Personnel expert: "There are companies that accept a What's App message"

Enlarge image

Videos instead of a résumé: what will future applications look like?

Photo: Gorodenkoff Productions OU / iStockphoto / Getty Images

Many companies are already complaining about a shortage of skilled workers.

When the baby boomers retire in the coming years, it will increase again in some industries.

School leavers and graduates are therefore desperately wanted.

What does that actually mean for the application process?

Will companies soon have to apply to young people - not the other way around?

In the USA, the social media platform TikTok shows how processes could change in the future.

"TikTok Resumes" is the name of the pilot project in which job seekers could apply to companies with a short video.

There are also attempts in Germany to use social networks for recruiting purposes.

Deutsche Bahn, the Bundeswehr and the police, for example, have already used filters and effects on platforms such as Instagram to reach potential applicants.

We could see more of this in the future, says Daniela Eisele-Wijnbergen, Professor of Human Resource Management.

She believes that some companies inevitably have to become more creative - and that applicants can already adapt to the changes now.

SPIEGEL:

The “TikTok Resumes” project was limited to the United States.

Are similar innovative application processes also conceivable in Germany?

Eisele-Wijnbergen: In this country

only a few well-known companies dare to experiment.

For example, they use chatbots with which applicants can ask questions about the work culture or the application process: How many jobs do you have?

Could I fit in with my qualifications?

The bot searches the messages for keywords, such as certain qualifications, recognizes which competencies are behind them, suggests suitable positions in its answers and then forwards to the page for online applications.

more on the subject

• Digitization and decarbonization are changing the job market: Where to find the new jobs - and who will get themBy Florian Gontek and Katharina Hölter

• Labor shortage in Germany: "People are running away from us all" By Benjamin Bidder

However, some chat bots are a deterrent because they either do not provide an answer to many questions or only provide an unhelpful standard answer.

That will change.

In the future, bots could preselect applicants, for example based on grades.

SPIEGEL:

That sounds like the good old paper application is slowly but surely dying out.

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

I hope so!

Even when I applied with my own website in the 1990s, I thought that there would soon be no more paper applications.

But still today students tell me that they like to hand in their documents to the company in person.

It is a ritual for them.

I find unnecessary paper alien in business life.

It costs more time and money.

The goal of HR managers to obtain suitable information about applicants cannot be better achieved with this.

WhatsApp is enough for some companies

SPIEGEL:

Let's assume a chatbot redirected me to a company's application website.

Do I still have to upload a cover letter and résumé there - or are there new forms?

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

As

As an alternative to cover letters and résumés, videos are already being used in some cases, in which applicants answer specific questions.

For example: Why are you applying to us?

Why are you the right person for the job?

Often, however, these question formats are only used in the second step after the preselection.

"So the gap will keep growing: standard processes on the one hand, creative recruiting models on the other."

Basically, the range in the application process is getting bigger and bigger.

There are now companies that accept a WhatsApp message in which someone expresses interest in a job in one sentence or asks about a trial working day.

These are mostly companies that have difficulty finding someone at all.

SPIEGEL:

In which industries is that the case?

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

Even today, not all entry positions can be filled in the care or IT area.

Here companies have to find new ways to attract staff.

Nevertheless, I know a lot of people who only place job advertisements or go to analog job fairs.

That won't be enough in the future.

more on the subject

• Evaluating CVs, Evaluating Candidates: How Artificial Intelligence Decides About Your Next JobBy Jens Radü

• Prettier job postings: Do you speak employer-like? A translation aid from Sebastian Maas

But there are other areas that have no problem finding new staff - dual study places for business administration or international management are extremely in demand at large corporations.

In the future, too, many young people will apply there without much effort on the part of the company.

The gap will therefore continue to diverge: standard processes on the one hand, creative recruiting models on the other.

Stop wasting time on resumes

SPIEGEL:

As an applicant, how can I: adapt to the changing processes?

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

Many companies already use so-called one-click processes for online applications.

This means that applicants can take data directly from their Xing or LinkedIn profile.

Therefore, I would advise you to create a well-maintained profile in a business network and not waste time entering data.

The focus should be on the letter of motivation or a video.

"Training will become common for videos in general."

SPIEGEL:

What do I have to watch out for with chatbots or WhatsApp?

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

Behind

Chatbots have an AI, for example they scan the résumé and match it with advertised positions.

In order for the right matches to occur, applicants must: make sure that the stations are correctly named in the résumé and use key words and slogans that are as widespread as possible.

An application option via WhatsApp means that the companies want to keep the first hurdle very low.

In this case, it is sufficient to describe the main advantages of yourself in a short message, to express interest in the position and to ask about the further process.

SPIEGEL:

And do we now need all camera training for any TikTok applications?

Eisele-Wijnbergen:

Training sessions will become common for videos in general, yes.

Most people can no longer avoid communicating a lot via video.

This does not only apply to applications.

At our university, for example, we are now doing camera training for the teachers so that we can later pass on our knowledge to the students.