Over the years, many have predicted the death of one of the recruitment industry’s central pillars: the CV. Currently, it’s still alive though.
However, that might all change if others start to follow Twitter’s newest take on recruiting. The social media giant is inviting people to apply for intern positions at the firm by using a single tweet instead of a traditional paper-based work history.
According to Twitter, around 70% of 18-24-year olds feel that a CV doesn’t show employers who they really are.
For a generation who are au fait with gifs, polls and ‘moments’, Twitter recommends that candidates use these to make applications stand out – giving applicants a chance to show the ‘real’ them.
Buzzwords and go-to CV platitudes, such as being a team player but also being able to work well on your own, have been explicitly banned.
Should @TwitterUK choose me for their latest work experience opportunity? #OneTweetCV
— Rebecca Hutchinson (@CF_Rebecca) 19 September 2018
Recently graduated uni with a degree in computing & i’m currently stuck working in a phone shop where I spend 80% of my day on Twitter. At least with this experience opportunity you’d be getting the full 100% & it wouldn’t be considered skiving #OneTweetCV pic.twitter.com/FxutBueCql
— andrew (@Gas_panik) 19 September 2018
#OneTweetCV pic.twitter.com/T07l310I9J
— blank (@DarkChief) 19 September 2018
Twitter aren’t the only ones who think the traditional CV-based hiring culture might need a rework.
Earlier this year, Josh Mastel, CEO of UpRoar Partners, a sales performance firm, posted this question on LinkedIn: “Is the resumé, as we have always known it, facing its eminent demise? [sic]”
He wrote: “I truly believe that 2-3 years from now we will look back and chuckle, remember the days when the world’s entire job market was built on the premise of sending and receiving a piece of paper that is supposed to accurately and properly define and capture someone’s entire skill set and ability? Am I the only one that thinks the whole idea of a resume is crazy?”
Well, apparently Mastel isn’t that crazy and some stats back him up. Last year, a Korn Ferry study found that networking, rather than a paper-based run through of work experience, was the most important part of the job search.
However, although 51% of those surveyed said they read a candidate’s CV for less than five minutes, Peter Keresic Managing Consultant at Korn Ferry Futurestep, believes the CV still has a role to play.
“Résumés are not going away – they’re still an important part of the job search process. However, nothing gets a candidate ahead like networking. And networking today is a contact sport,” he said.
Sir
Heaven help us.
If I'm driving a car down the motorway at 70mph I'd much rather it was designed and built by someone who know what they were talking about (including the hard maths) than someone who could pick a snazzy gif to attract the eye of a (trendy) recruiter.