How a Blind CV Can Help You Land Your Dream Job

What is a Blind CV?

A blind CV is a CV without any personally identifiable information. This means the document excludes some details you would typically include on your CV, such as your name and anything that alludes to your age, gender, ethnicity or other demographic information. As such, the sole focus of the CV is your experience, qualifications and skills. This removes any potential for discrimination based on your personal information or circumstances.

Some companies are starting to adopt blind recruitment practices to remove the unconscious bias that can creep into hiring decisions. A recent survey suggests around 20% of HR practitioners in the US are currently using blind recruitment, while 60% are familiar with it (1). This means that an increasing number of employers are actually asking candidates to submit blind CVs, or that the applications they receive are anonymised before anyone at the company reviews them.

Benefits of Using a Blind CV

There are various potential benefits of using a blind CV. This type of CV can be beneficial both for the applicant and the hiring company.

Perhaps you’re a jobseeker, but you’re finding the application process difficult, despite having the required skills and experience for the job. Using a blind CV can reassure you that there aren’t any other biases at play in the recruitment process. You could be a female who’s applying for jobs in a predominantly male industry. Maybe the dates associated with your previous jobs or education mark you out as an older candidate in an industry that usually favours younger people. Even your address, school or university can give the reader an indication of your background.

Removing these types of details from your CV allows your skills, qualifications and experience to shine through. This should put you on an even footing with other applicants, no matter your background.

Blind recruitment can also have various benefits for employers. In theory, it removes the possibility of bias and discrimination in the recruitment process. In the UK, it’s illegal to make hiring decisions based on the personal characteristics of applicants. Taking all these details out of a CV removes any doubt both for the applicant and the hiring organisation. Additionally, hiring based on blind CVs should promote a more equal organisation, and encourage a more diverse range of candidates to apply for positions.

How to Create a Blind CV

The sections and layout of a blind CV will typically be the same as a standard, traditional CV. You’ll still need to include some contact information, a CV summary, your work experience, your qualifications and your skills. However, the key to a blind CV is leaving certain information out that could otherwise lead to discrimination and harm your chances of success.

You’ll need to start your CV with a header that includes some basic contact information. Instead of adding your full name, you can either completely anonymise your CV or add a first initial followed by your surname. This removes any indication of your gender from your CV. If you believe your surname might lead to racial or cultural discrimination, you could also leave this out. Make sure your email address is neutral and professional, and omit your full address. Avoid adding a personal photo or any other personal details, such as your age or nationality.

You can further anonymise your CV by removing dates from your work experience section and qualifications. While removing dates from your employment history may raise some doubts with employers about your experience levels, the content of your achievements and responsibilities in each job should show them you have what it takes.

Another way of anonymising your CV is to omit some optional sections, such as your language skills and hobbies. Consider whether your language skills reveal anything about your nationality or cultural identity. It’s also typically unnecessary to add information about hobbies, unless they’re specifically relevant to the role. Adding general hobbies and interests can risk introducing affinity bias, where employers favour candidates with similar interests to their own. Finally, make sure your cover letter follows the same principles as your CV, and excludes or omits any personally identifiable information.

Adapting Your Blind CV for Different Industries

Depending on the industry sector and role you’re applying for, you can tailor your blind CV, including or omitting certain information that could either improve or harm your chances. Different industries suffer from different biases, so make sure you’re aware of any discrimination or inequalities in the industry you’re applying to, and adapt your blind CV accordingly. Below you can find some of the most common types of bias for different industries. Adapting your blind CV to combat these biases could increase your chances of success:

Healthcare

Recruitment biases in the healthcare sector tend to be gender-related. Female candidates are generally favoured for nursing positions, while male candidates are more prominent for higher status roles, such as surgeons and consultants. There can also be bias along lines of race and age.

Education

There is a distinct gender split between early years/primary education, which tends to favour women, and senior and administrative roles, which tend to favour men. Educational recruiters may also favour younger candidates over older applicants, owing to the perceived adaptability of younger candidates to new teaching methods.

Finance

The financial sector is dominated by men, particularly in senior roles. There is also a strong bias against ethnic minority candidates for managerial positions. In addition, employers may favour candidates with more traditional academic credentials from the most prestigious institutions.

Technology

Tech industries suffer from a major lack of representation from women, with men often favoured for technical roles. It’s also common for hiring decisions to be influenced by age and educational background.

"Depending on the industry sector and role you’re applying for, you can tailor your blind CV, including or omitting certain information that could either improve or harm your chances."

Legal Considerations and Best Practices

A blind CV can help to ensure the employer avoids breaking the Equality Act 2010. This UK law introduced nine protected personal characteristics, and made it illegal to discriminate based on any of them. This also meant it became illegal to let these factors affect hiring decisions. As such, some employers may even prefer blind CVs, as they completely anonymise the recruitment process and make it far less likely that unconscious or affinity biases will occur.

If you decide to use a blind CV for your job applications, remember to be honest and offer complete information at all times. Lying on your CV can be illegal. For example, if you exclude information from your CV that would discount you from a position, such as a criminal conviction, this could be considered fraudulent. Deliberately misleading employers with your blind CV is unlikely to be a fruitful endeavour in the long term.

Key Takeaways for Creating a Blind CV

A blind CV can help you overcome bias and discrimination and land your dream job. Be careful about which details to include and exclude from your CV, and consider any traditional industry biases before you submit your application. Jobseeker’s CV templates and cover letter templates can help you to create an eye-catching CV with all the necessary information, while leaving out information that could prejudice hiring decisions. You can also find a wealth of CV examples, CV articles and cover letter examples to help you craft the perfect job application. Sign up today to get started.

Sources:

(1) Harvard Business Review: When Blind Hiring Advances DEI — and When It Doesn’t