CVs form the basis of every job application. They are the first impression of any candidate and they are what hiring managers base their interview and recruitment decisions on. How well do our words on paper translate to our role fit? Something's missing...
The world’s first CV was written over 500 years ago by the great renaissance painter and creative genius, Leonardo DaVinci. He is best known for painting the Mona Lisa (1506) but what most people don't know is that he was also a skilled architect and engineer.
Writing at the age of 30 in 1482, DaVinci wrote to the Regent of Milan, outlining his many skills in a bid to secure paid work. He listed eleven different skills, including proficiency in sculpting; the ability to build chariots that "no body of men so great would break them" and "I can do in painting whatever may be done".
CVs became standard practice by the 1950s, with the first guide to writing CVs being published in 1984.
Fast forward to 2021 and a Google Search for CV reveals over 11 billion hits!
Getting your CV right is clearly big business and, because of this, everyone has an idea of the best way to approach it.
The rise of increasingly precise diversity and inclusion employment policies means that employers are having to learn to become aware of their own unconscious bias when recruiting new employees.
It is all too easy to recruit people who reflect our own image, who value certain traits or trajectories over and above others.
Whilst these biases have probably always been a 'thing', for it to now go unchallenged is no longer viewed as acceptable.
Recruiters are having to work much harder to not only recruit fairly but also be able to prove they are doing so.
CVs are no longer the only source of information that employers need to look at.
So has the timeless CV had its time? By no means.
CVs are still valuable as a great source of background information on candidates, but the truth is, they are no longer the only source of information to be considered. So what's missing...
The search for the best employee talent continues, with greater emphasis being placed on interviews and covering letters, as well as the increasing popularity of online assessments to filter potential candidates.
As Alex Hirst, chief executive at global agency Hoxby, says: "I think people are becoming wiser to the fact that hiring on the basis of qualifications and background doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the right person or combination of people".
Similarly, Bernard Ferrari states in his book Power Listening that "People come into business situations with résumés and pedigrees and objective measures of experience and prior success, but matters of character, suitability, and interpersonal chemistry are difficult to quantify. Instinct and intuition, while undeniably relevant when it comes to assembling good teams or fixing dysfunctional ones, can only take you so far"1.
Chemistry (finding people who will fit the specific position being advertised and the organisational culture more generally) matters as much, if not more, than competency. So much of the latter can be taught, whereas the former is more about character, motivation and behaviours.
Perhaps the missing piece in your recruitment strategy could be behavioural profiling?
C-me produces simple, memorable and incredibly accurate behavioural profiles, enabling recruiters to understand a candidates behaviour (preferred ways of doing things) in relation to the job advertised and team dynamics.
Unlike many psychometric tools, C-me focuses on behaviour rather than personality, as it has the most direct impact on our work and other people.
C-me profiles are very easy to use and require candidates to spend less than 10 minutes answering an online questionnaire. We have created a tool that means it's no longer necessary to spend an hour answering hundreds of questions in order to generate accurate profiles. Our algorithms do all the hard work for you, producing a time-efficient, accurate result.
Imagine for a moment that two different people with similar experiences and skills apply for the same job. The tried and tested triad of the CV, covering letter and interview are applied to these candidates, but even after these, it can still be difficult to objectively differentiate them. What is a recruiter to do?
Imagine that a fourth leg is added to the above trio and a behavioural profile becomes a standard part of the recruitment process.
This would help recruiters reflect on the behavioural approach of the candidates, something that a CV, covering letter and interview is not geared up to evaluate.
The profile would describe the behavioural preferences of the two similar candidates – perhaps one has a Red-Yellow preference and the other has a Blue-Green preference. A glimpse at the different behaviours is described below.
Two people. Same skill set. Same experience. Very different approaches to their work.
C-me profiles can provide additional insight, beyond a CV, as to how the candidate may behave and knowing these colour preferences can assist in asking focused questions to further assess fit and team dynamic.
We've created a tool that adds some much-needed colour to an otherwise grey approach.
Not only can the candidate's behaviour and approach be assessed, but the profiles can also be used to reflect on their fit within the wider team.
Bringing in new recruits is not without its relational challenges, and many of these can be anticipated (and even avoided) when using behavioural profiling in a smart way. The diagram below illustrates this.
A colour wheel displays the behavioural preferences of your current team. When potential candidates are profiled, we can hypothetically introduce them to the team by adding them to the colour wheel.
Questions can be asked such as:
It is also possible to look at the balance of the current team and reflect on what the team needs to help strengthen and complement its existing qualities. C-me produces diagrams like the ones below to help do this.
Here are 5 reasons to partner with and implement C-me Colour Profiling today:
C-me profiles are practical, powerful and easy to use. They give an accessible insight that goes beyond other information the candidates provide and are a great guide for interviews.
Adrian McDonagh, Founder, EasyWeb Recruitment
Macaulay Search uses C-me Profiling during recruitment for CEO and Director-level appointments. C-me provides a quickly accessible and deeply insightful complement to the interview process. We have also used their consultants to speak directly with the interview panels, distilling key profile points and formulating poignant interview questions. Both the Macaulay Team and our clients have found the C-me staff and services to be excellent, adding huge value to the recruitment process.
Ewen McAlpine, Managing Partner, Macaulay Search