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Submitted by Dani Martin on
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Disclaimer -- This is probably a really stupid question, but oh well. What do you with the interview notes, resumes, etc. for candidates you didn't make an offer to? Do you keep all it? Shred it?

Thanks -- for answers and for not teasing. 8)

tlhausmann's picture
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My organization's requirement is that materials, including hand-written notes, must be retained for a specific duration.

If the volume of materials when filing or shelving is too much then I feed the docs through a scanner and save the PDF.

tlhausmann

RichRuh's picture
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I keep it. Once or twice I've gone back into the folder and found my notes when someone reapplies years after the fact. Most of the time it just takes up space.

--Rich

bflynn's picture

Barring corporate requirements, I will dispose of non-successful resumes and all interview notes. Only once has HR asked us to keep interview notes.

I only keep things that might have a use for me. That basically means good candidate's resumes.

If I keep a document, I will decide on a date to dispose of it and write it on the document. When I find it later, I don't have to decide again whether to keep it, the decision has already been made.

Being personnel information, I shred copies of resumes and interview notes.

Brian

stephenbooth_uk's picture

Check the law (here in the UK the Data Protection Act puts restrictions on how long you can keep personal information, which would almost certainly cover resumes) and check with HR, in case there is a corporate policy (they may even have a facility for storing and managing the documents).

In general I believe that you would keep recruitment documentation until a) you're sure that the person you recruited is going to work out (you might want to go to your second choice if they decline or turn out to have been a bad decision, if you're in Q3 on the Hortsman's wager grid) and b) you're sure that it won't be needed to defend your decision in a review of recruitment or a discrimination law suit.

Bflynn's suggestion of putting a date on the document after which it can be destroyed is probably the best way to handle it. Obviously the amount of space that you have to store documentation would impact the decision, although if your company has some sort of central filing facility that would be ideal as they can handle both the storage and final destruction of the documents the same way as they do for any other document.

Stephen

andrewmullens's picture

I think they are worth keeping.

We are required to file all application materials including resumes as part of our hiring process. Of course this just means I do it because I have to, which doesn't answer your question.

The nice benefit of keeping them, particularly the higher quality ones, for us is that we often have short contract work that pops up, say 3-6 months, and we want someone fast. This is where the resumes from previous openings can be handy, becuase you can go back to them and review some of the skills they have brought to the table, and contact them to see if they are interested in the similar role.

Also, if the successful applicant falls through, or starts and is not suitable, you can go back and look at the person who came second or third and give them a call so It can sometimes avoid the full re-advertsing and interviewing process.

Of course filing them in a formal way after each hiring probably gives no bigger advantage to just taking copies of the high quality resumes and putting them all in one file to use as a database in the future.

jprlopez's picture

Most has already been covered with regards to organization requirements.

Personally, I usually scan it in PDF then store them in folders I name for positions that would be a better fit in the future. I also have a general folder where I place candidates I can't fit anywhere at that moment time.