Modern recruitment is trying to keep pace with changes in society, mentality and the labor market. There is a lot of free information on social media about successful applications, so it is almost impossible to fail in getting a dream job. Or is it still impossible?
Old-school recruiters I’ve met tend to stick to bias when hiring high-performers and they pay attention to the following checklist:
The university they graduated from
The prosperity of the city or region where they spent most of their lives
How old they are, with a high preference for younger people
Whether they have worked for a corporation or specific brands
The political color
I don’t embrace an old-school recruitment style, nor do I see myself as the future of recruitment, but I know one thing: I do things differently and want to do what recruiters should have done in the past while trying to hire me, but they didn't. I’ve learnt from their mistakes.
My reaction to the above application checklist is:
Why should I care about the reputation of the university? A diploma is valuable if the person behind it shows empathy, is willing to challenge himself/herself and has the necessary skills for the role.
How does the wealth of the city or region influence your application? It doesn’t matter where you are coming from, but it does matter who you want to become how much effort you put into achieving your career goals.
The preference for hiring younger people is discrimination and should not even be related to hiring.
Having a list of reputable employers on your CV is great, but it doesn't help a potential employer because the corporate cultures are various and the values, they promote are different.
There are four subjects I never discuss or argue about with anybody: Politics, religion, sports and my taste in music. So why should political or religious orientation play a role in the selection of candidates? Or, if I listen to Bach, is it more likely to get this job than to listen to Metallica?
The application checklists should be about people and the potential value they can bring to a business. It is outdated to check boxes of skills and ask stereotypical questions during interviews.