How to make more informed recruitment decisions using candidate profiles

In this guide, we’ll be taking you through one of the most significant new features of our new and improved site: the candidate profile.

 

Why we introduced candidate profiles

 The candidate profile is an alternative to the traditional CV where legal professionals can showcase their skills and experience in more detail, giving you deeper insights than you would often get from a normal CV.

There are several factors which led to the introduction of candidate profiles. Firstly, we know that CVs often vary in terms of the amount and quality of information that tends to be included.

With the candidate profile, Simply Law users are given a step-by-step profile builder to guide them through the process of creating their profile, ensuring that they input the most relevant information as a bare minimum (including location, contact details and work history) but also giving them pointers as to why it’s important to fill out each section.

We also know that it can be difficult to pick out specific pieces of information whilst browsing amongst many CVs which are often formatted in a variety of ways.

With the candidate profile, you’ll see each profile presented in a consistent, easy-to-read format so that if you’re looking for something specific, for example a particular type of experience or certification, you know exactly which section to go to in order to find this information on every profile.

Our aim with the candidate profile is to allow candidates to give a more well-rounded, detailed picture of their experience and who they are as a person. This gives you the chance to gain deeper insights into a candidate’s skills, experience and interests, helping you make more informed decisions from the start on who may be ideal for your role, rather than relying on the varying levels of information that can often be found in CVs.

 

Features of the candidate profile

 The main sections within the candidate profile are as follows:

 

Details

This is the area where a candidate fills in their main personal details, including contact information, job role, skills, number of years’ experience, current salary, desired contract, willingness to relocate, and desired work location. This gives you an overview of the main facts regarding a candidate’s experience and what role they are looking for.

 

Experience

This section allows the candidate to go into more detail about their work history, with room for an introductory personal statement and space to share information on their previous work experience, including their main responsibilities and achievements from each role.

 

Education

This is where candidates can record evidence of their qualifications, both academic and industry-specific. This includes room to upload evidence of any certificates, licences or other professional qualifications or credentials, allowing you to see first-hand evidence of their listed qualifications (if applicable) rather than having to ask for these.

 

Extra Curricular

This section is where candidates can share information about themselves aside from strictly work-related records; including their language skills, hobbies and interests, personal projects, and awards received. This is designed to help you build a picture of a candidate’s character, skills, passions and interests, helping you make more informed decisions about who you may wish to contact.

What about CVs?

 We understand CVs are a significant part of the recruitment process; and although any new candidates who sign up to Simply Law will be required to create a profile as standard, they will still have the ability to upload a traditional CV alongside their candidate profile. They’ll also be given the choice to apply for jobs using either their profile or their traditional CV.

There are of course many professionals who had already uploaded their CVs to Simply Law long before candidate profiles were introduced.

These candidates’ CVs are still available to be viewed and downloaded in CV Discovery as usual; alongside their traditional CVs, we’ve also automatically created profiles for these candidates based on the information in their original CVs, so you have a choice between the two formats.

Going forward…

Given the fact that there are several fields within the candidate profile which are brand new, many of our existing candidates whose profiles were automatically populated with information from their CV will have some information missing from their candidate profiles.

We’ll be working hard over the coming weeks and months to communicate with these candidates, encouraging them to make sure the information that we’ve populated their profiles with is correct and up-to-date. We’ll also be encouraging them to fill out the new fields in their profile to ensure that they’re giving the most detailed possible picture of their experience and skills.

It’s important to us that our data quality is always being improved so that you can trust you’re always seeing the most accurate, reliable and up-to-date information whilst browsing CV Discovery. We hope our new candidate profiles enhance your experience on the site!

If you’d like to give any feedback on your experience of using the updated Simply Law site, click here.