Gediminas Vilčiauskas, CEO of Lithuanian start-up NO-CV, is on mission to eliminate resumes from the recruitment process. We spoke to Vilčiauskas for an episode of Recruitment Tech Founder Stories (RTFounders).
Recruitment and CV problems
Before becoming the founder of Lithuanian start-up NO-CV, Gediminas Vilčiauskas ran an IT company for thirteen years, during which he was heavily involved in the recruiting process. “The company wasn’t big, so we didn’t have a dedicated recruitment staff. So I ended up doing a lot of the recruiting. I started to think about why it was so difficult to find the right staff and what the purpose of the CV was.”
“So often a person who came to an interview appeared completely different than from the CV.”
Vilčiauskas had particular issues with the interview stage, during which he was often surprised by the candidate in front of him. “So often a person who came to an interview appeared completely different than from the CV. You end up wasting your and their time. Everyone appeared to spend a lot of time and resources on the CV phase, and I didn’t get why.”
Then Vilčiauskas dug deeper. “It is just a manual process of CV writing and CV reading — and on both sides it’s inefficient and not enjoyable at all. Nobody likes to write or read a CV. I started reaching out to my network of recruiters and they all pretty much said the same thing: there should be some improvement in this area. And that’s how NO-CV was born. Out of the problems I faced myself.”
Two stages of matching
NO-CV works as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution using anything but a CV. Vilčiauskas: “Companies can come on board and upload job offers. Those job offers are matched to candidate profiles in two different stages. The first stage is the so-called candidate profile, which consists of a level of education, fields of study, professional experience, language, salary expectations and drivers license and geographical location.”
“Our algorithm provides two rankings: one based on the profile and one based on the questionnaire.”
“We then filter which jobs are shown and which aren’t”, Vilčiauskas continued. “Then as soon as a candidate applies, he or she receives a questionnaire, which consists of questions serving as a way for candidates to better understand the position and serves companies in getting them important information at the very beginning of the process. It’s a win-win, because there’s no need to wait for an interview. Our algorithm then provides two rankings: one based on the profile and one based on the questionnaire.”
The future of open recruitment
Open recruitment is hot as a theme throughout the world. With many countries currently succumbing to labour shortages, something ought to be changed. Recently, Hisayuki Idekoba, CEO of Japan’s Recruit Holdings Co., which runs Indeed and Glassdoor, called for companies to get rid of the resume. Idekoba: “This is a great opportunity for us to move forward from old-school, incumbent resume-profile culture to asking: what can you do?”
“Without a CV, recruitment can be done much faster and better. I am 100% sure.”
That very same question is at the heart of NO-CV. “Of course it’s not true course not all qualifications, but mid to low-level qualifications is the area where open recruitment can thrive”, Vilčiauskas said. “I’m a kind of person who wants to improve things all the time. My mindset is one where I am always looking to improve, change things and eliminate problems. Without a CV, recruitment can be done much faster and better. I am 100% sure.
Dreaming of bigger things
Currently, NO-CV’s momentum is slowly increasing. “We have traction in Lithuania, Latvia and Denmark. But I would say Lithuania primarily serves as a product-testing market, to see what’s working and what could be improved. Our big goal is to move to big markets, such as Germany and Austria. If you have a proof of concept that you are delivering in a small market, then the scaling should start. Then it is time to move to the big markets.”
“We see that this automation trend of the recruitment process, through ERP and SaaS solutions, is here to stay.”
While Vilčiauskas, a serial entrepreneur by heart, is very much looking to take it day-by-day or year-by-year, he can’t help but dream about the future his start-up which is currently participating in a US-based accelerator program called Newchip. “We see big potential”, he said. “We see that this automation trend of the recruitment process, through ERP and SaaS solutions, is here to stay.”
