CVs and the Tinder effect?

Did you know that Lionardo Da Vinci is actually credited with creating the first ever CV when he wrote to a "Most Illustrious Lord" for an employment opportunity in 1482? At Just 30 years old, da Vinci penned a 'letter of capabilities' and sent it to the Duke of Milan. This proves that even the world's most prominent figures have to market themselves from time to time. 

Now 537 years later, I would like to suggest that the CV is obsolete. Or as we say in the software industry 'It has been sun-setted'. Although it still serves as a ledger of employment, I feel that it is dead in the capacity that it has been used for more than half a millennium.

Way back in 1994, Kiss.com launched. The first modern dating website. When it was sold to Lycos in 2000, it was only the third-most popular dating site. As the growth of online dating continued, "looking for love" ads in the classified sections of local newspapers naturally declined

Enter 'The tinder effect'.

Having been married now for 13 or so years, I am not exactly an expert on Tinder. OK, I will admit that I have played around with it (on a colleagues phone for user experience research only!), and my understanding was that I needed to swipe all the unsuitable matches from the screen. After about 100 right swipes, the phone was snatched from my hand. What I found so surprising about this approach to dating was how hard it was for people to stand out, and how fast it was for the user of the app to dismiss a potential match.

The reality is that having a great CV with top grades isn't enough, it is now considered to be just the starting point, and this is especially true when it comes to technology. I would be as bold as to say that university education is borderline pointless when it comes to hiring developers. While it does offer a basic framework, the majority of technologists leave University having mastered languages and technology stacks that have long since become obsolete. If you are a developer in your final year looking to land a senior developer position, you better get on youtube and start learning what is actually being used.

So what has this got to do with Tinder? Well, what is evident to me is that if you want to find a match, you need good content. If you were on Tinder with a bio alone, it would be tough for someone to feel like that knew who they were meeting. Now, I know that we don't hire staff based on looks (unless we are hiring models of course), but the fact remains that we need more than just the same old regurgitated information on one, two and often ten sheets of A4 paper.

So, If you are thinking about leaving your current role and need to create a CV, I want you to consider the following. Even a great CV. is still the lowest common denominator. You can't leave it until it's too late to make yourself 'hot property'.

Here are just 3 ways to use modern technology to show your real value:

Make a video

If you are a confident person, then record a 90-second video explaining your strengths. I promise you that this will have a far greater chance of getting the attention you are after. If you are more of an introvert, you could even make a video from a simple powerpoint presentation. This would allow you to be more considered and structured in your approach, but would still have a considerable impact.

You can use video sharing platforms like https://www.covideo.com, that not only make recording and sharing the video super easy, they will also give you analytics that will let you know who is looking and for how long. I can honestly say that if someone wanted a job at DSMN8 and pitched themselves in a video, they would have a far greater chance of being selected for an interview. If you are in sales, this is an absolute MUST!

Establish a personal brand

A personal brand does not need to be a full-time job. Approximately 92% of all LinkedIn Users have not shared any content or posted anything in the last 30 days. Just by sharing a few interesting articles with some supporting thoughts would immediately put you in the top 8% of users. No matter what industry you work in, there will be some form of industry press that will give you easy access to content. All you need to do is provide an opinion, providing you have one of course. The rise of the personal brand means that if managed well, you are building real 'brand equity' for yourself, outside of the company that you currently represent.

Create something real

When the founder of dating website Plenty of Fish sold to Match Group for $575m he claimed that he only started the platform in 2003 "as a way to improve his CV. This is such a great example of someone looking to show their value and ending up with SERIOUS value!

Depending on what job function you work in would depend on the type of thing you could create. If you are a developer, build something simple and give access to the code base. Don't just say you create amazing clean code, demonstrate how well you do it. Even If you are a financial controller, why not create a presentation explaining your approach to debt management. Do anything to show you are 'Action-oriented'.

If there is one thing, you should take from this post. Don't 'dabble' when it comes to finding your next role. If you want to work somewhere epic, then do something epic! Make sure people want to throw 'those 'other CVs' in the bin.