This article is not a personal attack against the classical resume, simply a lucid observation on its programmed obsolescence. Today’s digitalization is accelerating the change of our old habits, and the tool that once seemed necessary will not be an exception. Two major reasons lead me to think that CV will eventually disappear.
A CHANGE IN MINDSET
In the digital world (and I insist on this point), companies care a great deal about their candidate’s achievements and know-how. It is a lot easier to identify the capacities and the potential of a “digital” candidate. Concrete realizations and personal projects are here to support the skills: how hard can it be to have a look at a website / an app conceived by a developer or a designer? French recruiters are known to look at the diploma first, as opposed to their American colleagues who prefer skill and know-how. Let’s point out that recruiters in the French digital ecosystem (especially startups) tend to have a similar mindset as Americans.
This switch in mentality was made possible mainly thanks to the apparition of multiple social networks. Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Snapchat… Anyone can show what they’re capable of. Some companies take this even further and choose not to judge candidates based on their previous experiences. Recruitment via games is getting bigger and bigger. No need for a CV or an interview: big companies use serious games to find the future gold nuggets. Orange (Hellopolys), Danone (Trust), L’Oréal (Reveal) or BNP Paribas (Ace Master) all used this type of recruitment.
In the web world, it is becoming more and more frequent to use games to recruit. CodinGame and Battle Dev are two platforms aimed at developers, on which they compete through different code games. The goal is to finish first to attract the eye of recruiters. These new channels of recruitment give companies great tools to detect the best developers based on their language, without having to go through the CV square.
ONE NETWORK TO RULE THEM ALL
Today, the first thing recruitment agencies like Urban Linker do when assessing a candidate is to check their LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is the biggest CV-bank in the world. Thanks to a smooth user experience and a good design, it counts over 467 million users worldwide. For many web companies, this professional social network replaces the CV, and makes it a lot easier to source candidates for recruitment companies.
As opposed to the CV (which format may vary depending on the candidate’s creativity), LinkedIn offers a homogenous format, less discriminatory. The recruiter knows exactly where to look for information. LinkedIn has become so inescapable that other professional networks are partnering with it. The ability to add links through candidates achievements (website, apps, design, articles, etc) is a real plus. It makes profiles more complete.
Candidates also benefit from LinkedIn: each person with a LinkedIn account can take a look at the professional profile of any other member. In other words, he/she can investigate on the person who will interview them. This information will help preparing for the interview and adapting your speech.
LinkedIn written recommendations are showcased (when CV only show names as references). You can judge of their pertinence or veracity with only one look: by checking the hierarchical link between the person who gives the recommendation and the one receiving it.
