Go Beyond Resumes to Find Candidates

Going through our site is just the first step to finding qualified candidates to work for you. Potential employees put on their resumes and online listings only the things that they want you to see. You may have questions about some of the qualifications or notice inconsistencies. Before you ask prospects about these issues, go beyond their resumes with the following guidelines.

• Check out their social pages, such as Facebook and Twitter, to find out the person behind the resume. They present a more accurate picture of your candidates as they reveal unguarded moments of individuals. Do their workplace pictures show them busily completing a projects, or displaying copier prints of their body parts? Are their text postings merely rants about their current employers or do they brag about how they improved work productivity.
• Do a Google Search to find out more about their online trails. Don't neglect to look under the Images, Videos, News, and Blog options. While social pages reveal what applicants want to say about themselves, a search shows what others think about them. You may come across community and industry websites that laud their contributions to work and society. Or you may uncover inconsistencies with the dates, salaries, job names, and employer information that they list on their resumes.
  
• If this research uncovers a promising candidate, put his name in Google Alerts. If additional web mentions pop up between the time you find the resume and the time you interview him, an alert is sent to your email so you can investigate it.
  

Don't simply discount an individual because your independent research reveals something unflattering. Instead, use this as a starting point for some of the questions you'll ask during the interview.