--- title: Don’t judge a book by its cover description: Don’t judge a book by its cover image: https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/sketchbook-156775_1280.png --- [![Linkedin](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Linked-In.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/company/talentinthecloud) [![Facebook](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/talentinthecld/) [![Twitter](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/TalentintheCld) [![Talent in the Cloud](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/titc-logo-5-grey.png)](https://talentinthecloud.io/) - [HOME](https://talentinthecloud.io/) - [TALENT CAPTURE SYSTEM](https://talentinthecloud.io/talent-capture-system/) - [DIGITAL ASSESSMENTS](https://talentinthecloud.io/pre-hire-assessments/) - [LIVE JOBS](https://talentinthecloud.io/live-jobs/) - [CASE STUDY](https://talentinthecloud.io/case-study-direct-pay-online/) - [ABOUT US](https://talentinthecloud.io/about-talent-in-the-cloud/) - [Get in touch](https://talentinthecloud.io/contact/) # Recruitment Insights Industry leading insights on recruiting strategies, recruitment technology and digital transformation ![](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/sketchbook-156775_1280.png) # Don’t judge a book by its cover By [Darren Franks](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/author/darren-franks) | ![](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/df.jpg) 05 janvier 2017 | [0](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/dont-judge-book-cover#comments-listing) It’s an age old saying, apparently dating back to the mid-19th century. It’s as valuable a statement then, as it is now - and definitely one I believe should be applied to recruiting. How can one judge a person's true ability to perform a job simply by looking at a few pages of text? As professional recruiters, we often hear from candidates, *“why did you reject me, this role fits me perfectly."* It’s sometimes very difficult to answer that question without sounding like a complete fool. If we’re honest the response would probably look something like this: > “it’s because your CV didn’t match the words or phrases in the job description” **Terrible isn’t it?** This goes back to one of my earlier posts – ['The End of the CV?'](https://talentinthecloud.io/the-end-of-the-cv/) – I believe that in the modern world with all the tools, data and analytics available that there needs to be smarter and more accurate ways of determining a candidate's suitability for a role. If you've read my earlier [blogs](https://talentinthecloud.io/blog/), you'll know there is. ### Businesses are missing out on great talent I know this for a fact. Throughout my recruiting career I’ve interviewed some fantastic candidates who I knew were ideal for my client. Not only could they perform the role but culturally they were a great match. I would then send the CV along with my synopsis to the client only for the CV to be rejected as it wasn’t a close enough match to the job description (or, there was an element of unconscious bias from something on the CV). I hear some recruiters saying: > “well you weren’t close enough to your client,” or > “you should have got the candidate to modify the CV.” Two valid points. However, firstly, with those customers who use vendor management systems and portals one has very little flexibility. Now, as for modifying a CV – if there’s any element of unconscious bias on the candidate’s previous company, background or anything else, then changing the CV to contain a few key words isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference. Whichever way you look at it; this method of recruiting is flawed. It forces internal and external recruiters to focus on matching CV’s rather than people. Don’t get me wrong – of course there needs to be an element of qualification at the early stages of a process. If a role requires a certain professional qualification or a specific skill set, then of course that needs to be screened for. The question then arises with the remaining, say 100+ people, all with the right skill sets and/or qualifications - how do you identify a shortlist without either relying on the (flawed) CV or interviewing every single one? Share this: - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Related [Will Banks and FinTech companies be competitors or partners?](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/can-african-fintechs-and-banks-co-exist) 09 novembre 2017 In ["Digital"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/digital), ["Africa"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/africa), ["Fintech"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/fintech) [Ken Okolo joins TalentintheCloud](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/ken-okolo-joins-talentinthecloud) 01 août 2017 In ["Recruitment"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/recruitment), ["Talent Acquisition"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/talent-acquisition), ["Africa"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/africa) [What's the difference between a plumber and a recruiter?](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/whats-the-difference-between-a-plumber-and-a-recruiter) 25 juillet 2017 In ["Recruitment"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/recruitment), ["Talent Acquisition"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/talent-acquisition), ["Recruitment Costs"](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/recruitment-costs) Posted in "Digital", "Talent Acquisition" ![Darren Franks](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/df.jpg) ### Written by [Darren Franks](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/author/darren-franks) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfranks/) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/franksy_franks) ### Subscribe to Email Updates [![HOW TO HIRE THE TOP 15% OF FINTECH TALENT](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/616346/6362197e-f145-495b-9d14-30a489ef6868.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/616346/6362197e-f145-495b-9d14-30a489ef6868) ### Recent Posts ### Archives - [January 2017 (14)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/archive/2017/01) - [April 2017 (3)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/archive/2017/04) - [November 2017 (2)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/archive/2017/11) ### Categories - [Talent Acquisition (15)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/talent-acquisition) - [Advice (8)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/advice) - [Recruitment (8)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/recruitment) - [Digital (7)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/digital) - [End of the CV (4)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/end-of-the-cv) - [Africa (3)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/africa) - [improve recruitment processes (3)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/improve-recruitment-processes) - [Career Advice (2)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/career-advice) - [Fintech (2)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/fintech) - [Recruitment Costs (2)](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/topic/recruitment-costs) #### Menu - [Home](https://talentinthecloud.io/) - [Insights](https://talentinthecloud.io/insights/) - [Contact us](https://talentinthecloud.io/contact/) - [Book a meeting](https://talentinthecloud.io/meet-talent-in-the-cloud/) #### Contact Us Palladium House 1-4 Argyll Street London W1F 7LD [Info@talentinthecloud.io](mailto:info@talentinthecloud.io) +44 (0) 208 050 2454 ### Sign up to our insights #### Proud Members of APSCO [![APS Co](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/APSCo-Logo-White.png)](http://www.apsco.org/) [READ OUR LATEST INSIGHTS](https://talentinthecloud.io/insights/) [![Linkedin](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Linked-In.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/company/talentinthecloud) [![Facebook](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/talentinthecld/) [![Twitter](https://insights.talentinthecloud.io/hubfs/Talentinthecloud%20March2017/Images/Twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/TalentintheCld) Copyright 2017 Talent in the Cloud. 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