How to Evaluate a CV: Key Tips for Identifying Talent

Being able to attract, contact, and hire the right personnel for vacancies in organizations requires a series of criteria and common sense to fulfill its purpose.

In the first place, there is the recruitment process, which consists of informing and disseminating, through different mass media, the required profile and the attractiveness of the requesting organization.

An important activity in the recruitment and selection process is the evaluation of the curriculum vitae or professional curriculum summary.

Curricular summary

The curricular summary summarizes the personal, social, cognitive, and leadership skills of the applicant. Likewise, their experience, abilities and skills, the languages they speak, and other details of interest are valued.

Although curricular evaluation is indeed very important, this task requires time. As long as the organization receives a significant number of CVs, it is a good sign. Besides, it allows us to choose from a broader professional population.

However, the greater the number of CVs, the more complex the process becomes, since it is really difficult to make the decision. In this sense, there are software tools and applications that simplify and optimize the task.

Important elements for the evaluation of a CV

For the adequate and effective evaluation of a curricular summary, some aspects must be taken into account:

Profile

According to the requirements of the position, the profile sought for the candidate to fill the vacancy is designed. A list must be prepared with all the competency requirements, and the evaluation must be done based on the aforementioned list.

Experience in previous jobs

The evaluation of experience in similar positions or those that fit the required profile is an element that must be evaluated and taken into consideration at the time of a curricular evaluation.

Stability

It is important to take into account in the evaluation the number of previous jobs. Some candidates project stability by having spent a long time in the same organization.

This may reflect organizational commitment, which is worth evaluating. But if a candidate has had many different jobs, it does not necessarily indicate a lack of commitment; rather, it may be that they are evolving, growing, and looking for improvements at the work level.

Address and availability to travel

Some positions may require the incumbent to travel frequently; take into account in the evaluation the applicant's place of residence and willingness to travel.

Academic background

Although nowadays this element is less important than before, it must be considered according to the position.

However, nowadays greater importance is given to the experience and skills of the candidate beyond their academic training. It all depends on the position. If your organization requires a lawyer for legal practice, obviously this academic degree will be required.

Candidate photograph

There is no consensus among specialists on the validity or not of the criterion of giving significant weight to the applicant's photograph. Some believe that it should not be given more attention, since our decision can be affected by subjective factors and elements.

On the other hand, some specialists believe that depending on the position, it is important to evaluate the image projected by the applicant, since certain positions require the projection of a certain image.

Special attention to achievements

A very important factor when evaluating a CV is the impressive achievements that the candidate may have had in previous jobs. For example, significant savings due to process optimization, reductions in the time and effort needed for activities and tasks, improvements in work methods, etc.

Long gaps between jobs

While it is true that there may be logical explanations when there is a significant gap between one job and another (such as military service, for example), it is good to investigate this and find out in detail the reasons for a long period of unemployment.

Too long without promotions

Although each candidate has their own story to tell, it is important to consider the reasons for a long time in the same position. A long tenure in the same position may indicate a lack of initiative, little proactivity, inappropriate resignation, or few professional aspirations.

Presentation of the CV

Some specialists consider the presentation and organization of the CV as the first filter. A poorly structured CV with inadequate language and a lot of disorganization is indicative of a lack of attention to important and formal details.

Software and applications for evaluating a CV

With the advancement of science and technology, especially information technology, telematics, and social networks, the selection process can be optimized through computer applications.

There are software tools and applications that effectively support the evaluation of the CV, and that can be of great help in the process, especially if there are many CVs to evaluate.

For recruitment, social networks can be of great help. There are portals where job offers are advertised. Some of these services are completely free, while others are paid.

The recruitment and selection department must evaluate the possibility of using social networks to achieve part of its mission. Likewise, it will evaluate the possibility of adopting software or an application that supports and optimizes the evaluation process of curricular summaries.

Using consultants to assess CVs

Currently, with the division and specialization of the processes of human talent development organizations, a significant number of consultants and advisors offer their services for the adequate, precise, and timely evaluation of CVs for the personnel selection process.

It is an option that has been gaining a lot of currency and popularity in organizations. It is important to evaluate the advantages that hiring these services would have for your organization.

Final recommendations

• Allocate adequate time to the curricular evaluation process. It is an extremely important task.

• Avoid ranking applicants from best to worst. It is better to use words like “meets,” “does not meet,” “considerable.” Comparisons are inevitable in this process.

Finally, the process of recruiting and selecting personnel is one of the most important processes in the function of the human talent development departments. Be sure to take into account the pertinent recommendations for the successful management of this task.