A person’s CV can only tell you so much about the candidate and what they can offer a business. That’s why looking beyond a CV is important for businesses before making crucial hiring decisions. Also it is important for candidates to make sure it’s clear why they are equipped for the job role, says Hays CEO, Alistair Cox, in his latest LinkedIn Influencer blog.
Alistair says, “While CVs can undoubtedly tell you a lot about a jobseeker, they don’t tell you the whole story. There is often a huge amount of missing information, particularly around their soft skills and potential fit within an organisation.”
Alistair asks employers not to be put off by a potential recruit if they have moved sectors or roles several times. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, having moved sectors in his own professional life.
Alistair uses this as an example, “I can say with absolute confidence that each role I’ve had has equipped me with invaluable and transferable skills that have been fundamental to my success in my next role. The problem is, conveying that on a CV is not always easy.”
It is important that interviewers and hiring managers think about the candidate and what they can bring to the role.
It can always be challenge for a business to gain knowledge from outside their own industry, one way of achieving this is, is by bringing someone in from the outside.
Alistair says, “Industry outsiders often come armed with a variety of hard skills that can inject this innovation into your own sector. Things that may have been taken for granted elsewhere could be truly revolutionary in your own business.”
It’s important that the new employee can take their valuable experience and utilise it at their new place of employment.
A potential employee who has experience of different sectors could be considered as someone who is unsure of what they want to do, or who is just job-hopping. But interviewers should instead consider this as a sign of someone who is self-motivated and ambitious.
See: A “Working Interview” is the Next Step for Recruitment Managers to Avoid Costly Hiring Mistakes
Alistair says, “Employers should not automatically dismiss those pursuing roles outside their usual career route simply because they lack relevant industry experience. More often than not, I see a varied career path as a sign that the candidate is highly motivated and has the determination, perseverance and ambition to step outside their comfort zone. That’s a brave move and one to be admired.”
Soft skills are difficult to learn and often can’t be taught. The first opportunity an employer will have to assess a candidate’s interpersonal skills is at the interview. However, some potentially great candidates would not have made it this far.
Alistair adds, “At the end of the day, people do business with other people. That means that even the best technical or hard skills are insufficient if an employee cannot communicate with their team or other departments, or motivate and lead them. While hard skills can be taught and refreshed, these vital soft skills are much harder to learn.”
Most recruitment failures can be put down to a bad cultural fit, however, studying a candidate’s CV will not tell you whether they would successfully integrate into a team.
Alistair adds, “People and teams are complex creatures. When things work well, it’s incredibly powerful. When they don’t, problems await. I would argue that getting the right people and integrating them into a high-performing team is the most important and effective way of competing in today’s world, because that sort of workforce can make unpredictable and powerful things happen.”
In conclusion
A CV does not tell the whole story and by choosing to ignore a candidate’s CV, that perhaps doesn’t follow the traditional career path, businesses could be missing out on the ideal candidate.
Alistair concludes, “Remember, hard skills can be learned, but the softer skills sitting behind someone’s experience takes much longer to develop and can be much more valuable.”
Also read: Extrovert, Introvert or Ambivert? How to Decide the Perfect Hiring Mix?
Image credit: blog.sage.co.uk
