RESUME RED FLAGS: HOW TO READ A MINISTRY RESUME FOR ALL IT鈥橲 WORTH

听听听听听听听听听听听 Looking over a resume in order to hire a person for ministry can be trickier than one realizes at first. This is especially true because they typically want to give the benefit of the doubt to one鈥檚 accomplishments and experiences as listed on a resume. However, it has been the experience of this writer that what is often listed on a resume may not actually be the truth. There are those who like to 鈥渟tretch鈥 the information or possibly 鈥渆mbellish鈥 the facts to point in favor of the applicant. Then there are those who just flat out lie about who they really are and what they鈥檝e done. This blog will highlight some clues or signs of 鈥渞ed flags鈥 that may show up in ministry resumes.

听听听听听听听听听听听 One of the first realities to accept is that even people who are applying for ministry positions do lie about the facts on their resumes. There are a number of possible reasons for this including financial gain, status, cultural pressure, or trying to establish notoriety, etc. These certainly are not excusable reasons to falsify information but the reality is that many people do this for those very reasons. That is why it is absolutely important to be aware of the following 鈥渞ed flags鈥 when looking at a resume.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Red Flag #1- Make sure that each educational institute is legitimate. Often times, depending on the church or the denomination, a long pedigree of impressive academic achievements may be viewed as a way to earn favor. This may include the listing of many institutions of higher learning as well as many earned academic degrees. But I have seen how often times, the actual institutions may be fabricated as well as the program or degree at that institution. In other words, if an applicant lists that he got a 鈥淧h.D鈥 from an obscure institution, make sure that the institution actually exists and that it really has a Ph.D program within the school.

听听听听听听听听听听听 One notable true story comes in an applicant for a ministry who claimed to be in a Ph.D program at a reputable seminary. While it was true that the seminary did actually exist and that they did have the actual program, it turns out that the student only applied for the program but never was accepted into it. He was confronted on this and eventually admitted that he was never in the program. The strange irony and twist is that the program was the doctoral studies in ethics!

听听听听听听听听听听听 Red Flag #2- Just because they list dates that they studied at a school, don鈥檛 assume that they actually finished the degree. Another sly trick and necessary awareness is to ask the applicant if he actually completed the program and graduated. The way that this works from the deceptive side is that the applicant may list dates that he studied at the institution. So the resume may read that he studied at a school from 鈥1990-1994.鈥 This would typically imply that he finished the graduate program in 4 years which is a normal given time to complete a degree. However, the interesting nuance is that 鈥測es鈥 he may have studied there during that time but did not actually graduate from the program. Don鈥檛 make any assumption that even though they studied there that they actually completed the program. Always ask for both a transcript and proof of a graduation diploma or certificate.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Red Flag #3- Just because he has served at many places, that doesn鈥檛 mean that he is necessarily accomplished. Don鈥檛 just look at how many places he has been but rather how long he has been at each place. An easy trap to fall into when looking at a resume is to think that if the applicant has a long list of experiences on his resume that this person is very seasoned. While this could be true, more often than not, it is indicative of a potential problem. The problem is staying power. Sometimes, people cannot stay very long at a certain place, again for varied reasons. So, as you look at the resume, focus on the duration of time that he spent at each place. Often times you will see a cycle of possibly one or two years at a given location and then a predictable move to the next place. These kinds of people typically have either relational or commitment problems. As the interviewer, you want to see if there is a good pattern of locations that he may have served at for a long period of time. This will most likely lead to a person who could stay long term and build a strong ministry.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Red Flag #4- What types of ministry experience does the applicant have? He may be an expert only in youth and thus would have a difficult time relating to adults. As an applicant lists the different experiences that he has had in ministry, it will be important to see with whom he has spent the most time ministering to.听 For example, if all of his time was spent with youth and teenage students, then he probably lacks experience with married people and older adults. For this reason, it would be unreasonable and unrealistic to hire this kind of person to be the senior pastor of the church. It is no fault of the pastor, it is just his lack of experience in that age/life stage group. This can get better in time but probably cannot be learned early on when starting a new ministry position. There are plenty of things to learn at this stage. That is why experience and wisdom are irreplaceable.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Red Flag #5- Not listing references from his previous church or even saying 鈥渞eferences upon request鈥 should cause you to think twice about the applicant. One of the most important things to do when interviewing a possible applicant is to talk to the references. But not just any reference will suffice. You should talk with references from the applicant鈥檚 last ministry. If that person is not listed, then that should be a 鈥渞ed flag鈥 that maybe there is no one who could vouch for the applicant as to his quality or competency. Another trick is when they say that 鈥渞eferences are available upon request鈥 they are typically thinking that no one will actually call the references. This is a frequent stalling method often used. One other interesting twist is that the applicant may even list a reputable reference while knowing that this person would not give a favorable recommendation of the candidate. I have called such people who were actually listed on resumes only to find that they would not give a favorable recommendation but actually would recommend that they not even consider this person for any kind of ministry!

听听听听听听听听听听听 There are many other 鈥渞ed flags鈥 that could be listed but perhaps this could be saved for another time. Remember, the best way to not have to fire a person in ministry is to do a good check on who he is as you are hiring him. Maybe you have seen some other 鈥渢ricks鈥 that people have played on resume writing. Please share some of these insights in the comments section below.

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