But is the good old-fashioned CV a relic of a bygone era, some kind of medieval innovation, or just misunderstood?
Have you seen the anti-CV protesters? No me neither
There's always room for innovation and reinventing the wheel, but let's take a step back and apply some common sense here — if the CV is truly dead, where is the clamour to replace it?
And not to put too fine a point on it, but why hasn't CV behemoth LinkedIn, which has every opportunity to do so, led the revolution?
I've worked in the careers and recruitment industry for 25 years. I've watched every so-called 'innovation' come and go. And what I see today isn't a crisis of the CV — it's a crisis of execution.
The CV hasn't failed us. We've failed the CV.
Why hasn't LinkedIn replaced the CV?
Let's start with LinkedIn. If there was widespread appetite to kill the CV, LinkedIn could easily have done it by now.
The world's largest business network already has a monopoly on digital profiles, a massive influence on the recruitment industry, a global user base, and enough tech to build something revolutionary. But LinkedIn hasn't. Surely that tells us something important. Maybe the demand for an alternative to the CV (digital or otherwise) just isn't there.
For all its popularity, LinkedIn has pretty much become a companion to the CV and not a replacement. I would suggest that people still rely on CVs because recruiters, clients, and employers still want them.
A solution looking for a problem?
The recent mention of blockchain-based skills libraries genuinely surprised me.
In 25 years in this sector, I've never seen a recruiter or organisation ask for this, or even mention it. Not once. It feels like a concept invented in the backroom of some government policy unit rather than the boardrooms of the recruitment industry.
Maybe someone, somewhere, is lobbying for this.
But if the aim is to improve trust or verification, we already have that. Employers have always verified employment histories. We don't need blockchain for that. What we need are people who can show they can do the job.
Don't Blame the CV
Let's not confuse the tool with the result.
The concept of a CV has worked perfectly well for decades. If CVs are failing now, it's not because the CV is flawed — it's because the way people are writing them is flawed. Especially with the rise of generative AI.
AI is a shiny new toy.
I acknowledge that people are pasting their old CVs and job descriptions into ChatGPT and getting back something well-written (but ultimately generic).
What they don't realise is that hundreds of other contractors are doing exactly the same thing! Recruiters are wading through masses of identikit CVs that say very little about the individual behind them.
AI isn't the enemy
Used correctly, AI can help people tell their professional story better.
But most people don't know what story they need to tell in the first place. They haven't worked out how to reverse engineer a job spec/contract brief, and in most cases, they haven't figured out their superpower and what value proposition to lead with.
So what comes out of ChatGPT is just a rehashed version of the same old list of tasks. It looks good, but it doesn't say anything. One might say 'style over substance.'
In addition, what many folks don't realise is that AI-generated career content often defaults to the US resume format, which isn't optimal for the UK market.
A CV should be a business case
Now let's talk numbers. At a recent event I ran, with a group of £100k+ salary candidates in attendance, we explored what they would cost an employer, i.e., what the employer's investment in them would be (contractors, please adjust these numbers accordingly).
Salary × 3 years × 1.7 (to cover full employment costs) gives us £510k. Factor in the ROI expectations — often 3x for senior hires – and you're looking at a £1.5m value expectation.
So, in short, your CV needs to show how you'll deliver £1.5m of value over three years.
A list of tasks just won't do. I'll go as far as saying that a blockchain-enabled list of skills and credentials won't do either. They need a business case, and if every CV were a business case, rather than a mere list of tasks, we wouldn't be having this 'conversation.'
Examples & Outcomes
The only way to demonstrate performance and ability is through specific examples.
As a CV and LinkedIn profile advisory specialising in the IT contractor jobs market, we advocate using STAR-format case studies on page one to showcase best achievements (with measurable outcomes). These examples (in the format of Situation; Task; Actions; Results) are designed to show your clients what you've done and how it impacted the organisation you were working for.
Contractor CV strategy (continued)
We advocate using storytelling tactics, value proposition statements, NLP, and social proof in CVs. Job candidates even need to factor in psychology, and the flow of information needs to be aligned with how recruiters and hiring managers think.
There's a level of sophistication that takes a CV beyond the ordinary and turns it into the business case I keep harping on about.
Have we forgotten about application forms?
Let's also not forget, if employers aren't getting the information they want from CVs, the solution is simple — ask for it. Just use a structured online application form like some organisations have been using for years.
If you really wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult to build a job application system that works as an application form but integrates with other platforms to pull other relevant data sets across. This could be LinkedIn, HMRC employment data, or anything else one feels is relevant.
But this technology has been around for years, yet CVs still exist. I'm of the viewpoint that maybe this tells us something.
Let's fix the right problem
If you're going to blame something for the current frustrations in recruitment, don't blame the CV. Blame the misuse of technology. Blame poor execution. Blame a lack of understanding about what employers/clients are really looking for.
The CV isn't medieval to me. It's just being misused. And until someone lands a spaceship and gives us a digital solution so mind-blowingly better that it makes the CV look like a woolly mammoth, I think it's here to stay.
Will any CV alternative be IR35-conscious?
It's also worth noting that contractors, particularly those operating outside IR35, arguably shouldn't be sending CVs that make them look like job-seekers at all (although that's a separate debate).
What's relevant here is that even in a sector where individuals are legally expected to present themselves as businesses rather than candidates, both clients and recruiters still expect to see a CV.
If expectations haven't shifted in contracting (a space where change might be more likely), then it's safe to assume the wider market won't be moving on from CVs anytime soon either.
Tech for tech's sake…
But in the meantime, let's write CVs that actually work.
Not with more tech for tech's sake.
But with clear positioning, strong value propositions, insightful case studies, and ultimately creating a business case that explains why someone should hire you.
Further help
For further CV help and insights, ContractorUK readers can avail a 1-2-1 and confidential review of their CV by one of my friendly and highly experienced team members.
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