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01.21.09 Avoid Warning Flags In Your Resume  By Dan Morrill There are just some resumes that set off every warning sign when it comes to the potential hire. These are people that just will never make it through the hiring process, and here is what you can do to avoid being a "red flag resume". I never get tired of seeing some of the more interesting resumes that cross my desk. Many resumes are wonderful, they give me a good idea of what the person can do, what they have done, and where they are on the internet. Usually when I am going through and using search engines (I use all three, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo) I can get a pretty good idea of what is going on with a person, and when it is easier to pass than it is to hire. 1. Never discuss money in your resume, one resume that crossed my desk told me that they would be available for 100 dollars an hour to do web site redesign. Today, asking for 100 dollars an hour before they even know what the project is going to look like or what will be required sets off two flags. The first flag is that they are not aware of what is happening around them, with a recession on, and deepening by the day, I can hire a web programmer/developer for 35-50 dollars an hour. I can outsource this puppy for 10 to 20 dollars an hour, there are many options that I can exercise here. The other problem was that the resume did not reflect that he was worth 100 dollars an hour to begin with. None of the skills needed for a web developer were on the resume 2. Attitude - when the first paragraph of the resume makes the candidate sound like you should be thankful that they even submitted their resume to you; this can end up being very bad for the group or team. When someone comes into an organization they want to prove their worth and value, and make you happy that you hired them. If the person comes in with attitude, where you should be beholden to them because they took the job, the whole team can suffer. Rather than trying to fit in, the current team dynamics can be thrown into complete disarray, pending the eventual social and political hoopla that will happen as the team tries to incorporate a new dominate member into the team. This can cost momentum, and cause social problems down the road. 3. Shorter mean time before failure - odds are likely that when someone comes in with attitude and an inflated idea of their self worth, they leave quickly, or the team leaves quickly. Usually this will happen within a year that you will have huge turnover, which will cause problems down the road, which could lead to project failure.
4. What is on line about them, are they argumentative, are all the things they say they worked on done, what are the reviews of their work if they published or have a blog, what is their authority, ranking in the community, including the number of and quality of comments back on their works. Or are they trying to foster community, willing to set aside what they think, and revise it based on new information that they get. Are they a cult leader, or are they a leader who works with people. You can tell a lot about folks by what they say and write about on line. Sometimes you find a cult leader, other times you find a real cool person out there. Those are some of the things that can tip you off on the personality behind the resume. If you are in the process of hiring, there are many great people out there. Sometimes though you run into a "red flag resume", these are people that you really do, just want to leave behind. It does not matter what their skills are, it does not matter how brilliant they are, what matters is the net impact to the project and to the organization, the internet can help you weed out those that just will not make it in the organization. You do not want to make the mistake of hiring a toxic employee that will lead to high levels of turn over now or when the economy starts perking up. There are so many good people out there that need jobs, pick the best, pick the right one for your organization, and watch out for red flags. Comments About the Author: Dan Morrill has been in the information security field for 18 years, both civilian and military, and is currently working on his Doctor of Management. Dan shares his insights on the important security issues of today through his blog, Managing Intellectual Property & IT Security, and is an active participant in the ITtoolbox blogging community. |
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