Hiring Beyond the CV: Talent Beyond Qualifications

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/neiljterry_leadership-hiring-talent-activity-7470399789835403268-lvd6

The best people I ever hired didn’t have the best CVs. This week I spent some time walking around our daughters university exhibition Solent University and was genuinely impressed by the quality of work on display from the next generation of creative talent. As someone who has always had a creative eye, it reminded me of a lesson I’ve learned throughout my career. When hiring, I was always interested in more than qualifications, job titles and years of experience. Some of the most talented people I recruited stood out because of their passion, curiosity, creativity and the energy they brought to a conversation. A portfolio often told me far more than a CV ever could. Research suggests we form first impressions in a fraction of a second. Whilst those impressions are not always right, a great portfolio can immediately capture attention, spark curiosity and make you want to learn more. Within moments your brain is already making decisions about quality, creativity and potential. The strongest portfolios didn’t just showcase skills. They told a story, they revealed how someone thinks, solves problems and approaches challenges. Many of the people I hired from seeing that potential have gone on to build successful careers in major organisations, and it is incredibly rewarding to see how far they have progressed. What’s interesting is that this is also something today’s AI models still struggle with. AI is becoming increasingly capable of analysing CVs, qualifications, keywords and experience. It can identify patterns in text and data at a scale humans never could. But creativity is rarely found in bullet points. A portfolio can communicate originality, personality, emotion and visual storytelling in seconds. It can make you stop, think and feel something. Human beings instinctively recognise that, we connect with it. Whilst AI can help us become more efficient, I still believe human judgement plays a critical role in spotting potential, particularly in creative fields where the best candidates often don’t fit neatly into predefined boxes. The exhibition was a reminder that talent is everywhere. Sometimes all it needs is someone willing to look beyond the CV and see the person behind it.

#Leadership #Hiring #Talent #Creativity #ArtificialIntelligence #DesignThinking #SolentSouthampton #CareerDevelopment #FutureTalent #Innovation