Oct 4, 2021 7:31:17 AM | Is The Time Of CV-Based Recruitment Over?

The evolution of the recruitment and HR sector is in full gear. Guides, books, even Youtube videos on hiring seem to be released daily, if not hourly. 

Although new information about the recruitment is emerging rapidly, it all focuses on details and doesn’t question the first step of every recruitment process - the CV. 
A candidates’ CV is like a base of an old house that hasn’t been renovated for a long time. But how long exactly?

The history of recruitment and CVs

Lets’ take a quick sneak peek into the history of CV-s:

• 1482 – Leonardo de Vinci created the first professional CV,
• The 1950s – CVs become formalized and start to be expected during job interviews,
• 1984 – The first guide to writing CVs is published,
• 2003 – LinkedIn launches, giving a new way for CVs to be presented,
• 2007 – YouTube and other video sites open the door for video CVs to become possible (...and sometimes even, essential).
   

Considering the above, we can well say that every candidate looking for a job has required a proper CV since the 1950s. As a sidenote, 50s was also the time the first commercial computer, a video-cassette recorder, and barcode were invented. 🤔

We’ve moved on tech-wise. Shouldn’t we progress in other areas, too? 
Does a regular paperback CV actually give a proper basis for recruitment and candidate evaluation? 

Recruitment is changing with the times

What we can conclude from statistics, hundreds of conversations with companies, and opinions of various HR professionals,  the assessment of candidates has also changed a lot.

Back to the 50s. Then, companies hired people based only on their skills. Company culture, values and impact weren’t anything common to assess. Not by candidates, not by companies. Also, the whole process was on a much lower scale, as applying for a job was something you needed to do physically. 
So, a CV was actually a logical step for both sides.

During the last decade, our working culture has changed a lot. In 2020, some of the largets tech giants, including Google and Apple, moved away from requiring candidates to have college degrees. Search for hard facts isn’t a driving factor in the hiring-process anymore. 

The same trend has popped in the candidates’ market. Most job-seekers are screening potential employers by their company culture. 46% of candidates believe culture is very important in the application process, with a grand total of 88% of job seekers citing it as at least of relative importance.  

Now, if candidates value companies by their culture and companies have the same basis for candidate evaluation, why are we still using the old-fashioned skill-based method to hire the right people into our teams?

Video as a CV

Don’t worry, we won’t leave this question unanswered. 

We believe that using video solutions in the first steps of the hiring process could save both time and money. 

For both parts - the candidate and the recruiter. 

By creating a video instead of a regular CV, the candidate can show their true colours and, so, the company can make a better initial selection. As a recruiter, you’ll be able to assess the potential click from the get-go. 

Lets’ just hope that the 2020s is the time when we make a shift towards value-based decision-making and reunite our value proposition with our actions. 

And, if you wish to make your first step in modern hiring, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.