Hello, personal website! Goodbye, CV!

I’ve been hating CVs as far as I can remember. They look so ordinary, so stiff. I mean, isn’t it time to differentiate yourself from the competition when applying to a job? How are you going to do that if you will send the same dull one page? There’s no wonder we hear all these stories how recruiters throw away half of the CVs. The morale of this story, they say, is that those whose CV ended up in the garbage bin weren’t lucky enough. I believe CVs are old news and they need a replacement, a better one. Before going into that, let’s revisit the CV’s history.

The history of CV

Curriculum Vitae is a Latin expression which means “the course of my life”. To me, it sounds a bit poetic and full of grandeur, so it makes sense that the first CV is accredited to be written by Leonardo da Vinci, more than 500 years ago. Leonardo, who is considered to be one of the greatest man that ever lived, made a list with his skills and send it to a potential patron, the Duke of Milan. But, as with other of his inventions, the CV was far ahead of its time and it’s not until the 1950’s when CVs started to be used as a means for applying to a job.

Why CVs will be replaced by personal websites

I think CVs are losing their value proposition since everyone can create an account on LinkedIn and emphasize their skills and endorsements. I mean, isn’t that a CV’s purpose: showing off your skills and education to a potential employer? Yes, it is. Now, let me tell you why CVs are being outdated in the online world we’re living in and how personal websites are the future.

The meaning and realities of getting a job has changed. The internet and social networks made us more connected. We tend to find jobs most of the time through personal connections rather than simply applying with a CV. In 2012, a report from ABC News found out that 80% of jobs are landed through networking. Also, companies are trying to be more human and not just abstract organizations. They are becoming more social. You can get in touch with them on social media and even on their own websites through customer service software. So, like I said earlier, you can replace the CV by using LinkedIn to present your skills, but it’s not enough.

I think the world went from hard labour work (e.g. factory jobs) to desk & computer work (e.g. office jobs) and now is going to a third phase: cultural fit work. People, especially millennials, tend to pick companies to work for based on their organizational culture values. We want to have a positive impact on the world with our work, not just finding a place where to go from 9 to 5 and bring the bacon home. Likewise, we are shifting from a mass market economy to a more customised and personalised one. You can notice this trend with jobs as well. There aren’t just a couple of standard positions in a company anymore (e.g. financial, production, marketing, etc.), they became more and more specialised. Take UX for example, you have UX Researcher, Interaction Designer, Information Architect, UI Designer.

So, my question is: how relevant are you with a CV in this social, connected and personalised world? The honest answer is “not quite relevant”. In a society where the individual is more important than ever and you can easily broadcast your opinions to a lot of people instantly through the internet, the solution I propose is authenticity. The answer I’m preaching is being yourself.

How can you do that? There isn’t a simpler and better solution than making a personal website. Having a personal website is like a tailored suit. It’s been made to fit you perfectly and feel comfortable in it. You will never have the same experience with a ready made suit. The same goes for a personal website. You get to choose how to design it and you can redesign it every time you feel is not representing you anymore. A personal website will be a better representation of yourself than a CV will ever be. A personal website is more than a CV, it is you.

At Froala, we believe everyone should have a personal website and we are committed to make it accessible for everyone. We got you covered on this one as Froala Website Builder is coming soon and we would love to keep in touch and tell you when it’s ready for launch.