Reverse! Reverse! Reverse Engineering the Recruiting & Job-Seeking Process

During SourceCon 2014—“The must attend conference for all things sourcing”—which took place in Atlanta, GA, reverse engineering the recruiting process was a topic of hot debate. Reverse engineering is not an entirely new concept, but as we seek greater precision, efficiency and results as recruiters (and job seekers), it has become a key recruiting strategy.

The basic concept of reverse engineering a resume is simple. Find the resume of someone considered to be a star performer in a specific industry or profession; evaluate their skills as well as the buzzwords on their resume—aligned with buzzwords from the job description; then leverage the tools at your disposal to source professionals with as many similar experiences and qualifications you can find. For additional clarity, Merriam Webster defines reverse engineering as, “to study the parts of (something) to see how it was made and how it works so that you can make something that is like it.” 

Reverse Engineer definitionReverse engineering is more than a powerful strategy for recruiters to use in their hunt for top talent; it is a powerful way for job seekers to make certain they show up more frequently in recruiters’ sourcing results and in line with job applications. For example, to optimize your chances of being found, viewed and considered, candidates must consider the job descriptions, keywords and technical terms recruiters are likely evaluating in their sourcing efforts. Think search engine optimization (SEO) but for the job seeker.

The following highlights four tips for both job seekers and recruiters seeking to expand their reverse-engineering knowledge.

For Recruiters – Reverse Engineering Top Performers:

  1. During calls with hiring managers, ask them to send a resume of someone considered a high performer.
  2. Research! Source for resumes of candidates with similar job titles and with similar experience, then bring their resumes and/or profiles to the intake call.
  3. Compare the job description with the top performer(s)—be in depth; don’t gloss over keywords and important skills.
  4. Highlight key terms from the job description and resumes of top performers, to ultimately engineer (build) the top candidate. The process sounds simple, but it provides clarity on the type of qualifications, experiences and skills you should be looking for in your search.

For Job Seekers – Reverse Engineering Resumes:

  1. Find and highlight keywords from the job description of a position of interest or position pertinent to your profession. Don’t assume recruiters will understand all of your experiences based on your resume alone.
  2. Include buzzwords. Are there technical terms listed on the job description? If so, include as many of these buzzwords pertinent to your skillset throughout your resume (approximately 2-3 mentions of each).
  3. Use a free tool like TagCrowd—“a web application for visualizing word frequencies in any text by creating what is popularly known as a word cloud, text cloud or tag cloud … TagCrowd specializes in making word clouds easy to read, analyze and compare.” In simpler terms, TagCrowd helps you see what terms show up most often. Understanding what recruiters are looking for and what top performers are using in their profiles/resumes can help you hone your own.
  4. Highlight key terms from the job description, and rework your resume to include these key terms.

Reverse engineering is simple and repeatable. It will remain a hot topic and will soon become a necessary skill for recruiters and job seekers alike. Savvy recruiters can now build the best candidates, while candidates have the capability of making themselves easier to find. It’s a win-win for both parties, and a strategy neither side can afford to exclude.

Post contributed by Justin Dunn. Follow me on Twitter @JustDunn10, or connect with me on LinkedIn.


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