There’s a 15 second decision standing between you and your next offer letter.
It’s true. I’ve always known this to be true but, until recently, I didn’t understand how or why the chain of events that occur between a 15 second resume review and a subsequent hiring decision are generally so predictable. Thanks to a recent conversation with a mentor of mine, I think I’ve solved the mystery and I want to share this newly discovered secret with you.
Not long ago I found myself catching up with someone I’ve admired professionally for a long time, Fred Pierce. Fred has been a small business owner and retained search consultant for over 35 years and, when he saw that I was venturing out on my own, he got in touch to offer some advice and talk shop. One thing he said during our most recent conversation really struck me.
“You know, hiring managers really do decide who to interview within the first 15 seconds of reviewing a candidate’s resume. Once they have a short list of top contenders, they pick their favorite before they even meet anyone. Interviews are largely a formality so the hiring managers can confirm they were right, and they always want to be right.”
This is a fact and when Fred said “they always want to be right” I had a bit of an epiphany. Over the course of my career I have evaluated and made judgement calls on thousands of resumes in 15 seconds or less. Nearly all experienced recruiters have. It’s a skill of the trade that develops over time. I know this to be true, and its why successful resumes are the ones that are able to quickly persuade, in a matter of seconds, both the screener and the hiring manager that the candidate is a top-3 contender. This is why it’s so important for job seekers to optimize their resumes.
But wait, WHY? Why both screener and hiring manager, and why top-3?
It’s because the screener and hiring manger almost always choose the candidate they think is the best fit at the resume review stage. Once they make that decision they want to prove themselves right. If they’re rooting for different candidates, the hiring manager’s choice may win out in the end… but probably not if the resume doesn’t get flagged by the screener as a top-3 contender in the first place. If they’re both rooting for the same candidate then the interview is really just a formality and, barring any red flags that come up in conversation, the decision is already made.
So, what’s going on in the brains of screeners and hiring managers that the above scenario is almost universally true? Well, as Fred keenly observed, decision makers always want to be right.
Dr. Robert Cialdini, a Social Psychologist and educator who has spent his career studying the science of persuasion teaches about CONSISTENCY in his books and lectures. Consistency is the psychological principle that human brains are wired to more easily make decisions that are consistent with things that person has said and done in the past.
Applying this principle to the average hiring process, once a hiring manager flags a resume as a front runner, the hiring manager is more likely to advocate for the candidate they’ve chosen. This holds true even before the hiring manager has an opportunity to speak with the candidate. The more vocal the hiring manager is, the more likely they are to hire that candidate in the end. Why? Because humans are wired to make decisions that are consistent with things they’ve said and done in the past. It’s not lost on me, and it shouldn’t be lost on you, that this fairly predictable chain of events is almost always set in motion by a 15 second resume review.
Let me repeat that. It’s not lost on me, and it shouldn’t be lost on you, that this fairly predictable chain of events is almost always set in motion by a 15 second resume review. Your resume has all of 15 seconds to persuade both the screener and the hiring authority that you’re the best person for the job at hand. If your resume isn’t up to the challenge, you’re not likely to get the offer.
So there you have it. There really are only 15 seconds standing between you and your next offer letter.
After many years of managing the hiring process for all sorts of organizations, Fred and I know this to be true… and now you know too. So make those first 15 seconds count and, if you need some help, get in touch. I’ll always have your back.
Keep going, friends. You’ve got this.