LinkedIn Killed The CV Star ⭐

Today is a massive day for the recruitment industry. It’s awards night! As The PWC faithful will attest, on days I’m not meeting people I rock a somewhat student aesthetic. I love an excuse to get dressed to the nines and there’s no better occasion than celebrating our industry's best and brightest. As a public service announcement, the bridge is still down going to the Events Centre from the Viaduct so plan your route accordingly. Get that in at the beginning to complete my insightful quota per blog. I can proudly say that Island Recruitment has attended Recruitments Big Night every year since its inception, which is twice but still. All the very best of luck to this year's finalists and for those in attendance don’t be put off by my choice to fist bump and not shake hands. It’s flu season, I’ve got a wee one at home and these events can get a little, germy.  While guessing the winners is the easy option for a tap-in blog, I’ll leave that on the goal line. I wanted to talk about something I’ve thought about for a long time and the events of the week have brought it into focus again. It’s CVs, do we need em?

I’d argue CVs are a thing of the past, even the name is derived from a dead tongue. In days gone by it was the cornerstone of our industry. We’d require a hard copy, and it would be acknowledged in an American Psycho esq way if the paper deterred from standard stock A4. It housed all the relevant information, job history, education, skills, certifications, etc. It was a reference point for the interview as most, if not all questions, would be derived from this sacred document. Then LinkedIn strolled into town, hot on the trail of Myspace and Bebo. This was old LinkedIn when you couldn’t ‘like’ people's posts and the algorithm was a tad pervy, always grouping young attractive professionals in the ‘similar profile’ sidebar. What it lacked in subtlety it made up for in efficiency. Everything you could find on a CV could be displayed in digital form and available at the click of a button. Which brings us to the events of this week.

A candidate passed the first stage of the interview process with flying colours. Both parties were impressed with the other's respective chops. We’ve moved on to the next stage which includes a video call with some of the other owners, the client asked if a CV could be put together before that meeting at the end of the week. I asked the recruiter, and they won’t be able to get one done in time. We’re now in limbo as the process can’t proceed till a CV is produced. The interview has been postponed to a time TBC. There’s also another candidate in the process so it’s a little time sensitive. I get it. It’s like when strippers are getting ready for bed after a hard day/nights graft. They’re probably getting ready for bed, into their PJs like “urgh this feels a lot like work” It’s the same when recruiters are asked to do a CV. We’re looking at them all day every day. The thought of turning the gun on yourself is a daunting prospect.

For the record, I side more with the candidate in this scenario. If you want a CV, hit the “more” button on a LinkedIn profile and select “save to PDF” It collates all the info into a spoof CV, a parody of a document that should suffice. I should also acknowledge that CVs are more of a necessity when you’re not placing recruiters. This industry is very connected, and most rec leaders will pride themselves on knowing within 5 minutes of meeting someone if they are right for them, making the CV incidental. Fees and behaviors will all come out in the reference anyway. While I’m a little more on the candidate side I see where the client is coming from. Firstly, it shows commitment to the process. Like how a job ad is more marketing than a tool to find candidates, it’s getting warmth from the bulb, not the light. Also, it does bring a bit of humility. Not doing the CV can have an air of Ibrahimovic not signing for Arsenal after Malmo because Arsene wanted him to do a trial famously, Zlatan does not audition.

I can see both sides. Being a recruiter myself I tend to empathize with the candidate, I’ve not put together a CV in over a decade and the thought of doing so is super unmotivating. The thing is, it’s often needed as a record. If anything comes to light during employment, you have something in writing to point to, and importantly can’t be edited after the fact. See you all tonight and enjoy the long weekend as nothing is getting done tomorrow.