Spark a Conversation Criminal Records and Video Interviews - Spark Hire

Spark a Conversation Criminal Records and Video Interviews - Spark HireHere at Spark Hire, we want to help companies utilize the power of online video to find the best candidates. We get a lot of questions from readers about best practices for using online video in the hiring process. These posts will address those questions about how to find your next superstar employee.Question How can I find out about a candidates criminal record in the video interview? Sara from Washington D.C. When you have to fill a position, you are going to come into contact with all kinds of people. Each of those people have their own platzdeckchen of challenges, but for an employer it an be very difficult or challenging to interview someone with a criminal record. While you want to get certain information from them, you want to make sure you are notlage being discriminatory. Asking certain questions, or coming to a hiring decision based on discriminatory reasons, can land you in a deal of trouble. Basicall y, hiring managers need to be sure they are compliant with all regulations- generally the regulations that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sets (EEOC).For starters, you dont want to ask interview questions about a candidates criminal history or record unless it is relevant to the job. Legally, you can inquire about a felony conviction but you cannot make discriminatory comments on the subject. Once it has been brought up in the job interview, be sure to ask the candidate to explain their past and what they learned from their previous mistakes. When you are in a video interview with these candidates, you want to look for someone who can explain their situation without getting defensive. Its part of their past so they should be able to talk about it calmly. Plus, this is a job interview so they should be prepared to tackle the question.Even though this candidate has a criminal record, that doesnt mean that is the only thing you should be focusing on in the video interview. You need to tackle that portion, true, but you also need to discuss their skill set and past experience as well. What did they do in their career after their conviction? Is this their first job after that or have they been working since? What other companies have they worked for in the past and do they have the passion for this industry?Video interviewing a candidate with a criminal record can be a bit challenging, but its something that all hiring managers need to be prepared for. You will meet many different people in the hiring process and those with criminal records are not exempt.Do you have a question you need answered? Spark a conversation with the Spark Hire team by submitting your question to blog(at)sparkhire.com or in the comments below.

Should You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is No!

Should You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is NoShould You Write Your Resume in 1st or 3rd Person The Answer Is NoThere are voices in your head, competing for your attention all the time. Theyre trying to sneak onto your resume.So which one should you listen to? Should you be I or she or he?One of the first decisions you need to make before starting to write your resume is whether you want to write in the 1st or 3rd person.Throughout the few past decades, theres been an ongoing discussion about which voice to use in your career documents. And HR experts views have been changing, too, taking different sides every time.But dont worry, weve sorted this issue out for you. Heres the contemporary approach to the dilemma of writing your resume in the 1st or 3rd person.First person, third person and pronounsThe secret to a fresh, outstanding resume is to remove the pronouns entirely.Pronouns are redundant. Try it for yourself- get rid of all instances of I, he or she from y our resume. It wont change a thing. Their use is implied and everyone will know who youre talking about.Whats mora, pronouns take up a lot of space on your resume that you could fill withverbs and adjectives instead. Without them, your resume can start to breathe more freely and make your skills and experience shine.Lets take a look at an example First person I managed a stock room of 20,000+ items. Third person He managed a stock room of 20,000+ items.Sure, you could get away with either of the two. On the other hand, there are just too many reasons that make them useless in modern resume writing. Third person feels rather strange. When was the last time youve heard someone refer to themselves as he, she orMike? When it comes to the first person, using it you can easily come across as a bit boring, repetitive or egocentric. Now remove the pronounsManaged a stock room of 20,000+ items.Wow Can you see that? This phrasing is far more effective and concise.You can avoid the inevitably repetitive pronouns. And the whole resume will, in turn,read far more naturally.By using this approach, youll soon be able to craft short, succinct bullet points speaking of your past achievements.What if you still want to use pronouns?But even after reading all this, it might be too hard for you to say goodbye to your pronouns. Thats perfectly fine. You just need to stay aware of their function.You should definitely feel free to write your resume in either first or third person. Both of them are acceptable but they can be tricky to work with.First things first. If you do decide to use a pronoun, be careful to follow suit and use the same pronoun throughout your resume. Consistency is key. Jumping from 1st to 3rd person pronouns- and leaving them out from time to time too- can easily result in notgetting invited to a job interview.First personUsing the 1st person to talk about yourself sounds very logical. Its also more direct, engaging and personal.But as soon youve used the word I once,it becomes really tricky. If you want to stay consistent, youll have to start repeating yourself- or come up with very innovative ways to keep your Is in check.Last but not least, use 1st person pronouns sound informal, even unprofessional. Which means that unless youre applying for a highly creative position, you should steer clear of using it at all.Third personThird person is accepted as a standard resume convention. Looking a bit too formal, it keeps your resume impersonal and reduces the chance of sounding too egocentric.This style also creates the distance necessary to enable the HR manager to focus on your skills and value rather than your personality.If you decide to go with 3rd person, however, dont use your name to say things about yourself. Starting off with Shervin is an expert in will come across at best strange and at worst slightly creepy.After finishing your resume, read it aloud for yourself and try to evaluate the tone of its voice. If it makes the impression that you wrote your resume as a testimonial or if it sounds like youve got somebody else to write your resume, the work is not over yet.Back to basicsAt the end of the day, its facts that matter. Everybody knows youre going to talking about yourself in your resume. So using a pronoun feels just like bringing sand to the beach.The plain truth is that HR managers and recruiters crave for a simple, honest resume. Theyll always lean towards candidates whose resumes are easier to digest. And the fewer pronouns there are, the less time theyll have to spend reading it.A standout pronoun-free resume will focus on content loaded words such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Anything else is an obstacle that recruiters eyes will have to jump over.This is why you need to weed out any confusing or unnecessary elementsand keep only those that are there for a reason.Lets sum it upThis article has brought light to a couple of pain points in a job seekers resume. If you decide to put them into practi ce, youre sure to become a well-versed resume creator with an impeccable career document in your hands.Here are 4 basic rules for a simple but powerful resumeWrite in the past tense.Focus on things you have achieved.Write in the 3rd person but eliminate any pronouns.Use short bullet points to strip out any unnecessary fillers words.Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments