Hiring new employees is an arduous process, and it can take anywhere from 30 to 40 days to fill an open position. During that time, the HR department is busy trying to find a new worker. They are looking over resumes, calling references, and scheduling interviews.

You're losing potential productivity since you don't have an employee helping out the rest of the team. You're also paying HR employees for their time reviewing resumes. Out of all the resumes received , most of them won't even meet the minimum requirements for the job listing.

Some people don't read the full posting. They might think something about them or their resume can win you over and make their lack of experience or education not matter. Depending on the job market, some people might be so desperate for work that they're applying for anything, just hoping to earn a paycheck.

This type of resume can throw a wrench in your company's operations. HR employees are wasting time sorting past these resumes. You're paying for their time and going days longer without a new hire to take on some workloads.

Studies show that recruiters only look at a resume for six or seven seconds before passing judgment. Then, it might seem like nothing to have HR employees manually review the resumes that flood the company in response to a job listing. But six seconds add up quickly, and when you consider how many resumes aren't even eligible for the job, that's a lot of wasted time.

Resume screening tools eliminate ineligible resumes before HR comes into the equation. You can enter specific terms to search for, and the software pulls any resume that lacks these terms from the applicant pool. You can narrow it down to several applications or take those highest ranked for matching search terms.

You know you have good applicants. HR employees can spend more time reviewing the ideal resumes before calling potential hires for interviews, and they haven't wasted work on resumes that don't meet the baseline. Ultimately, you're more likely to hire an employee who will be a good fit for the company.

What Are Some of the Most Popular Resume Screening Tools for a Company?

If you've ever wondered, “How are resumes screened?” then learning about the automated resume screens can help you find the answer. Some of the most popular resume screening tools include:

• Parsing with a search function
• Enriching by pulling public data Screening with artificial intelligence

A search function allows you to enter specific terms you're looking for relating to education, work experience, or other skills. The resume scanning software will pull out any resumes that contain these keywords.

A resume screening tool that can enrich the document with public data gives you a broader candidate picture. The tool pulls public data from the internet and can include details about their education, qualifications, and previous employment.

Screening resumes with Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes the process simple for the HR department. You can input basic data for AI to comb for, such as specific work history, certain degrees, and other details about qualifications. AI will scour each resume before grading them, either from A to C, 1 to 3, or Red, Yellow, and Green, making it easy for the hiring manager.

How Do These Tools Help Employers Screen candidates' Resumes More Effectively?

Research shows that more than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use resume automated screening to narrow the applicant pool. The biggest perk of using these tools is how much time automated resume screening saves. The software does that instead of allocating HR employees to spend time manually scanning each resume that comes in for a job.

You don't have to use resume screening tools in the hiring process solely. They're a significant first step to narrowing the applicant pool. The keyword matching option that comes as a fundamental feature in these tools is enough to weed out people who don't have the necessary experience for the job. That's enough to make the pool more manageable for a manual assessment.

You'll get the most out of it if you can further customize your application screening software. Some platforms allow you to insert tests that further narrow down applicants. You can choose from foreign languages, computer skills, management knowledge, and more.

What Are Some of the Key Features of a Resume Screening Software?

There are plenty of tools on the market, so you can find one with the options your company needs. Learning the critical features of the screening software will help you streamline the hiring process.

 Feature #1 of a Resume Screening Software : Search Function

Parsing with a search function helps narrow a large pool of resumes to a much smaller list of the best applicants. The software searches for set keywords relating to the job description and requirements. Resumes that don't mention management or higher education, for example, won't make it through to the next round, so HR won't even see these applicants.

One potential problem with using the search function alone is that applicants can use keyword stuffing. They might use relevant keywords in their resume but not have the experience or education. The search function only detects the words while possibly neglecting the accompanying context.

Feature #2 of a Candidate Screening Software: Public Data

Enriching a search by pulling public data gives you a fuller picture of potential applicants. These tools scrape public digital footprints and comb social media to discover more about the potential employee. While anyone can pad their resume or stuff it with keywords, their available digital footprint will reveal who they truly are.

You can check out their social media to see how they act online and understand their interests and personality. This background helps you decide how well they fit in with the company culture. You can also see if they earned the degree mentioned on their resume without calling the school directly.

Feature #3 of a Applicants Screening Software: Artificial Intelligence

Screening with Artificial Intelligence helps remove bias from the hiring process. AI has no opinion about a person's alma mater or previous work experience. They're not going to care about a person's name or address the way HR people can have an implicit bias By letting a resume screening tool complete the first step of the hiring process, you ensure that only qualified applicants make it through. No one accepts a resume because they know the applicant, and no one rejects a resume because they don't like the person.

Feature #4 of a Candidate Screening Software: Test Assessment

Using relevant test assessments in the screening process ensures you're getting applicants who fit the bill. With Maki, you have access to a test library of more than 150 questionnaires. You can customize what's asked as well as what type of answers the respondent can give.

