We all know that technology has made it very easy to advertise and receive applications. My belief is that it has made it too easy. Anyone can and will apply for every job that you post regardless of education/experience required and salary.

It is exciting to see the “number” of new applicants to your job post and that excitement soon turns to frustration when you realize that most if not all of them are not nearly qualified and/or live across a national border. I get it, but now is not the time to play resume roulette!

I do want to caution you however that not all candidates are as “unsuitable” as their resume might indicate.

Can you really judge a person by a piece of paper (or simulated paper on your monitor)?

It is my job to interview people and I do it often, regardless if I have an opportunity to discuss with them or not. I interview hundreds of people each year and here is what I have learned about resumes vs. people.

FYI - All of the following are sweeping generalizations!

• Be cautious of people with great resumes! Why is there resume so good anyway? How often are they working on it and modifying it.

• People that don’t look for work, generally have the worst resumes. Yes the people who you want – the people who are loyal. They don’t do their resume very often and have the least experience and knowledge of how to do them properly. And this applies to people in senior positions too.

• A resume in no way, shape or form is an indication of the person who created it. It is common knowledge that no one is great or enjoys all aspects of their job and the same applies to resume creation. People that are passionate about operations and being in motion generally can’t sit down and do a perfect resume – it is not in them. However, someone who enjoys administration will enjoy sitting at their computer and piecing together an appealing resume.

• Don’t judge candidates by the list (yes list) that is generated by the job board you use or your website. Often all you see is a name, city/country, current position and company (maybe) and that is enough information for you to eliminate a person form contention. Especially now when people have been downsized and may be working at a job below their abilities, it is important to look at their work history.

Some of the best performing candidates I have placed over the years were people I had to convince my clients to interview. On paper they didn’t add up – but in person they were the best candidate.

In my last post I talked about how people are your biggest asset. This is a perfect example about how a few extra hours invested could pay off if the perfect candidate doesn’t look perfect on paper.