New research has shown that over 75% of hiring managers have selected candidates who didn’t look good on paper. This begs the question, are CVs still relevant in tech recruitment and should tech job-seekers be focusing their efforts elsewhere?

So, despite not having a convincing CV, how do these candidates work out once they are employed? These recruiters report that this was the right decision and the candidate was the perfect choice for the business.

Hiring Managers Prize Experience and Demonstrable Skill

The 2018 Tech Recruiting Report by HackerRank, questioned nearly 1,000 hiring managers and recruiters within the tech industry. Their research shows a definite shift in the attitude of tech and digital recruiters. Previously, listing skills and experience on your CV was the key to unlocking the door to an interview. Not including this information would automatically find your CV in the rejection pile.

Instead, hiring managers are increasingly focusing on a candidate’s ability to demonstrate their skills during the recruitment process. Organisations need to know that the candidate can actually perform the required roles to a certain standard. Thus, the traditional interview format is changing.

When asked about the most important qualifications they look for when recruiting for a role:

77% of respondents said previous work experience
45.8% said the number of years’ experience
37.3% said personal projects
35% look for a related degree subject such as Computer Science
15.8% want skills certifications
10.6% desire prestigious education
6.3% prefer Hackathon participation

70% of Developers are Self-Taught

Not all talented digital and tech professionals have qualifications from top-level institutions. In fact, many teach themselves and draw on this enthusiasm to drive forward their own personal projects. It would appear that these people are becoming more desirable to hiring managers.

One of the hiring managers interviewed was from a company of fewer than 100 employees. They gave an anecdotal account of their experience of finding a ‘hidden gem’. Describing the candidate, this manager said that he was:

“Self-taught started freelance work in high school. Really knowledgeable and never saw the need for a degree in order to earn his living. He just let his raw skill speak for itself. He’s one of our stallions. Although it’s obvious he’s a rare case, he’s the reason why we started looking at self-taught candidates more closely, and it’s worked great for us.”

Students in a computer science class sitting in a row with computers on their desks — The 2018 Developer Skills Report – found that 70% of developers are at least partially self-taught.

Overlook Less-Qualified Candidates at your Peril

The question of whether CVs are still relevant in recruitment begs a simple answer. Of course, qualifications and other impressive items on a candidate’s CV will always be important. However, what matters is how well candidates can do the job regardless of qualifications, high grades or awards.

Soft skills, talent, and the value people can bring to the business are not always obvious from looking at CVs. You need to have a special eye for it and loads of experience, just like our team of recruiters. It is, therefore, always worth giving those weaker CVs a second look, to make sure they grab the attention of the employer or recruiter looking at your CV.

We hope you found this information useful. If you did, please feel free to share it on social media where others can benefit from it too. And, if you need more advice, our team is always connected on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, so feel free to reach out to them through social media too.