The importance of Honest, Earnest

“I’m sociable, enthusiastic and well-liked”. 

The opening line of my C.V. for many years. 

To me – an assertive, game-changing statement that I was going to come-in and elevate your business to the palace of the gods. 

To most readers – a bland, banausic jumble of words – and probably not the first (or the last time) they would glaze over them. 

I read a C.V. of a student recently. Times have changed, Times New Roman is no longer the sexiest font out there – but the skeleton hasn’t changed – including the invevitable self-sell glistening like an oil slick at either end,  and book-ending some dry academia in the middle.  

But now the tables have turned. This spotty youth is poacher-turned-game-keeper. I’m no longer writing Dickensian prose about my mesmerising ability to collect karate belts like sweeties, swim without armbands or trampoline upside down. Now – I’m reading this verbiage, nodding droopily as I wonder if there are enough awards in this world to quench the voracious thirst of this A-grade academic.

And that’s why it’s so important that the personality of a candidate shines. And that’s why gigl is the perfect antidote to another pile of bland, self-selling but-content-lite applications. 

And guess what? It’s important for candidates to know that they have been chosen because the employer has taken-time to measure the personality of the applicants. Not because they’ve been seduced by a slick CV – and thrown into a bucket of “bright and hopfully work well togethers”. 

A candidate needs to leave the process with the confidence that a “come and join our team” is a hallmark of confidence in  your fit, ability to bond and deliver the best results. And an employer has taken time, care and onsideration to reach this conclusion.

Because remember – candidates today aren’t lemmings. This probably isn’t the first job they’ve applied for. They’ve probably had countless rejections (if they’re lucky – often nothing at all). Theyre probably bored of the process, embittered by the countless ghosting and fobbings-off with Ctrl C’, Ctrl V reasons. 

So for a wise company, the recruitment process is the chance to tell the world “we don’t just skim the academic cream – we optimise our staffing by recruiting people who will fit best with the customers and the team – personality is more important than paper”.

So companies: it’s time to see recruitment as a critical part of your corporate make-up. Your process defines you. And whether you recruit on personality, academic merit or that double Duke of Edinburgh Award attained at the tender age of 8 -  in the eyes of the candidates, it reflects everything about you. 

At Gigl, we partner with forward-thinking organizations using the recruitment process to identify great-fit personalities for the great-fit companies. It’s no coincidence – people with personalities suited for the team, company and customers tend to stay longer, work harder and wear the badge with pride. 

In 60 seconds you can accomplish a lot. Make a cup of tea. Order a taxi. Do a handstand. And now you can spend a productive 60 seconds posting a job to attract the best talent; or engaging with a candidate who has taken the time to apply specifically for your role with a video bursting with personality. 

So this is our plea. There are so many great out there. Most of them you won’t know about until you see their video. So have a gigl – post your role on our platform and see which you prefer. And we’re willing to bet – fun and personable 60-second videos beat bland academic every time.