The right sort - what we do like: an acceptable approach for the British psyche?

This is the third in a series of 5 articles. In the last couple of weeks we’ve looked at photographs on CV’s and video CV’s. Today - is there any form of self promotion that we Brits are likely to embrace?

The good news for candidates and recruiters alike is that more recent advances in the development of the CV do appear acceptable to the British psyche. The Virtual CV in particular has a good chance of success in either the form of a “Personal Professional Website” or online CV.

Personal Professional Websites- a more business-like approach?

We are used to assessing a company, hotel or even restaurant via their website and it appears we are comfortable using the same format to assess people. Much more than an online representation of the CV, personal professional websites give employers the opportunity to see a ‘work portfolio’ and find out more about the skills, knowledge and motivations of a candidate than they could ever hope to glean from a traditional CV. More importantly, they appear to provide an environment in which we are happy to promote ourselves in what is seen as a professional and “tasteful” way.

Andrew Dodds, a recruiting manager for a Technical Design company agrees:

“A well put together personal website gives you a much broader view of the candidate. It does not appear too salesy or pushy and has become far more widespread in the technical design and IT industries- neither of which are particularly known for their in-your-face applicants”

On-line CV’s- a natural progression?

Launched in February 2008, VisualCV is a free service for professionals who want to quickly and easily create a comprehensive and professional looking CV online. In addition to the information you would expect to find on a CV it allows you to be more creative. You can include links to work samples, PDF’s of reference letters, hyperlinks to employer information, links to blogs and other media. Links to the pages can be sent to prospective employers and shared with firms that have pages on the site.

VisualCV was aimed at the American market, but has received a lot of good press coverage here in the UK. It’s too early to say what the take up will be but this is a tool that our industry should watch with interest. It might just provide the easy-to-use, standardised online template that UK hirers and recruiters could benefit from. It seems like a natural way of using technology to sell yourself, but UK candidates and employers have yet to catch on in large numbers.

In the case of either a website or on-line CV perhaps it is the on-line aspect which sits comfortably with our Britishness. It appears in-line with the way we do business, displays style in addition to content in an accepted fashion and perhaps most importantly appears slightly more removed and professional - very British indeed.

Next week we look at 'Professional Networking - getting other professionals to sing your praises'.

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The Video CV - How happy are you on camera?

This is the second in a series of 5 articles. Last week we looked at photographs on CV’s. This week, we’re heading for the movies.

The Video CV is a step further again, and one which research in the US in 2007 by career publisher Vault found that:

“89% of American employers would watch a video resume, although only 17% had seen one.”

www.vault.com

The general consensus amongst American employers was that video CVs would become more commonplace.

Here in the UK, some candidates are starting to utilise video to help them to stand out from the crowd. Employers are increasingly receiving short video clips as CV attachments. But do they get watched?

Recruiters and employers who favour video CVs believe that the good ones show personality and enable them to see a candidate’s communication skills at an early stage. But the video CV has not yet taken off in the UK. Some commentators feel that our cultural reserve means that it never will in this country. As Felix Wetzel, marketing director of www.jobsite.co.uk says:

“At this stage the UK is just dabbling in the area. Most employers still prefer more traditional applications.”

www.personneltoday.com, June 2007

Stephen Rolls, an HR Director at Deloitte is equally unconvinced:

“I can see that recruiters get a better feel for the candidate with a video CV, but what you really need at this stage of the process is factual information. For this reason, I’m not sure video CVs will become popular here.”

www.personneltoday.com, June 2007

As a recruiter, would you be swayed by a video CV? Positively or negatively? Perhaps it is our British sense of fair play that makes us shun the moving image CV. Or perhaps we just think it’s naff and embarrassing. Either way, it is indicative in a small way, of our reticence to sell ourselves to an employer or be sold to by a potential employee.

Next week we look at technology that Brits are beginning to embrace in 'The right sort- what we do like: an acceptable approach for the British psyche?'

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Can technology help to liberate the British from their reserved approach to self promotion?

We are not naturally a nation of boasters. Our cultural and social background is rooted in self depreciation, modesty and irony. This is in contrast to the US, for example, where there is a more self confident, brash and optimistic approach.

You only have to compare our contrasting styles of television to see the difference- the British struggle in the rain of a gritty London or Manchester, whilst the Americans enjoy excessive wealth and success somewhere in the eternal sunshine. Broad brush admittedly, but generally true nevertheless.

But how does this relate to recruitment? Our reserved approach to self promotion means that what we Brits find most difficult in the job market is selling ourselves, or indeed, being overly sold to by others.

How do we use technology to push ourselves, and in a way that is acceptable to equally reserved employers?

It’s just not cricket! - what we don’t like

The traditional CV- shouldn’t we just leave it alone?

The first point of contact within the recruitment process has traditionally been the CV- and up until recently, the British CV has resisted change, especially where that change goes against our national character.

Would you put a photograph on your CV?

Look at photographs on CV’s for example. European, North American and Asian applicants use photographs of themselves to personalise or rather humanise their CV’s. The British think differently.

A straw pole we carried out recently elicited the following comments from the UK based professionals we approached; “photographs are cheesy and embarrassing”, “very American…..I would never include one”, “I always think photographs on CV’s are the preserve of the slightly weird”.

Although photographs are used in some of the more creative industries, their use has never really caught on in the UK. We looked at 2000 CV’s of IT and Finance professionals of which less than 2.5% included a suitably business-like mug shot.

As a recruiter, are you swayed by a photograph? Positively or negatively? Perhaps it is our British sense of fair play that makes us shun the photograph. Or perhaps we just think it’s naff and embarrassing. Either way, it is indicative in a small way, of our reticence to sell ourselves to an employer or be sold to by a potential employee.

This is the first in a series of 5 articles. Next week, 'The Video CV – how happy are you on camera?'

Join the Sanderson Recruitment LinkedIn group http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1925552