How important is a CV?

I could write a book on the stories I have about CVs. In fact I could probably create an accredited course based on what a good CV should look like and things to avoid. But, I have worked in recruitment long enough to realise that what looks good to me, ultimately won't to someone else. So, how important is a CV?

If you are a business and not using a Recruitment Agency or Consultancy, they are pretty important, as you haven't got time to make 150 calls to every candidate who has applied to your job through TotalJobs or Indeed or wherever you have posted your advert. But if you are a business using an Agency or a Consultancy then how important are they? Let me answer this initially by saying it comes down to one key point - trust. If you trust the Consultant who is sourcing candidates for your business, if you trust the job specification and details you have given to said Consultant, then a CV is worthless. Ultimately it is a piece of paper with a bit of writing on. You are never going to employ someone because they have a good CV, you may want to interview them, but that's the point, you need to meet them or talk someone before employing them. Who would recruit someone because they can articulate their experience on two pages of A4? No one.

If you think of it as basic as the above quote 'it's a bit of paper with a bit of writing on' you can start to see my point. I, like every other recruiter, have a preferred layout for a CV and I am going to provide you my preferred layout below;

Name - in bold large font of course

Personal Details (address, phone number etc) - directly under the name and centralised in smaller font

Personal Profile - not too long, a short paragraph outlining why they should choose you (if possible tweak for every role you apply for)

Key Skills - half a dozen bullet points, no more, no less - outlining what you are good at

Work Experience - bullet points for duties/responsibilities and more importantly achievements

side note this should be laid out as; 
Company Name 
Job Title
Date - month and year only
bullet points - duties and results        

Education - School, University etc, then the course studies and dates - achievements/grades not needed (unless boasting)

Interests/Hobbies - I personally don't like them and won't use them, but if you must then put it at the bottom

References available on request - the standard finishing line (more importabtly, ensure you have good ones)

Now you are probably sitting there and thinking one of two things. Firstly, 'what a hypocrite, he starts by saying they are not important, but must do it his way' or secondly, 'that's not how I would lay it out, I would do...' - so, I can be a hypocrite you are not wrong, but ultimately you will need to have a CV at some point during the process and this is my preferred style. It captures the audience quickly, and written well, it should draw the reader in and more importantly it has always worked for me and my candidates without criticism. As for a different layout, every recruiter will tell you how to write a CV, what you should and shouldn't do, but it is down to personal preference and experience. You can send your CV to 100 recruiters asking for guidance and my guess is that in some minor way you would probably get 100 different versions back. This provides one reason already why they can be useless, you give it to 100 people and they see it 100 different ways or ways to improve it.

As I said above, trust is the key word for me - one of my clients trusts me implicitly with the recruitment for his business. I have known him for less than 7 months and in that time I have successfully placed 8 candidates within his business (this was due to rapid growth not a high-turnover of staff). I am the sole supplier. In fact he trusts me so much that he agrees to interviewing my candidates before he has seen the CV, why? Because he trusts me. I understand his business, I understand the culture and I understand the responsibilities of the roles. When he gives me a vacancy I speak and meet every candidate that it is physically possible to meet. I get to know them, their triggers, their interest, their experience, their likes, their dislikes, plus all the information we need to know; salary, distance to commute, hours etc. I then paint them a picture of the company, it is not masterpiece and the key here is that it should never be a masterpiece. Explain to the candidate warts and all what it is like to work in the business - trust me, if they know the bad stuff and want to work there, they are less likely to leave within the first month. Once I have decided this person is right I pick up the phone (you know that thing with numbers and a handset on your desk people are afraid to use these days) and I call my client. I talk to him about the candidate (once again warts and all) and why I think they are right for his business, before the end of the call we have an interview date and time booked. In my eyes this is easiest and simplest way to work. He trusts me.

Now here is where I may confuse everyone, and maybe even myself if I am not careful. But my question is how important are they, not if they should be cut from existence altogether. Because at interview stage a potential employee will need one. Why? Because they need a point of reference, not that they need all the detail, but they need to see a clear and consistent career path with CORRECT dates. It helps the interviewer understand reasons for leaving and pinpoint the experience and symmetry and aligns it with their own vacancy. This for me is the only importance they have - well that and the fact you can scribble notes on it during an interview and piece it altogether, but ultimately the person sat in front of me is more important than the sheet of A4.

Two examples are key to my beliefs, firstly I am going to use a candidate I have worked with and let's call him Michael. Now Michael has worked in his chosen industry for over 20 years, he has worked for some of the largest companies and household names going, not only that Michael has a list of recommendations and a little black book which is on par with Lord Sugar. It is easy to see Michael is an exceptional candidate given just a few minutes talking to him. He is articulate, intelligent, to the point (but not blunt) and is a master of his trade. But, at the top of his CV in the largest font going, in big bold letters, larger than his names is written in fact;

CIRRICULUM VITAE

I kid you not, the first thing you see when his CV pops into your inbox is this. We are two letters in and the most commonly used word on any CV is spelt incorrectly. I know this sounds wrong, but I have actually heard people say "if he can't spell that right then it's not worth calling him". Seriously people are prepared to write someone off for an error, an obvious and frustrating error to many yes, yet an error none-the-less. But has anyone ever told Michael his CV has this mistake on his CV or have they all just edited it themselves or not bothered calling him. Such a shame for such a great candidate, oh and FYI I did point it out to him when I spoke to him.

My second and final example is a candidate we shall call Martha. Now Martha isn't from these shores, in-fact she isn't even from this continent. She has never worked in the UK and only has minimal experience from her own country. Yet, once again, she is a bright spark - a clever girl with a degree in her chosen field and subject matter. I am stealing this anecdote from a colleague who I shared this experience with. She received this CV in her inbox after the candidate applied for a role, she opened it up and thought it was pretty poor in contrast to other applicants CVs she had received. Still, my colleague who has great ethics and is damn good at her job called said candidate and discussed the role with her. Subsequently she put her forward with 5 other candidates of varying experience. She was shortlisted in the top two and went onto carry out a two stage interview process. Yep, you guessed it, she got it - she got the job and beat the odds. The funniest thing about the conversation I had with the hiring manager on receiving the job offer was, he said and I quote "it was probably the worst CV we have ever received Jon, but she blew us out of the water". Now if this story doesn't prove my point I don't know what else will. If it was just about the CV she would never have got the job and my client would have lost out on the person who is now sitting at her desk and overachieving in the role they offered to her.

I have used this sentence over a million times in my recruitment life, a CV is a piece of paper with a bit of writing on, it may get you an interview but it won't get you a job. If you are hiring someone at the moment and you don't trust what your Consultant is telling you then find another Consultant. Incredible candidates are hard to come by, so don't lose one by not liking a CV.