumes come in, organize them alphabetically and assign each a number code. A numbering system ensures that the resume reviewing team receives all of the resumes in the same order, and will speed up the communication process.

Step 3: Review resumes thoughtfully and objectively.

• Create an assessment grid on which you can assess candidate resumes. Grids should include categories such as accomplishments, job experience, education, technical skills/licenses, and relevant volunteer experience.
• Provide your team with the following key questions to keep in mind when reviewing resumes:

How do the candidate’s professional experiences and educational background map to the prioritized requirements in the job description? How many accomplishments resonate at our organization? (You might suggest that reviewers highlight them as they read the resumes.)

Do you have a sense of the environment in which this person has worked? How similar or dissimilar is this to our organization?

If this person has never worked in the sector before, do you see personal and/or volunteer activities that show the type of mission commitment we’re seeking?

• Once all resumes are received, have each member of the team review the resumes individually and place resumes in one of three piles—“yes,” “no,” or “maybe”—based on the criteria in the assessment grid. Ask team members to keep in mind the top three to five previously identified characteristics of ideal candidates as they review resumes.
• In the first resume review meeting, begin by comparing the resumes in the “yes” pile. Have the reviewers focused on the same resumes? If not, what discrepancies do you see? At this time, also decide which resumes everyone agrees are not right for the position and set those aside.
• A good goal is to get 8-12 candidates to phone screen and/or interview (depending, of course, on how many applicants there are overall).

Step 4: Make the interview decision.

• Begin with analysis and comparison of resumes in the “yes” group. What are the strengths/development needs of each of these candidates? What are the key tradeoffs you must make in picking a candidate?
• Discuss what you would probe with each candidate you decide to interview. What are the key questions you will use to do this?
• Agree on which resumes are in the definite “no” group and let the applicants know.
  At this point in time, a simple note or phone call to the ultimate “yes” and “no” groups will help move the process along and keep candidates informed as to where they stand in the process.

Visit Bridgestar’s Hiring Toolkit: Navigating the Hiring Process for additional advice.