The Curriculum Vitae, more commonly known as a CV, is a Latin term which translates as ‘the course of your life’. Some alternately refer to it as a resume, from the French resumer, or “to sum up.” We typically use CVs when applying for a new job in order to document our career, experience, and achievements to date. In a time when competition for the top jobs and the top talent is at its highest, the humble CV is fast becoming redundant.
Here’s why:
1) It doesn’t capture your whole self
A typical CV showcases the roles you have undertaken at various organisations, documenting the tasks you undertook and the achievements you made. If space allows, the education and grades you received many moons ago will also show up. Little of this communicates what you are good at, what you are passionate about, how you are connected to people in the industry, and what you want to do.
2) Companies want skills, not titles
People are obsessed with titles. Director of, Chief [insert various letters], Head of, and the like. They are often used as a crutch to command higher remuneration or to exercise more clout in an organisation. The reality is that employers aren’t looking for company peerages. Rather, they want specific skills and abilities that they can deploy effectively to achieve specific goals.
3) Referrals get you hired, not CVs
Some facts:
- The average employee has 150 contacts on social networks – 100 employees means around 15,000 contacts (and possible candidates).
- Employee referrals have the highest applicant to hire rate – and this accounts for 40% of all hires.
- Applicants hired from a referral begin their position quicker than applicants found via job boards
- Referral hires have higher job satisfaction and stay longer – 46% stay over 1 year, 45% over 2 years and 47% over 3 years.
- 67% of employers and recruiters said the recruiting process was shorter, and
- 51% also said it was cheaper to recruit via referrals.
It is as much who you know, as it is what you know. It pays to be connected in order to get referred, recommended and introduced to the best roles.
4) More people are going freelance
It is predicted that by 2020, 50% of the workforce will be freelance. The would-be freelancer draws on the extremities of their skill set in order to gain clients and serve their client base. The workforce wants to be flexible and the enterprise wants a flexible skillset. As a result, we need to showcase our skills in more exhaustive and dynamic ways than a traditional CV offers.
5) CV’s are not important to hiring managers
Research shows that hiring managers only spend 30 seconds reading CV’s. Incredibly harsh to have your life’s experience diminished to such a brief glance.
While the CV will no doubt remain for some time to come it is fast becoming an irrelevant means to an end. The way we hire and get hired is changing and to get the top jobs you need to stand out from the crowd.
Kalido can help individuals, enterprises and communities with this in many ways: including helping you to showcasing your whole skill set, your interests and social portfolios (to the extend you wish to share them), and your networks. Through Kalido, you can seamlessly make and receive introductions, recommendations, and referrals. Kalido’s artificial intelligence will match you based on the skills you have, and the skills you need, within the networks you trust.
The talent you require or the dream job you want can be found without the need for the humble (and unread) CV. Join Kalido, showcase the skills you want or have and Kalido will get to work uncovering the opportunities that surround you.