The résumé will soon be dead, according to a careers expert

Careers app Debut might mean saying goodbye to the job application form.

When applying for a new job, the first thing most people do is dust off their résumé. It’s the go-to way of showcasing your work experience and skills.

But in the age of LinkedIn, the paper CV is dying, according to Charlie Taylor, the founder of careers app Debut. He believes there are more effective and reliable ways to show a company what you’re made of.

“This conversation has been going on for 10 years, about how much value does a CV hold,” he explained. “And my honest feeling is it’s going. It’s slow but it is going.”

Debut matches recruiters with candidates and Taylor said the companies on the app that request a CV are in the minority. In fact, some firms joined Debut so they wouldn’t have to look at a CV ever again. In as little as five years, Taylor said the CV could be completely obsolete.

“It’s a bit of a cliche, but CVs are part of an analogue, restricted world,” he said. “And the world we’re living in is a digital, unlimited one. I think the CV is one part of that industry that is still left behind that we’re trying to modernise.”

Debut wants to be able to capture the skills you say you have on your CV and back them up with evidence from the hiring managers that meet you. Through Debut, candidates are being interviewed by its clients, including Deutsche Bank, Rolls Royce, and Deloitte, and their skills are being logged.

“If you sit in front of a recruiter and they see you practise that skill. They see that you’re really intellectually curious for example, so for the 10 minutes they’re talking to you they know you have that skill,” Taylor said. “When a conversation finishes and they walk off and you walk off…that raw skill you’ve got is lost.”

Debut wants to capture these skills by asking companies for feedback on all the interviews they have arranged and collecting that information on your profile. Because notable companies like Microsoft and Ernst & Young, for example, have noted that you are organised or a good leader, a potential employer is more likely to take that information at face value.