From my years of evaluating resumes, I can tell you that while a resume may give you a glimpse into the candidate’s past, it will definitely not give you the entire picture.
It will let you know the companies they worked with, their title, the technologies they worked with and how much experience they have But it will not reveal to you how they reacted when the plan went awry.
It will not give you an idea of how they handled a challenging client, how they tackled a completely new challenge or how they performed under pressure and made decisions when there were no easy answers.
And this differentiation is becoming increasingly relevant in the Indian recruitment market.
Recruitment trends are shifting towards skills-based recruiting, especially as companies are trying to hire specialized skills in areas like AI, data, cloud, cybersecurity, digital transformation and critical business functions. Simultaneously, companies are casting a wider net for finding talent
beyond just the traditional urban market places.
It also brings about a shift in the role of the recruiter.
The question to be posed is no longer just:
“Is this person qualified according to the job description?”
But rather, “What can this person do with his/her qualification?”
Two people with the same job title and same number of years of experience could still be very different in terms of capability.
One person may have been doing the same thing year after year.
The other may have been handling more difficult challenges, cross-functional collaboration, process improvement, and delivering impact through the years.
Both can be having resumes which appear alike.
Not so their worth.
This is why I think talent acquisition today needs to look further than keyword-matching and CV screening. The technology might help you find relevant candidates quicker, but the judgement of the human is key when it comes to context, adaptability, problem-solving, and potential.
It is the same for the interviewer.
Instead of “What did you do?”, start asking:
“What changed because of it?”
Instead of asking only about responsibilities, ask about decisions.
Instead of focusing on the familiar experience, try exploring how a person would approach an unfamiliar situation.
This is how you start understanding the way a candidate thinks.
At Morpheus Consulting, recruitment was never only about filling the vacant position. The idea was always to understand the company, the position, the challenge they faced and the type of candidate they needed.
In the increasingly skills-focused market, the recruitment agency and hiring team now have an opportunity to improve their skills in looking past the CV.
Since the best candidate is not always the one with a stellar CV.
Sometimes, it is the one who made you curious enough to ask one more question, and that one question tells you a lot more than any CV ever could.
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