If you're hiring for accounting, you can have applicants take finance tests. For marketing employees, there's a specific test. There are other existing tests in the library, including: 

• Personality
• Cognition
• Languages
• Project management
• Hospitality
• Technology
• Human resources
• Customer service

The software scores the tests and lists them for the HR team to review. You see the results only, so there's still no risk of bias relating to anything else on the applicant's resume. You're getting organic information about their skills, experience, and talent and choosing from there.

Overall, these features save time. Instead of asking people to spend work hours going through hundreds of resumes, you'll get a narrower pool of more suitable applicants. Even if you use HR employees to assess a dozen potential employees, that will take much less time than going through a stack of resumes.

As a bonus, your HR department will know that the resumes they see are already some of the best applicants. They won't get discouraged after seeing countless resumes from people nowhere near skilled enough for the position. They can feel positive that they're looking at potential hires that are actually qualified.

How Do Screening Software and Screening Tool Work? 

When people apply for open jobs at your company, their resumes will go to the resume screening tool instead of your email. At that point, you can log into the software and look at each resume if you choose. You can quickly glance at the document to get relevant information, such as if they have the proper employment history or education.

Automated Screening 

Resume screening tools use automation to sort through the applicants based on specific search terms. You can upload the job description and have them match keywords on the resume against details in the job listing. You can set specific parameters for educational background and employment history. Anyone not meeting these criteria doesn't pass through the filters.

You can choose to use tools that also scrape the web for personal information. They'll use data from the resume to ensure the social media profiles match the applicant so you can see how professional they are online.

The software can also find data relating to college graduations, special awards, and employment history. This is a quick way to see if the applicant was truthful on their resume.

Some automated resume screening software automatically ranks applicants. The software compares the resumes against the job description to see how well they match. You can view the applications by checking only the top 5 or 10%, knowing these potential employees have what you're looking for.

What Are Some Best Practices for Using Resume Screening Tools?

Some best practices for using resume screening tools include entering specific terms for your company. This narrows the field more than using general terms relating to the job position. You can also enable the resume enricher, which scrapes the web for the applicant's digital footprint.

In general, resume screening tools are most effective for lower positions. There's less to search for in terms of education and related work experience, so the software is more thorough. For higher positions, a manual screening process might be best. You can ensure applicants aren't stuffing their resumes with keywords and can double-check degree types and job titles.

If your company can find a middle ground for the application process, you'll be able to find the best potential employees.

What Are Some Common Mistakes Made When Using Resume Screening Tools during the Application Process?

Even with a customizable resume screening tool , recruiters still need to look over the resumes themselves. There are always potential glitches that could allow someone to get through to the final check even if they don't have what you're looking for. Before you start calling people in for interviews, make sure you look over the resumes yourself.

On the other hand, some resume screening tools might filter out applicants who would be a great fit. If they don't correctly use keywords in their resume, the software could eliminate them. When an HR professional makes time to look at the resumes manually, you're more likely to get higher-quality results. However, it's a trade-off considering the time and effort involved.

Resume screening tools don't have the ability to discern context like a human can. The software might scan for the keyword “manager” and let a “Concession Stand Manager” get to the top of a ranking for a position in IT management. A human, however, could read the job title and duties and understand the applicant gave corn dogs to kids at an amusement park.

Similarly, someone with experience in IT management might have had the job title “Computer Systems Director.” The software won't catch that title unless you enter it yourself.

This type of confusion can also happen with education since many colleges have specific names for their majors. Reading the information yourself will help you understand the context. You'll be able to see what qualifications each applicant truly has.

How Can Resume Screening Tools Be Used Effectively for Quality Recruitment?

Resume screening tools can be practical because they streamline the hiring process. They weed out resumes that don't fit the job posting and save time for people working in the HR department.

They're also ideal for eliminating human biases. Some hiring managers might have biases against specific names or educational institutions. If they see a potential hire who worked for a competitor in the past, they might hesitate before eliminating the applicant because of a bias.

Many resume screening tools also scour the web for applicants' digital footprints. This step can cut down on time spent in interviews. Someone might sound good on paper, but when you meet them in person, they don't embody the professionalism of the company. By checking out their social media, you can get an idea of their personality before meeting them in person.

Why should Businesses use a Resume Screening Tool in addition to Applicant Tracking Systems?

You might be wondering why you need to consider using a resume screening software whenyou already have an applicant tracking system.

Applicant tracking systems (ATSs) have been able to automatize many aspects of the recruitment process, but they often lack resume screening features.

Final Notes

People often apply for jobs without reading all requirements or ensuring they'll be a good fit with the company. Weeding through these resumes can waste a lot of time. HR effort is better spent finding the right potential employee and bringing them in for follow-up interviews and training. Using resume screening tools helps HR professionals streamline the hiring process.

Instead of HR needing the staffing to assess hundreds of resumes in a short period, resume screening software does it for you. You can control what the software scans for to ensure you're getting the cream of the crop and hiring the right person for the job.

qualified candidates, soft skills, ideal candidate, false positives, resume screening process, job applications, recruiting process, Keyword search, false negatives, Personality Traits, screen resumes, resume keywords, candidate profile, suitable candidates, skill sets