A brief history of the CV, paints a picture of why this tool can quite easily become a hinderance for you, rather than an asset.

1482 — Birth of the CV

The CV was born in 1482, by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, an Italian Renaissance polymath.

In a period when the printing press had just been invented (1440) — akin to the invention of the Internet — paper printing opened up a new world of communication. Words, information and ideas could be published and distributed like never before.

1900’s — An Economy Expects

Fast-forward 5 centuries later and during the 1930’s-60’s, the CV has become an institutionalised requirement. Interviewers now expect to see candidate’s CVs to quickly shortlist them.

1980’s — Industrial Production

1983, Microsoft create Word templates so we can all make [the same] CVs in bulk with the click of a few buttons.

2000’s — CV Blindness and Boredom

Like with all things that you have too much of, you become tired. Scarcity is the important component to remarkableness.

There seriously is such a thing as “Too much of a good thing”.

I remember playing golf with a Senior Manager at an International company (not to be named), who told me when he receives a pile of CV’s he just arbitrarily cuts and throws half of them away. Simply because it’s so time consuming and boring.

In a world of monotony, inject some creativity to grab attention.

The History of The CV — Source: National Careers Service — Creative Commons 3.0

Full Disclosure — I’ve cropped the graphic as it just promotes their Lifelong Learning Product; but, IMO, rewriting the CV in a different way isn’t much help either.

Another key reason for CV failure:

Employers don’t care about your degree.

93% of employers believe that critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills are more important than a job candidate’s undergraduate field of study.

The fallout from Tony Blair’s ‘Education, education, education’ movement is tertiary-education inflation;

everyone has a degree.

So, University degrees no longer have as much impact as our parents’ generation. And while our undergrad journeys may of been useful, the topic we studied probably isn’t.

So, how do you stand out from the crowd to get an interview?

How do you become a purple cow?