It has been a long-standing tool in the hunt for employment, but for many young job candidates, they are as obsolete as the first mobile phones.
According to research from software company Arctic Shores, many young workers are finding CVs an obstacle to finding employment, with more than four in 10 (43 per cent) saying they are outdated.
Half of the 500 people surveyed in July said they did not think they had enough experience on their CVs to get jobs, with 39 per cent pushing for an assessment on personality instead.
What would a new approach entail?
So, the question is, are they still relevant?
The younger workers may have a point because selling skills in the digital age demands a new approach.
Yet, CVs are still there and relevant. But because the younger worker does not have lots of experience, they are now having to sell themselves through online searches, allowing personality to shine through, rather than a breadth of experience in any role.
They can still post a CV online or lodge it with a recruitment company, but where CVs were once about selling certain skills and broad experience, they are now about making jobseekers “searchable” to those same recruiters.
Technology plays a greater role
Showing that kind of enterprise can also lead to being headhunted if you are already in employment.
Now companies are using technology like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which compile, aggregate and store applicant information, to find and screen potential candidates. This makes it more likely to be found through search engines and social media than by a traditional CV.
The survey added that the majority felt that companies weren’t properly assessing their potential, with 87 per cent arguing that too much emphasis was put on past experience.
Progress being made
It has led to a confidence crisis among young workers, with 75 per cent of respondents arguing they did not think they had the skills needed to get a new job, and almost half (48 per cent) said they had dropped out of the recruitment process early even though they were interested in the job.
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