The rise of algorithms in recruitment is a mixed blessing. It means scanners can sort resumes by key words and terms (with a high error rate) but it also means they can scan paragraphs which have been ‘cut and pasted’ in to resumes by shonky 1300 number resume mills.
There are thousands of cut and paste paragraphs planted by shonky ‘resume writers’ floating around in resumes of hopeful jobseekers across Australia.
The poor client paid $300 or more for what they thought was an original product, reflecting their experience, character, skills and capabilities.
They placed their hopes, dreams and ambition in the hands of a resume mill, churning out turgid, plagiarised prose.
They sent it off and never heard from the recruiter again. Because the software picked up a cut and paste paragraph like the one below:
“A highly qualified and experienced professional known for a combination of focused technical and mechanical skills; leadership, analytical and planning capabilities, and interpersonal strengths. Strong background in Maintenance and Mechanical Operations, Technical Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Staff Management, Safety Management and Compliance gained from numerous years of employment history. Possessing highly developed management skills, strong technical aptitude, determination, capabilities and the ability to maintain a safe job site based on legal and company guidelines…”
Blah, blah, blah.
The resume has failed because the 1300 telephone number writer has failed to do his or her job. Their eye was on the cash not on demonstrating how to think originally and strategically and promote the client to the best of their ability.
Now the scanning machines are sorting them out.