It’s the End of Resume Screening as We Know It — And That’s Just Fine

During what has become known as ‘this time of great uncertainty’, companies can count on one thing as the country inches towards re-opening: they’re going to receive resumes. Which means a lot of resume screening.

A record 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March 2020 — 3.8 million in the last week alone, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Of course, some workers will return to their previous positions once businesses resume operations, but some won’t. While we don’t yet know precisely how many of those furloughed and laid off will apply for new positions, it’s safe to assume that companies will be spoiled for choice when sourcing new talent.

But how can you find talent efficiently without resume screening?

Prior to the economic downturn, the average open position attracted 250 resumes. Even with the help of automated processes and solutions like applicant tracking software, effective resume screening requires human input. And since most human resources professionals wear a few hats, that means most resumes receive approximately six seconds of attention when they do land in front of human eyes.

Why does this matter?

Because now, more than ever, you need to find the right fit the first time, the right way.

How do I find the right fit without resume screening?

Organizations looking to cut costs in lean times literally can’t afford employee turnover. Employers pay a whopping 33% of a departing worker’s salary to find a replacement — that’s $15,000.00 for a salary of $45,000.00. And even when you do manage to find a great new hire, don’t expect immediately stellar results. Jill may be a brilliant marketer, but until she learns the ropes, she won’t have the same bottom-line impact as her predecessor.

Smart organizations leverage technology to collect relevant applicant tracking information using a uniform format. In other words: no more resumes. 

Need another reason to ditch resume screening?

Amazon famously scrapped its in-house resume analysis tool after discovering that the algorithm discriminated against female applicants. Because Amazon had previously hired mostly men, the algorithm figured the company must prefer them. Bias in the data leads to bias in the results. 

Besides the obvious ethical considerations, this is problematic because what’s the only thing more expensive to companies than employee turnover? Litigation. In 2008 alone the EEOC secured judgments for employees totaling $505 million and won 95.7 of its claims filed against companies for discrimination.

Relying predominately on pre-interview resume screening means wasting time combing through thousands of pages of information trying to compare qualifications, spending money on mis-hires, and increasing the risk of opening your company up to lawsuits.

How do I hire the right way?

Cangrade’s Pre-Employment Assessments remove the reliance on resume screening. Cangrade’s tools put the emphasis where it belongs: on the applicants themselves. Evaluate large candidate pools quickly with color-coded scores that tap into your company’s targeted criteria.

Bottom line: The coronavirus employment landscape contains challenges for employers used to having in-person contact to make smart hiring choices. But this can be seen as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. Use it as a jumping-off point to upgrade the tech in your talent management funnel.