The new trend of No Name CVs

Every day I receive dozens of CVs emailed to me, from a variety of nationalities. The travel industry is by nature multicultural and in celebrating these differences allows an array of travel experiences to be made that is seen by many as a key driver to travel, adventure and experience the world in which we live. I am horrified to think that such discrimination would exist in an industry that is primarily built on linking cultures and nationalities together. However the travel industry is not immune and discrimination can exist in the workplace. This is according to The Financial Times that states that UK employers are more likely to offer interviews to candidates with ‘white-sounding names.’ And according to Prime Minster David Cameron who wrote in an article for the Guardian, “it’s no longer signs on doors that say: ‘no blacks allowed’; it’s quieter and more subtle discrimination”.

In the wake of the ever increasing awareness of inequality within recruitment, Name Blind CVs are being welcomed both in the public and private sectors in an effort to stop such bias. Name Blind CVs are where individuals’ names are removed and where only the skills of applicants are considered. Some big employers have opted to go ‘name-blind’ and play a significant role in the employment market as they employ approximately two million people in the UK alone. These include the NHS, HSBC, Deloitte, BBC, Teach First, Virgin Money, KPMG, Learndirect and local government employers. However I am interested to note that amongst these large corporate firms there is a distinct lack of travel specialised companies. Could this be because within the industry that specialises in linking nationalities and cultures, there isn’t the same discrimination?

I like many critics remain divided, whilst I am absolutely against discrimination in all forms, Name-Blind CVs can only go so far; although it may be helpful getting a shortlist together, you’ve still got to interview face to face, so it is somewhat pointless. However what makes me most confused about the so called problem of discrimination is when looking at the actual figures of employment for this year, it is observed that 75% of employment growth over the last year was accounted for by non-UK citizens and over the last year the number of non-UK nationals working in Britain increased by 257,000 to 3.1 million while the number of working UK nationals increased by 84,000 to 27.7 million. So, is there really such a need for Name Blind CVs or is this the latest fad within the recruitment industry?

Written by Christine Houston @Christine_HW