Stand Out And Deliver!

Personal press releases, talent pools and video clips… To be recruited in 2017, you need to think beyond the humble CV.Here’s how to get noticed without irritating the hell out of everyone.

- Corinne Redfern

Your laptop is balanced on a pile of pillows and, while your top is clean, there’s a stubborn smear of Nutella on your pyjama shorts. Taking a deep breath, you sign into Google Hangouts. ‘Hi,’ you type, cheeks red and heart racing. ‘I’m ready for my interview.’

Recruitment has changed more in the last two years than ever before. According to Rosie O’Callaghan, ‘It’s now less about talking up your qualifications and more about showing who you are as a person’ – and she should know. She’s the co-founder of recruitment agency JasperRose, whose clients include Chanel and Harvey Nichols.

The stats back her up. Research shows that up to a third of applicants would lie on a CV (which officially makes a third of applicants as dumb as Donald Trump’s comb-over), and recruiters only spend between five and seven seconds looking at them anyway. On the other hand, a five minute chat on Google Hangouts – as used by brands such as Buzz Feed and, er, Google (funny that) – is more difficult to fake, and gives candidates an opportunity to sell themselves on more than just experience. So here’s how to get yourself noticed.

STAY SWITCHED ON

‘These days, two-thirds of the recruitment process is “passive”,’ says Darain Faraz, a spokesperson for LinkedIn. ‘You put yourself out there and wait for potential employers to get in touch.’ This means that your social-media channels need to portray your very best self at all times.