A flawless resume, impeccable references, a stellar work history and a charismatic interview can all help an applicant get a job.

But none of this information enables the employer to gauge the underlying traits of an employee. Written Inc. wants to change that.

The Temecula company uses handwriting analysis to create personality profile that help companies judge potential employees.

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Photo By Dan Elliott

Shari, left, Richard and Ryan Vener. Shari has 35 years experience analyzing handwriting.

"When you're interviewing an applicant it's tough. They're on their best behavior, they're smiling, they have a good work background, and they don't have a criminal history," said Ryan Vener, vice president of Written Inc. "You don't really know what you're getting."

In the analysis, known as a Candidate Insight Report, Written determines whether an employee possesses "green" traits such as honesty and empathy, red traits, such as being argumentative and irresponsible; or cautionary yellow traits such as being self-centered and demanding.

The analysis is another tool to aid in making a determination, Vener said.

"The handwriting analysis should be considered with the resume, interview, background check and references," Vener said. "You look at the whole thing, then base your decision on that."

Blue Shield of California, the Ontario Police Department and Tech Exec Partners Inc. in Woodland Hills are some of the clients that have used Written's insight reports in the past.

Applicants consent to have their handwriting analyzed.

The handwriting analysis is legal and ethical, Vener said.

"From a legal standpoint, it is EEOC-compliant," Vener said. "We don't discriminate by race, gender or anything like that; there's no way for us to know and we don't look for it."

The applicant copies two paragraphs provided with the consent form in their natural handwriting, be it cursive or print.

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Photo By Dan Elliott

Ryan Vener, right, vice president of Written Inc in Temecula.

The paragraphs are then sent to Written, where a handwriting analyst inputs the data into the company's in-house designed software.

The software correlates the information and generates a pre-report that is then sent to a secondary analyst for quality assurance.

"We looking for possible anomalies," Vener said. "If the report generates green, green, green, green, ax murderer, there's a potential anomaly."

A quality assurance analyst reviews the report before it is sent to a third analyst for final verification. Once a report is generated, the report is uploaded to Written's Web site, where the company can access all the reports it commissioned.

"All of the candidates are there, they can sort by positive traits so they can concentrate on candidates with the most," Vener said. "The company continue to send us the information via fax and we upload the report usually within 24 hours."

Vener said with the company's seven analysts and software they can review thousands of applicants a month.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in four different cases that handwriting was considered public, Vener said.

"Just like what they wear or say, it's not protected," he said. "Because it's out in the open, it's public."

Written was founded by Ryan's parents Richard and Shari Vener. Shari has 35 years background analyzing handwriting, but found the process long and tedious by conventional means.

"It was taking her a long time," Ryan said. "She had a big book that we called "the bible" with all of her data and information: samples, notes, that type of thing.

Richard Vener, a former software engineer and developer for Grumman, designed the software that streamlined the process.