The Guardian

London

New technology, especially the Internet, has shaken up the recruitment process. Now there is a useful manual which shows jobseekers just how much technology affects the decision-making process, and how the system can be played.

The For Dummies series will be best known to those abstracted individuals who hang around the computer sections in chain bookshops. It publishes bullet-pointed texts, leavened with cartoons, which guide the uninitiated through popular software packages.

Lately the range has broadened to include language primers and even travel guides based on the same principles.

But its new title, ‘CVs for Dummies’, really belongs in its core range. The book notes how, even pre-Internet, large organisations were using computer scanners to sort out piles of CVs by keywords.

Nevertheless, the plain text CV was still a great leveller for candidates with no design sense. Now, the applications of qualified but non-artistic candidates can pale into insignificance next to the attachments, personal websites and CVs in .pdf, or even Flash format, sent in by enterprising and creative individuals.

The book is not a technical manual and to follow up some of the ideas suggested, many readers will have to resort to other For Dummies titles. The focus is on jobseeking and there are useful chapters on exploiting technology imaginatively.

How to deal with unpleasant events, such as dismissals is also addressed. The advice takes into account that in the information age, it is far easier than ever before for prospective employers to find out more about you than you might care to reveal.

The British edition of CVs for Dummies has been very well adapted from the US version by Steve Shipside, but the book is still skewed towards the American job market.

Many recruiters still cannot open an e-mail attachment, let alone download Flash software.

But electronic recruitment in the States is about five years ahead of the market. Adapting some of the book’s suggestions will put you ahead of the game.