A CV database is a primary resource for recruiters searching for candidates. But what if we told you that your database is actually a barrier to quickly finding the right candidates?
The responses would probably differ from agency to agency. But there’s no ambiguity in the fact that typically 80% of a recruiter’s database is out of date, and they use less than 4% of that database when creating a shortlist.
Those numbers alone speak volumes about the limitations of databases. They’re scarcely used to their full potential. That’s because they typically contain quantitive, not qualitative data.
But why is this the case?
Nothing stays the same
Recruitment is changing very quickly and data gets old fast.
If we look at contact information, data from Hubspot claims that about 22.5% of contact data become inaccurate every year. Data from marketing analytics company Kissmetrics supports this, and breaks it down into constituent parts for a deeper look:
- 40% of email users change their email address at least once every two years
- 15% change their email address one or more times per year
- 20% of postal addresses change each year
- 18% of all telephone numbers change every year
- Up to 33% of email addresses become outdated every year
Then you’ve got to consider the frequency of job changes, highlighted by data from the same source:
- 21% of all CEOs change every year
- 60% of people change job functions within their organisation every year
Unless you’re content with tasking your highly-skilled recruiters with tedious tracking and updating, you’re simply not going to keep pace with these changes.
CVs are out of date
According to a Monster poll, 8% of people can’t remember the last time they touched their CV and 40% of people shelve their CVs once they’re comfortably employed. And even if candidates are among the 37% who last updated their CV within the last year, there is still a substantial margin for error. A CV represents only a fixed point in time.
The result of this situation is that CVs don’t give an accurate reflection of a candidate’s work history. And the contact data problem from the last point, that’s going to apply here, too.
This means when you’re searching for CVs in your database, you’re inevitably going to find candidates that you can’t reach, aren’t the right fit, or are no longer active or looking for a job.
And that translates to a lot of wasted time.
Resumes are limited and generic
Due to the limited scope of data, and candidates limited capacity for reporting what they’re good at (sorry candidates!), CVs only present a linear, formulaic and archaic view of candidates’ education, qualifications and hard skills.
The result is that you’re not getting an accurate, in-depth and well-rounded picture of candidates’ knowledge, soft skills and personality traits – the attributes that are likely to make them success in the role you’re looking to fill.
And because you’re presented with a generic set of information, you’re more likely to overlook the perfect candidate during the screening process.
So there are three reasons why CV databases might not be as worthwhile as you thought:
- They aren’t dynamic enough to keep pace with changes
- They provide an inaccurate or incomplete view of a candidate’s history
- They are too limited to present the full spectrum of a candidate’s skills
What’s the solution?
With the introduction of automation, you can turn things around for your CV database and transform it into your biggest asset.
That’s where we come in. Our solution seamlessly integrates with your ATS to automatically update the contact, education and skills and personality information on your candidates using a diverse and rich range of digital sources. This provides an accurate, in-depth and up-to-date picture of each candidate.
To see how click the button below and book a demo with one of our team.
But that’s just what we think! We’re always keen to hear your views and engage in discourse around recruitment issues.
Do you disagree and think CV databases are perfectly good the way they are? Or do you have a different method of quickly tracking down the best talent? Let us know in the comments below.