Tesar-Reynes

I have found that there seems to be an increasing amount of resumes that I receive that have at least some dates missing in them.  Typically, they fall into two areas.  The first is leaving out dates of graduation from college.  This second is the truncation of the career history, where the first item that appears is at the director or vice presidential level.

Some people are concerned about their age; others feel they have had too many jobs or a dodgy career track. When I ask for the additional information, many are combative.  What they don’t understand is the fact that I have to understand their entire career before I can present them to a client.  Invariably, I asked the most negative, “If the situation were reversed and I was working for you, would you accept any resumes from me with dates missing?”

It is not my role, and it is certainly against the law to judge people on their age.  But it is my responsibility to pay due diligence in the presentation of a candidate to represent them accurately.  My reputation as a recruiter is defined by my knowledge of the people I present.

I am always looking for the best candidate for the opening.  This includes my understanding of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses in their career track; the environments in which they thrive; and in their roadblocks to success.  If I have this sensitivity to my candidate and I have a good understanding of the environment of the hiring management, I will provide the hiring manager with candidates that are all capable and vary only by personality.

Dates, like salary history, are only numbers that help describe what the candidate is all about.