by David Philpott Chairman of IoD Kent branch

I know nothing of Latin. I am merely trying to be clever.

Today I start a campaign. I want to see the CV banished from the recruitment process.

If the whole disingenuous circus of 'selection by CV' could be abolished, perhaps people would be called for interview based upon who they actually are and what they have actually done - rather than what they pretend to be.

I have interviewed hundreds of people and rarely has the person who walks through the door been anything like the person we were expecting.

This is because CVs are all about self-aggrandisement and spin.

Oh for a man or woman who would say something like: June 2009 to Feb 2010. I thought I was going to enjoy working for Super-Thermal Graphics Inc, but when I started, I realised this was not really the job for me because I am a people person and working alone in a design lab was not to my liking.

You will see from my CV that following this though, when I moved on to The Sittingbourne Friendship Trust and took on the role of outreach worker, I really found what I wanted to do.

Convention dictates however that the CV will most likely read: June 2009 to Feb 2010.

Although I was only with Super-Thermal Graphics Inc for a short time, I established new processes which saw the company achieve an exponential growth in sales and I was rewarded with my own laboratory.

Although I was in line for a rapid promotion, I was head-hunted by a psychosomatic counselling service as New Business Manager.

Both of these accounts are to some extent true, but only the first gives an insight into the character of the candidate.

The second - although on the face of it narcissistic and vain - is perhaps nothing more or less than the product of a Jobseekers' CV writing course.

I ask myself if such misinformation about oneself is any different than the way romantic hopefuls (and predators) describe themselves on dating sites.

Tall, good looking man with a stylish dress sense and aristocratic antecedents seeks lady for romantic liaison. Owing to work commitments only after-dark drinks would be agreeable in first instance. So might read the profile of Count Dracula.

Let's outlaw the CV and ask candidates to tell us about themselves and why they are suitable for the job.

Ask them to send a video clip so they can set out their stall and then maybe have a skype conversation to see how they present themselves.

For young people especially, this would bring the nightmare of job hunting into the 21st century.