The Military Contractor Hiring Process

[Schmedlap]

The HR "solution" () was to computerize using simple keyword searches, a process that allowed junior HR dweebs to "go through" thousands of resumes an hour.

Unfortunately, that keyword system doesn't really simplify things all that much. The keywords just select a bunch of resumes. Those resumes must still be reviewed and applicants interviewed. If anything, the keyword thing makes it more difficult.

I've been through the federal hiring process from the employer side. Absolutely mindless. Five of us were given 25 resumes to review (we were all reviewing the same 25 resumes). We were to rate them in five areas on a 1 to 5 scale and then we would see which 4 of the applicants scored highest. All of the applications were about 3 or 4 pages, single spaced, tiny font, 1/4" margins, and they all sounded the same because the resume was simply a vehicle to deliver all of those keywords to us.

If nothing else, it was an interesting exercise in random number generation. Because all of the resumes were alike, all five of us scored different ones highest and lowest - it was completely arbitrary. But, in accordance with some federal practice, we found the 4 whose scores on our arbitrary scale were highest - even though they were insignificantly higher - and we called them in for the interview.

Then came the interview. We were each assigned a specific question to ask (basically, our jobs amounted to reading a script). In order to ensure "fairness" we had to ask each candidate the same question. The candidates were like their resumes - canned, non-specific responses to cookie-cutter questions. The position was some a personnel slot - similar to a BN or BDE S-1, but dealing with Active, Reserve, and DOD Civilians. I could have asked the same questions to an infantry E-7 and gotten the same answers, and learned about as much about his qualifications.

I think the woman who broke down crying during the interview eventually got hired.