Resume Screening: What Actually Works (And What Doesn't)

The Resume Screening Problem

Resume screening is the first filter in hiring, but it's often done poorly. Companies reject qualified candidates based on arbitrary criteria, or accept unqualified ones based on impressive credentials. Most resume screening has low predictive validity.

What Doesn't Work

1. Keyword Matching

Searching for specific keywords:

• Misses qualified candidates with different terminology
• Favors candidates who optimize resumes
• Doesn't assess actual capability

2. Years of Experience

Requiring specific years:

• Ignores quality of experience
• Excludes talented junior engineers
• Doesn't predict performance

3. Company Names

Favoring "big tech" companies:

• Misses talented engineers from smaller companies
• Assumes company quality equals individual quality
• Creates bias

4. Education Requirements

Requiring specific degrees:

• Excludes self-taught engineers
• Doesn't predict coding ability
• Limits diversity

What Actually Works

1. Skills-Based Screening

Look for actual skills, not credentials:

• Technologies: What have they used?
• Projects: What have they built?
• Impact: What results did they achieve?

Example:

• Bad: "5 years of experience"
• Good: "Built RESTful APIs handling 1M+ requests/day"

2. Portfolio Review

Look at actual work:

• GitHub profiles: Real code samples
• Projects: What have they built?
• Contributions: Open source work

3. Achievement Focus

Look for results, not just responsibilities:

• Quantifiable impact: Numbers, metrics
• Problem-solving: How did they solve problems?
• Leadership: Did they lead initiatives?

4. Red Flags to Watch For

Signs of potential issues:

• Job hopping: Multiple short tenures
• Gaps without explanation: Unexplained employment gaps
• Over-qualification: May be overqualified for role
• Inconsistencies: Conflicting information

Structured Screening Process

Step 1: Define Must-Haves

• List 3-5 core requirements
• Everything else is nice-to-have
• Be specific about skills

Step 2: Screen for Must-Haves

• Does resume show required skills?
• Look for evidence, not just keywords
• Consider transferable skills

Step 3: Evaluate Nice-to-Haves

• These are differentiators
• Don't reject for missing nice-to-haves
• Use to rank candidates

Step 4: Review Portfolio

• Check GitHub, projects
• Look for code quality
• Assess real-world impact

UAE-Specific Considerations

1. Diverse Backgrounds

UAE has diverse talent:

• Don't favor specific countries or universities
• Focus on skills, not origins
• Consider international experience valuable

2. Visa Status

For international candidates:

• Understand visa requirements
• Don't reject based on visa alone
• Consider sponsorship if candidate is strong

3. Language

English proficiency:

• Assess communication ability
• Don't require native-level English
• Focus on technical communication

Tools and Automation

ATS Systems

Applicant Tracking Systems can help:

• Organize applications
• Filter by criteria
• Track candidates

But be careful:

• Don't over-filter
• Review manually
• Don't rely solely on ATS scores

Best Practices

1. Focus on skills: What can they do?
2. Look for evidence: Projects, code, results
3. Be inclusive: Don't filter out qualified candidates
4. Review manually: Don't rely solely on automation
5. Move quickly: Top candidates are off market fast

Conclusion

Effective resume screening focuses on skills and evidence, not credentials and keywords. For UAE tech companies, skills-based screening leads to better candidate pools and more qualified applicants reaching the interview stage. Focus on what candidates can do, not where they've been.