The CV is Dying

The first ever CV was written by Leonardo da Vinci in 1482 advertising some of his inventions. In the 1950s, the modern day CV was born and became an expected norm when applying for roles. In 1984, the first ever guide to writing a CV was published. 

The CV has been the cornerstone of the recruitment industry for decades, but we believe the CV is rapidly dying for those who take their hiring seriously and here’s why.

CVs are Misleading

IT candidate CVs often list out many areas of technology and it is almost impossible to ascertain what level of skill a candidate has within that domain. A rule of thumb that is often applied is the more often a skill is mentioned, the better the candidate must be with that skill! This has obvious flaws. 

Candidates often mention skills and experience in exciting new areas which they’d like to get into, but don’t actually have the required level of skills within.

Candidates can obviously write anything they wish on their CVs. Although there is some legal recourse on the some parts of the contents, there are many areas which are difficult to prove either way. 

CVs are Difficult to Compare

Even if we assume that all candidate CVs are factually accurate, how can you compare one candidate to another by the CV alone? 

Yes, you can look at the employment history, but that doesn’t tell you how good they were at their previous role! 

Formats of CVs vary widely and so for a human to compare even a handful of CVs becomes a task fraught with errors. In absence of any real rigor, humans default to cutting corners and the inevitable biases creep in.

CVs Feed Biases

One of the easiest ways for candidates to appear to be stronger than other candidates is to have a professional format to their CV. Recruiters who look at CVs all day long are far more likely to favor candidates whose CV stands out.

Unfortunately, biases over gender and race still exist and strong candidates can easily find themselves excluded from a process within which they’d otherwise potentially do very well.

CVs are Outdated

In the digital age, it seems very odd for Word documents to still be a vital part of the recruitment workflow.

Many candidates don’t actually keep their CVs updated any  longer, preferring instead to use LinkedIn or networking to find their next role.

Conclusion

At TechRank, we place minimal importance on the CV. We use some basic facts like employment history and experience, but our automated systems do not favor candidates in any prejudicial way.

CVs will eventually die off, even though we’re not quite there yet!

To find out how TechRank can be used for better outcomes for you, get in touch with us now.