Why There's More To The Hiring Process Than CVs

It's pretty accepted that sifting through CVs is a crucial part of the recruitment process. From recruitment agencies to business owners, the first port of call when looking for qualified candidates tends to be through the humble CV.

But could there be more to the screening process than simply sifting through mounds of CVs? Surely there's a better and more accurate way to find the right candidates?

Everyone has written or read a CV at some point in their career. After all, almost every job posting requires one. But the truth is they may not be the 'be all and end all' when it comes to recruiting for your business.

In fact, CVs are nowhere near the best way to determine whether or not a candidate is suited to the job, or to even get the measure of the person and their skills. It's impractical at best and misleading at worst.

Read on to find out why...

1. CV Screening is a time-consuming process

Even if you have a way to identify suitable candidates in an applicant tracking system, having to read lengthy and inconsistently presented CVs from multiple applicants is very time consuming and frustrating.

CVs are often, without putting too fine a point on it, factual and dull. Once you've read dozens, it's very easy to begin to overlook details, especially if applicants are using the same or similar template.

And then, even after the CV screening process is done, you often have to go back and compare them with each other.

2. They often contain errors and half-truths

It’s not unreasonable to say that CVs are often viewed by employers with a large pinch of salt. We've all been on both sides of this equation, so it won't come as a surprise to hear that many people tweak the truth on their CV to appear more attractive.

Many candidates will also tailor their CV to match job descriptions, curating their interests to seem more appealing to that specific employer. We can't blame applicants as they're only trying to get what they need, but it can certainly be misleading and lead to time-wasting.

In fact, a large proportion of the interview is usually devoted to fact-checking what is in the CV, and candidates are often rejected when it becomes clear to the interviewer that a lot of it is a work of fiction. Imagine you could know more BEFORE the interview stage.

3. A CV often only gives you half a picture

Education, experience and job history are the focus of most people's CVs. While these are important factors, in reality, they only play a very small part in the overall recruitment decision.

What's much more crucial is getting a feel for the kind of person that is behind the CV. This is why an in-person interview is a hugely important element of the recruitment process.

Selecting a shortlist based only on simple CV screening criteria means that you could potentially be missing out on the best candidate, simply because they didn’t write their CV in the “right” way.

4. What doesn't a CV tell you?

A candidate’s CV will tell you nothing about their soft skills – their personality, values and attitudes, their strengths and weaknesses.

Without a clear indication of how this person actually works, how will you know how well they cope under pressure, or if they'll fit into your team? These are the most important questions most employers really want to know the answer to.

It’s often said that employers “hire for skills, but fire for attitude”, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to hire for attitude instead?

5. Past success is no guarantee of future success

It’s often said that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour, however, that isn’t always the case.

For there to be a guarantee that behaviour will be replicated, all other things must remain constant – the job, the line manager, the team, the company culture, the location... the list is almost endless.

In a new role, many things will not be the same, so there is little guarantee that past success will lead to future success.

6. It can be difficult to compare applicants using CVs

When writing CVs, applicants are trying to increase their chances of “standing out from the crowd” and getting an interview. This often means that you will be faced with a wide variety of CV formats and styles, making it very difficult to compare one candidate with another.

What's more, most information outlined on one CV won't correlate exactly with another, making it hard to match and compare certain training or traits.

7. Recruitment agencies or individuals might supply professionally prepared CVs

People often have their CV professionally written to make the best impression on potential employers. A recruitment agency can also step in to help an applicant improve their CV.

While it is natural for applicants to want to do this, it can mask their true skills and abilities. A well-written CV may lead you to think that the applicant has good writing skills, but this may not be the case.

Professionally written CVs have only one purpose – to give the applicant the best chance of getting an interview. Agencies use them to make the recruitment business commission - it's not intended to make the recruiter's job easier.

Is there a better way to navigate the recruitment process?

The short answer is yes, we think so.

Even with technology advancing, the resume screening process has remained quite a manual one. eTalent are changing that. Make your life an easier and safe time with our recruitment software, designed to maximise your time and save you money.

Our team take care of the hiring process from start to finish, from posting on job boards to compiling applicants on our recruitment CRM to running dedicated skills tests to truly determine who is best for the job.

eTalent will help you pick the best candidates to interview by running psychometric tests which help you truly get the measure of the applicant. These are a combination of personality tests, aptitude tests and verbal and numerical reasoning specific to your vacancy and their skills.

We believe in dedicated normative testing, which according to recruitment analytics has been proven to work most effectively when hiring workers.

Our recruiting software will then rank your candidates in order of suitability, allowing you a clear and concise picture of who is truly appropriate for the position.

Get in touch today!

If you're looking for a recruiting solution with a difference, get in touch for more information.