Honestly everywhere I look (or listen) someone is going on about how the CV is dead; how we need to look beyond mere profile + responsibilities & achievements = candidate.
Yep, I get all that. You want to “experience” the candidate through the media of the internet (blogs, twitter feed, social media contribution, etc). Yes the majority of CVs are boring, and yes I am aware that you can’t expect a headhunt candidate to have an up to date CV. Obviously I do also get that many (maybe even most) recruiters google candidates, check them out on LinkedIn, etc.
BUT (and I know I shouldn’t start a sentence with but) I’d like to see your average recruitment professional screen 70 applicants for a Store Manger role or a Distribution Manger job without CVs. Recruiters would soon be complaining if for every candidate you interviewed you had to spend the first 20 minutes getting them to talk you through their career history because they had no CV. And let’s not ignore the fact that for most of you your client (or hiring manager) DOES like to see a CV at shortlist stage. What are you going to present instead? A print off from LinkedIn? A few pages from their blog? Their Twitter feed on your iPhone?!!
So, stop saying the flippin CV is dead!
Couldn’t agree with you more Lou. I fear once again this is the theorists talking and the practitioners are left thinking, “this is bonkers”.
I had the same debate online with Gareth Jones and ultimately we landed on the place that said for sourcing CVs might not be necessary, but for the selection process they most certainly are.
I also agree entirely. Some people are trying to reinvent a tried and trusted process that really doesn’t need reinventing. The only advocates of change seem to be the ones who have some commercial gain to be made out of changing the way things are.
As an SEO copywriter, I also have to say that CVs are far from dead. Whilst the majority of job seekers continue electing to use job boards as their preferred means of ‘announcing themselves’, CVs are fundamental to this process.
More and more recruiters (ourselves included) use electronic CV-reading software. A well-written, OPTIMISED CV will have a hugely beneficial effect. Crappy CVs may be dead, but keyword-rich, optimised CVs are VERY much alive from a recruiter perspective.
Louise, I could not agree more. The online profile is a means for identification and thus conversation and potential candidature. The CV then is then an explicit detail of experience and achievement (often tailored to the role) and for the benefit of those in the hiring process, be that recruiter or hiring manager. It is not a problem or process looking for a solution or change.
I see no need however to educate those that do not wish to create a CV as it makes life easier….they go no further. I have placed various CxO’s and have never once had one not create and send a CV. Why then should others feel their online persona is enough?
Chris
Great blog post. Having recently worked in an in-house role in the publishing industry we were forever discussing the digital revolution, so if/ when print media is dead perhaps the traditional paper based CV format will be too? I witnessed the number of paper based applications we used to receive dwindle week by week (in fact, when we did receive them they really frustrated me as I had to manually create an account on our system and it caused me to question the candidate’s IT skills if they couldn’t master a simple online application), but I was surprised that even with digital marketing jobs, when viewing an electronic CV very few people were linking in their digital footprint. Surely there is room for CVs to be much more interactive, and work as a platform to demonstrate real life achievements. The potential is limitless; could include links to blogs, twitter feeds, podcasts, YouTube channels, media coverage of particular projects the candidate has been involved with, etc. This could be then dipped into depending on the interests of the reader – line managers interests will differ from HR, for example. It does depend on the industry of course, and level of understanding of the recruiter, but I have a feeling that gen y, who very rarely interact with one another in a traditional (paper based) way, will push the boundaries of what we come to see as normal in terms of job applications and CVs in the future will act as more of a personal branding exercise (where you are the product, showcasing your skills and experience) and less of a flat and straight forward work/ education history.
Becky I would say that those that use paper based CV’s are generally wanting to stand out from the crowd, which they tend to achieve… although I’ll grant you it is frustrating as you have to request a soft copy !
I agree CV’s can also be more interactive – if for example you are a web developer or online marketing guru then quite appropriate to have links to examples of your work.
The CV though for the majority is still a valuable unbroken tool. The best are accurate, concise and achievement focussed and I believe they are already a personal branding exercise – tailored to appeal to particular opportunities / scenarios.
I have no doubt gen Y (and Z…) will change how the way they/we interact and communicate as generations before them have but I don’t believe that makes the CV a redundant tool.
Just my 2 pennies..again
C
Very true. It’s easy to say “the CV is dead,” simply because new media has come along and can be used as well, but that doesn’t mean it is a replacement – if anything, they complement each other and can work well together, rather than one necessarily replacing the other.