The impact of competency statements on resumes for short-listing decisions

Sixty-two managers and human resource consultants rated a series of genuine resumes with covering letters. The resumes were manipulated to contain varying amounts of information about the candidate's knowledge, skills and abilities (competency statements). This information appeared at different locations in the resume and covering letter. In addition, half the managers were provided with extra job requirement details beyond the job advertisement. Managers rated the candidate resumes for candidate suitability, decision to interview and overall ranking. The inclusion of competency statements resulted in higher manager ratings. However, the location of the competency statements did not influence ratings given to resumes. Further, the extra information provided to managers did not influence their ratings. The results replicate and extend an earlier study by Earl, Bright and Adams (1998) and challenge the idea that selection decisions are largely based on the notion of applicant fit. The results suggest that the inclusion on the resumes of statements that address job competencies even in a general fashion will boost an applicant's chances of being short-listed.