With the numerous problems arising from using CVs in the hiring process, one might start to question what other formats might replace them in the future.
Since companies are most often looking for candidates that are not only suitable for the role but also fit in with the company in terms of character, other CV formats might become more common, such as a short video in which the candidate explains their skills. That way, a manager could feel as if they had a more personal interaction with a potential candidate which would make it easier to choose who will advance in the hiring process. It would also enable a more focused approach to getting to know applicants rather than a general overview of their professional experience in a CV and would allow them to showcase their skills and personality in an engaging way.
It could be argued, however, that the issues with CVs are equally as likely to arise with a video format. The ability to make a good video will inevitably take precedence over the suitability of the candidate and the unconscious biases that can be found through CVs will persist. Furthermore, the interview process that follows the hiring managers having selected certain CVs already carries out this process of narrowing down based on a more personal connection with the candidate.
In order to remove any potential biases the hiring managers and recruiters may possess, the concealment of personal information could enable a fairer judgment to be passed. But once again, this arguably will make no difference since the same biases will still exist once the candidate’s CV has been approved and they have moved on to the interview stage of hiring. The entire process of hiring is one of judgment and scrutiny and so it is very difficult to pick a candidate without full consideration of their suitability for the role and exterior components of the candidate that is arguably less relevant but nevertheless is judged harshly.
With the advancements in technology and AI, recruitment might thus become less personalized. Artificial intelligence has reached a point where it can help hiring managers look for appropriate candidates based on keyword matching. It might be that as AI advances, it will become more commonly used in recruitment. Here the problem of trying to distinguish between the skills listed and the candidate’s competency in said skills will be much harder to determine and therefore the process is not likely to always be accurate. Similarly, technology could also change the process through virtual hiring. Managers could attend virtual hiring events and virtually speak to people there instead of reading their CVs. This seems more and more possible with the fast-paced development of virtual reality.
To combat the difficulty in determining a candidate’s competence with the certain skills required for the role, employers might create standardised questions and skill-based assessments. Through this, they have the opportunity to explain how their experiences and qualifications will enable them to carry out the role and so rather than a general CV, the candidates can specify more relevant information about themselves and showcase their level of competency. It is important for candidates to be assessed on skills that are actually relevant to a certain job. For example, there is no need to assess a candidate’s communication or leadership skills if the candidate is running for a position that is based on coding and he or she will not be working with a team.
Additionally, to find appropriate candidates, companies might require a supporting statement rather than a CV. In the statement, candidates could be asked to justify why they would be suitable for the role or why they want to work for that particular company. This would make it easier to find candidates that applied for a position within a company because they truly are interested in the position and want to work in that company, rather than just sending out their CVs to countless job openings.
Another potential future outcome could be that CVs will only be used to recruit for roles that require a chronological overview of one’s experience. This includes senior roles for which a lot of technical experience is required, rather than good communication skills, per se. On the other hand, CVs could be unnecessary and thus removed completely from the process of recruitment when it comes to roles where an individual’s personality or soft skills are much more important. In that case, CVs are not nearly as effective in telling those qualities as other more flexible approaches, such as virtual interactions, interviews, or supporting statements.
The conclusion is that although only time will tell what the future of recruitment will look like, it may be that CVs will become less important, because of their inherent weaknesses, or complemented with other more interactive formats such as video or virtual communication. These could speed up the process of getting to know candidates by allowing personality to come through and therefore have the potential to be the future of hiring, especially due to the competitive nature of the market and the value of communication skills in today’s world.
