Job hunters hate writing resumes as much as they hate being judged by their ability to write them (or their ability to pay a resume writer). But, then, how else will a company select candidates to interview?
Some employers have started an “open hiring policy,” whereby if you meet the basic qualifications, it’s first come, first hired. But Molson Coors — a brewing company that puts out brands like Coors, Miller, Foster, and Carling — has decided to take this to the next level and scrap CVs altogether for certain positions in their European region.
As Joe Sidley, Molson Coors’ head of talent acquisition for Western Europe, EMEA, and APAC, explained in HR Magazine:
Scrapping CVs helps remove unconscious bias from the process because our recruiters can’t be swayed by an impressive sounding degree or a candidate that went to a good school.
Secondly, it encourages people who normally wouldn’t apply to get in touch with us — we have a huge demand for new talent, and we simply can’t afford to miss out on great people because they were put off by an application process that makes them feel unqualified.
But what does all of this look like in practice? And is it something other recruiters would be interested in?
CV-Free Job Posting
One Molson Coors job posting has the following headline: “Brand Development Manager (Sales) No experience required!”
The opening paragraph states: “We are not prioritizing the CV — we aim to recruit based on potential, not experience. We are interested in seeing your behaviors in action and how they will help you become successful at Molson Coors, giving everyone the opportunity to show their potential, regardless of background or experience.”
In reality, however, this does not mean qualification-free. It’s just that the company is not relying on a list of previous experiences and accomplishments to assess qualifications. Rather, here’s how Colson Moors details the process for applying for the job.
Step 1: Application. This first stage includes questions to gauge a candidate’s motivation for the role and how the individual might add to the culture at Molson Coors.
Step 2: Measuring potential. The company uses as assessment Arctic Shores, a vendor of task-based assessments for recruitment. Candidates are asked to complete “some exciting, engaging tasks,” and in return, they receive personalized feedback reports.
Step 3: Interview. This is where situation-based questions related to specific, role-based behaviors are deployed. The company says its aim is to understand how candidates would tackle certain situations they’d face on the job. This part of the process might also include the candidate giving a presentation on a favorite brand and a group exercise.
Step 4: Decision/Feedback. The candidate then receives feedback. Notably, this applies to rejected candidates.
Because this position is now closed, you cannot see what the application questions were. (Meanwhile, Arctic Shores’ task-based assessment claims to use “12,000 data points to uncover true potential, in a way the CV and traditional assessments no longer can.”)
Interestingly, Molson Coors currently has over 200 job postings on LinkedIn, but no others appear to be CV-free. A customer service role, for instance, also located in the U.K., requires job seekers to upload a CV and fill out a broad profile, including former work history.
In other words, this may be more of a promotional stunt than an actual policy shift.
Talent Professionals Respond to CV-Free Hiring
Hiring experts are intrigued by CV-free application process, but they have concerns. For example,“I do like the idea of focusing on a person’s potential rather than their experience,” says William Higham, founder & CEO of Next Big Thing.
At the same time, Joan Kennedy, a senior talent acquisition partner, questions whether this makes the application process easier or harder. “A series of evaluations will drive applicants away,” Kennedy says. “There isn’t anything wrong with using a resume or CV…It’s the people reviewing them that need bias and diversity training to close skills gaps.”
Racheal Gallegos, senior vice president of product at Career Learning, as well as senior VP of product development at StudentVerse, questions the idea of this process removing bias: “It’s important to remember that evaluations still have bias. It may be a better way than resumes to look for very specific skills that are desired, though!”
Finally, Kimberly Siegert, an HR pro at South Carolina’s DMV, posits that this new method won’t resolve problematic hiring protocols. “Like many things, GIGO [garbage in, garbage out],” says Siegert. “If your process and vetting are awful, it’s still 50/50 whether you made a good choice. Do you hire for skills, trainability, or attitude?”
Bottom line: Talent pros remain highly skeptical of an approach that avoids the CV or resume.While many will concede that this does allow a broader range of people to apply for a job, it doesn’t necessarily improve the hiring process. Furthermore, employers may miss out on great talent who don’t want to jump through the hoops of filling out tests when they have the experience that shows their ability to do the job.