Ditch the resume, play games, get a great job

You are about to apply for a job. You have your resume ready - only to discover it’s not required. Instead, you are asked to play a series of short, digital, fun, “neuroscience games”.

"Do these candidates even want to work for a bank? They do."

Some funky start up where you do the test sitting in a bean bag? Nope.

This is now the experience for applicants applying for roles in the ANZ Graduate program. And it’s not just about acting like the cool kids, it’s about being better at selecting the best candidates.

“By having candidates play these games, we collect more job-relevant information than we would via a resume” says Cholena Orr, Graduate Program Manager.

“It also removes the bias that may be applied when reviewing CVs or resumes and helps us make more informed decisions on whether candidates are the right fit for the graduate program.”

And even more importantly it creates a great experience for candidates.

Removing hurdles

In an ever changing corporate environment, with faster and faster innovation cycles, banks are looking to attract young people entering the workforce who can adapt, thrive and be curious enough to inspire different ways of thinking in their workplaces.

But maybe we need to step back. Do these candidates even want to work for a bank?

They do. And the non-traditional, gamified application process is helping.

As a result of the new digitally enabled process, ANZ has seen a record number of graduate applications this year, an increase of 50 per cent in applications on the previous intake last year.

Kathryn van der Merwe, ANZ’s Group Executive for Talent & Culture, explains the importance for ANZ to attract and develop diverse graduate talent through the Graduate Program.

“We want to attract graduates who are adaptive and support them to develop the critical capabilities they need - and ANZ needs - to succeed in a fast paced, digital world,” she says.  “Given the competition for this talent, we needed to create a process that promotes our unique Graduate proposition and helps us identify early talent with strong values – without having to jump through the hurdle of a formal CV.”

Even creating the new application process required different thinking.

Reducing bias

“We used a human-centered design (HCD) approach to create a simpler, more engaging process which uses games to filter our candidates,” Kathryn says. “Doing so has also meant we’ve notably reduced the bias that can inadvertently be applied during the selection process.”

Ditching the resume was an important step. It allows the bank to focus on much simpler, more engaging process involving a five minute application form, a series of short neuroscience games and a personality questionnaire.

For those short-listed the next stage is a video interview.

In addition to helping remove the bias that can intrude when reviewing CVs or resumes, the revised approach relies on authenticity, provides a range of in depth behavioural data, namely around decision making and most of all, creates a seamless, consistent and enjoyable experience for the applicants.

This has seen a growth in satisfaction of the program from graduates and a willingness to share the experience.

Cholena says “using a HCD approach ensures we’re delivering a great learning journey in collaboration with our graduates”.

“It’s the difference between delivering something to them, and delivering it with them,” she says.

“As a result we are seeing more referrals from candidates after they’ve taken part in the recruitment process and our grads are sharing their stories through their personal social media platforms, allowing us to tap into a far broader, more diverse network of potential talent who may not have otherwise considered working for a bank.”

More information on the program can be found at anz.com/careers