How a Blind CV Can Help You Land Your Dream Job

What is a Blind CV?

A blind CV is a CV that omits any information that employers could use to personally identity you, or learn any personal or demographic details about you. Employers and recruiters are increasingly adopting this as a means of removing or reducing bias from the recruitment process. In fact, a recent survey in the US found that as many as 20% of organisations are currently using this technique (1).

While a standard CV contains your name and often some other personal information such as your gender, your age or your ethnicity, a blind CV removes all this. Even including your name can lead to assumptions about your gender and ethnicity, which is why a blind CV anonymises the document completely.

Further steps to anonymise your CV might include excluding your address or any indication of your location. This can lead to bias in favour of those who live close to the role, or assumptions about your background based on the area you live in. You could also remove dates from your previous employments and educational achievements, as employers could use these to approximate your age. All these steps can help you achieve anonymity and reduce the chances of bias creeping into the recruitment process.

Benefits of Using a Blind CV

Blind CVs are just one of the ways employers are seeking to combat the issue of recruitment bias. While companies are taking steps to reduce prejudice, whether conscious or unconscious, from their hiring decisions, many recruiters still consider it to be an issue. In fact, a recent survey found that 96% of recruiters believe unconscious bias is a problem in the recruitment sector (2).

In the UK, it’s illegal to discriminate based on nine protected personal characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. As such, it’s illegal to use these personal demographic factors to inform hiring decisions. Even so, many employers and jobseekers still believe hiring bias exists.

Blind CVs reduce the issue of hiring bias by removing all traces of the applicant’s personal information and background. This means your CV can showcase your personal skills and experience without the risk of prejudice or stereotyping. As a result, blind CVs can be a positive for jobseekers as they know they’re being judged as fairly as possible against other candidates. For employers, blind CVs can help to promote a more diverse and representative workforce, by encouraging candidates from a range of backgrounds to apply.

How to Create a Blind CV

If the job description calls for an anonymised CV, follow these tips to ensure you make the strongest possible impression with recruiters and hiring managers:

Draft your CV

Rather than creating a blind CV from scratch, it’s a good idea to draft a standard CV and then anonymise it afterwards. This way you can still use your non-anonymised CV as a foundation for other applications in the future.

Tailor your CV for the role

Edit and amend your CV so it’s suitable for the role you’re applying for. If you need tips on how to tailor your application, search for CV examples that match the job title you’re applying for.

Remove personal details

Once you’ve tailored your CV and it includes all the relevant content for your application, you can start removing personal details. Remove your name and any other personal information from your header, such as your age, gender, ethnicity and address. Include your phone number and email address, but consider using an email address that’s equally anonymous as the rest of your CV. If you’ve used your name as the header of the document, you could replace it with your job title, such as ‘Marketing Manager CV’.

Remove dates

As well as removing your personal and demographic information, remove any dates from your CV that could indicate your age. These are most likely to be in your education and work experience CV sections.

Remove company names

Listing the names of the companies you’ve worked for could still provide an opportunity for employers to apply unconscious bias. Removing the company names can reduce bias even further. Instead, in your bullet points under each job entry, emphasise the type of company, including the sector, its size, its standing in the market and any other useful details. You may also wish to remove the names of educational establishments, as these can be indicators of your social class and background.

Emphasise your achievements and skills

By removing company names and the names of schools and universities, you’ll have a greater opportunity to emphasise your achievements. It also gives you greater scope to list your transferable skills. On a blind CV, your credentials aren’t based on who you’ve worked for or what university you went to, but on what you’ve achieved in your career to date. Make sure you focus on these achievements and successes, as they can make all the difference to your application.

Use descriptive job titles

Rather than simply listing your official job title, add a little more information that can help the recruiter understand your role, your standing within the organisation and the responsibility you held. Without listing the company name, the employer may need a little more information to assess your true credentials.

Adapting Your Blind CV for Different Industries

After removing all personally identifiable information, dates and company and institution names, it’s down to your experience, achievements and skills on your CV to shine through. Follow these tips to make the most of your applications in different industry sectors:

Technology

For roles in the tech sector, emphasise your computer skills and relevant training and certifications you’ve gained. Useful skills include analytical skills, problem-solving, programming languages and various types of software, such as Adobe Creative Suite. Showcase how you’ve worked as part of a team to design and deliver successful projects.

Healthcare

For successful healthcare applications, list your qualifications, ensuring you anonymise any dates and institution names. Emphasise your interpersonal skills, such as communication, empathy and listening skills. Include evidence of situations where you’ve managed stressful circumstances or showcased problem-solving skills.

Finance and business

Without the names of companies you’ve worked for, it’s up to you to show your achievements and the impact you’ve made in your career. In finance and business, this tends to be all about your financial impact. Back up your credentials with figures that show the value you’ve added in each of your previous roles.

Education

Add evidence of your achievements by listing performance figures that you’ve contributed towards. This could be school inspections, exam grades or positive feedback from senior colleagues, students or parents.

Law

As a traditional profession, your status in the legal sector can often be linked to your university or the firms you’ve worked for. Without that, draw attention to your successes and provide evidence where possible of the positive impact you’ve made. Depending on the role you’re applying for, you could also focus on the financial impact you made for your firm.

"By removing company names and the names of schools and universities, you’ll have a greater opportunity to emphasise your achievements."

Legal Considerations and Best Practices

It’s important to be aware that, whether you’re creating a blind CV or a regular one, there are certain details that it’s best to omit from your UK job applications. This includes any details that could potentially cause discrimination in an employer’s hiring decision. The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal for any organisation to discriminate on the basis of nine protected characteristics. As such, it’s best to always omit from your CV any explicit reference to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Key Takeaways for Creating a Blind CV

Creating a blind CV isn’t just about removing your personal information from your application. Emphasise your achievements so employers can make a measured assessment of your credentials without knowing where you’ve worked or studied, or any of your personal details. Using CV templates can help you craft an anonymised CV that looks professional and stands out from other applicants. Sign up with CVwizard to access a wide range of tools and resources and start creating your winning application today.

Sources: 

(1) Harvard Business Review, When Blind Hiring Advances DEI — and When It Doesn’t
(2) Agency Central, 96% of recruiters think unconscious bias is a problem, but can it be avoided?