Traditionally, employers have tended to provide two main options when inviting responses to job vacancies: either the completion of a job application form or the submission of a CV (curriculum vitae) along with a cover letter. Sometimes, an application form is required along with a candidate’s CV. Here we look beyond the CV when recruiting.

Application forms enable employers to ask specific, relevant questions, but they take time to create and administer. Whereas inviting the submission of resumes with cover letters avoids the need and expense involved in creating application forms, a CV may not provide the answers that an employer needs to assess candidate suitability.

Thus, here are just 5 reasons it’s important to look beyond a CV when recruiting:

1. CV Embellishment

Unfortunately, false claims and outright lies are common in resumes. Around 40% of British workers admit to CV embellishment and, surprisingly, many employers don’t spot the inaccuracies. This can sometimes result in the recruitment of someone who is entirely inappropriate for a vacancy.

Common lies and embellishments include work experience, employment history dates, academic qualifications and salaries. People will also sometimes lie by omitting to disclose pieces of vital information.

Prospective employers must always look beyond the CV and the statements made in candidate CVs to derive references and verify the various claims made, for example, by requesting the visibility of qualification certificates.

2. CVs Don’t Provide Answers

Resumes don’t necessarily provide the answers employers need. As noted, application forms enable employers to ask specific questions relevant to the vacancies on offer. Candidates all answer the same questions, readily enabling their responses to be compared to each other side-by-side. While some candidate CVs may present the required information, this isn’t guaranteed. So, this is another reason employers need to look beyond the CV to get the information they need to determine candidate suitability for their available vacancies.

3. CVs Are Inconsistent

There’s no such thing as a standard format for CVs. CV inconsistency presents many challenges for employers as some will be long and verbose and, therefore, time-consuming to process. Meanwhile, others will be short and possibly exclude information that’s vital for the application. These differences make it almost impossible to carry out valid candidate comparisons based on nothing more than CVs and cover letters.

These challenges have prompted employers to increasingly use psychometric testing as an essential element in their recruitment processes. Psychometric tests provide employers with a standardized approach for candidate assessment and comparison.

4. CVs Don’t Reflect Aptitude

When recruiting for a specific job, the aptitudes required for that role are often clearly understood by the employer. While there may be some indication of a candidate’s aptitudes in various areas of their CV, it’s unlikely to provide a comprehensive analysis, and the information provided may not align with the aptitudes required for the vacancy, although the candidate may be ideal.

Aptitude testing, on the other hand, enables employers to assess prospective candidates based on what’s required for the role, their organization and the future.

5. CVs Don’t Indicate Personality Types

When identifying candidates for a vacancy, an assessment of their relevant skills and qualifications is vital. But it’s equally important to determine whether their personality type is right for the job, the people they’re required to work with, and the workplace.

Resumes don’t provide an accurate view of a candidate’s personality type. This is another reason employers need to go beyond what’s provided in a CV. They need to find out whether a candidate will be a good fit and get along with existing employees and workplace practices.

CVs Are Still Useful

Employers should recognize that Resumes still have a vital role to play in the recruitment process by providing candidates with the opportunity to represent themselves in their own words. But when the objective is to find candidates who are optimally suited for a role, it’s important to look beyond the CV to gain the necessary insights.

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Samantha is an HR practitioner who has worked with several companies to help them improve their HR practices. Samantha has gained decades of experience in handling all HR facets that include managerial relations, labour relations, training and development, recruitment, and compensation and benefits.

When Samantha is not busy at work, she writes articles about the importance of effective HR practices and why startups should always prioritize this area of the business.