Many people who apply to a job at Instabug have questions about our hiring process as they usually see it as different to the norm. That’s why we decided to write a series of blog posts to share what worked for us and how it helps us advance.
We all know that job hunting usually starts with a well-written CV, which is why many of our applicants are shocked when they realize we don’t ask for their CVs.
Almost 50% of our applicants ask us why we don’t request their CVs. If you’re one of those people wondering why, keep reading.
CVs Are One-Size-Fits-All
One of the main issues that we faced with CVs is the difficulty for our People Partners (AKA recruiters) to get a sense of an applicant’s personality and behavior. It’s a one-size-fits-all kind of application. You might find different templates on the internet with different designs, but at the end of the day, they all pretty much contain the exact same details: contact information, number of years of experience for each job, and the titles you had. Experience isn’t the only thing we focus on, and CV templates don’t show us who you are and how you would fit in with the team.
Other companies agree. Mark Babbitt, CEO, and Founder of YouTern, once said, “If anything, using the bloated content contained in most resumes is going into the relationship blind.” He hasn’t used resumes in two decades.
In our application and interview process, we want to get to know YOU and your story and decide together if this is going to be a great fit on both ends or not. Traditional CVs never tell the story behind the typical buzzwords listed on people’s CVs. However, through our process, we get a sense of your interests, your values, and what motivates you.
When you apply for any of our positions, you will find two questions that show us a glimpse of the real you: “What’s the coolest thing you’ve done?” and “What’s the most interesting thing you know?” We’ve received some very interesting answers and we always dive into more details during interviews.
Social Media
Social media has revolutionized hiring. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, Stack Overflow, Behance, and countless other platforms offer opportunities for applicants to share their knowledge, skills, portfolios, challenges, and achievements. Through all of these networks, we get to know what you are good at and what your interests are. In addition, it’s easier to read and faster to skim through.
Today, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates during the hiring process, according to the Jobvite 2016 Recruiter Nation Report. “Technology has changed the marketplace, and HR is the only department that hasn’t seen a rapid transition,” Carisa Miklusak, CEO of the algorithmic hiring platform tilr, said. “You need to understand that [resumes are] a byproduct of old employer values. Titles and years of experience are no longer a person’s number-one currency,” she added.
We believe that it’s possible to gain more skills in one year in one company than working five years in another company — it depends on the person and context. That’s why we ask applicants for their LinkedIn profile as well as their social media profiles at the start of our four-step interview process to help us understand more about you.
Skill-Based Interviews Are the Future
The recruitment process has been transformed by technological advances over the last 10 years and this is only going to evolve. So forget about the number of years of experience you have on your CV and your previous job titles because we care most about your skills and how well you can do the job NOW. We judge candidates based on their skills, something that isn’t always clear on your CV.
In addition, companies now have creative titles that don’t exactly convey what you actually do. CVs use job titles as headings, but today’s creative job titles don’t help recruiters understand what you do and the skills you’ve obtained.
We check for applicants’ skills by asking you to send us “links to projects that you are proud of” so that we can see what you have accomplished when you are at your best and motivated as well as to assess the technical level of your skill set.
Each company has its own recruitment process. We focus on your skill set and how you can use it to advance the team and advance yourself.
As the company grows, our recruitment process could evolve and we might even need to start asking for CVs. But as a team of 70, this is what works for us right now.
If you’re interested in a role at Instabug, expect a very different experience than what you’re used to. Oh, and by the way, we’re hiring! Forget your CV and feel free to take your time filling out our application because we really want to get to know the real you. We’re looking for like-minded team members to reach our potential and go places together.
