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Using Presentations Instead of CVs in Hiring

by Dinis Cruz, 2025/06/08

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Why Traditional CVs Fall Short

Conventional resumes or CVs often provide a flat, one-dimensional snapshot of a candidate. They are typically static lists of past job titles, dates, and bullet-point skills – which can be misleading or incomplete. In fact, traditional resumes suffer from several well-known problems: they can invite unconscious bias (e.g. revealing age or gender), they present only a static historical snippet of a person’s career, and they often over-emphasize past experience while failing to capture true skills or potential. Candidates can even exaggerate or lie on a CV, and it’s hard to verify those claims from a document alone. All of this makes it difficult for employers to get a real sense of the person – their actual talents, creativity, drive, and fit for the role – just from reading a CV.

Moreover, a CV is limited in how it conveys a candidate’s personality and enthusiasm. It’s essentially a text-based record rather than a story. As security leader Dinis Cruz has argued, the traditional CV is a poor format for truly understanding a candidate’s experience and potential. It’s often an ineffective way to present or assess someone’s career and skills in today’s fast-moving tech fields. Cruz notes that a slide deck format for a CV “is much easier to consume than documents”, allowing reviewers to grasp key points quickly. In other words, hiring by CV alone risks missing the full picture of what a candidate can offer.

Dinis Cruz’s Presentation-Based Hiring Approach

To address these shortcomings, Dinis Cruz pioneered an innovative approach: using presentations instead of (or alongside) CVs during the interview process. The idea is that instead of only submitting a static resume, candidates prepare a short presentation about themselves – essentially a personal slide deck – to tell the story of their professional journey, skills, and ideas in a richer, more visual format. This presentation can include things like: key projects and achievements, examples of one’s work (with visuals or graphs), personal values or interests, learning milestones, and even creative elements that reflect one’s personality or culture. The goal is to provide a “three-dimensional” view of the person, beyond what a written CV can convey.

Cruz first put this into practice while leading security teams in industry. Even his own CV is a presentation: in 2019 he published his personal CV as a slide deck on SlideShare, explicitly noting that this format is more reader-friendly than a text document. As a hiring manager (CISO/CTO), he then began asking job candidates to do the same. Candidates would submit a PowerPoint (or PDF) presentation about themselves – in addition to or instead of a traditional resume – when applying for a role. This wasn’t just a gimmick; it was a structured part of the hiring process that Cruz championed.

Case Study: Glasswall – Creative Applications

One of the earliest successes of this approach was at Glasswall, where Dinis Cruz was CTO and CISO. In 2020, Glasswall started asking internship candidates to complete creative challenges as part of the application. For example, candidates were asked to “do a presentation about yourself” – essentially build a slide deck to introduce who they are – along with other tasks like creating a Wardley Map and solving some Jira tickets. The emphasis was on being creative and expressive: rather than judging someone solely on past job experience, Glasswall gave them an opportunity to showcase their passion, learning journey, and problem-solving approach in a visual presentation.

One standout example is Petra Vukmirović, who at the time was an emergency medicine doctor transitioning into cybersecurity. Instead of filtering her out due to a non-traditional background, the presentation challenge allowed Petra to shine. She prepared a 10-slide presentation outlining her roadmap for gaining cybersecurity skills through self-learning courses, hacking meetups, and a home lab she built with tools like Kali Linux and Wireshark. She even mapped out how she planned to apply machine learning to cybersecurity in her MSc dissertation, demonstrating forward-thinking and enthusiasm. This slide deck gave a much richer picture of her capabilities and motivation than a CV alone could. As a result, Petra was hired as a security intern at Glasswall – and today she has grown into “an amazing cybersecurity professional,” as Cruz notes, thriving in the field. Her success validated that the presentation-based process can uncover high-potential talent that might be overlooked by resume-centric hiring.

(Petra herself later described this experience in a Medium article, encouraging others from unconventional backgrounds to pursue cybersecurity. She explained how Glasswall’s hiring process asked her to present about herself and create maps of her ideas – an opportunity to “be creative and express yourself” beyond the usual CV. This approach, combined with a welcoming attitude toward diverse skills, helped launch her new career.)

Case Study: Holland & Barrett – Presentations as a Requirement

Cruz carried this idea forward to his later role as CISO of Holland & Barrett (a major retail company). There, the security team formally integrated candidate presentations into their recruitment. Job postings explicitly asked applicants to submit a presentation about themselves along with their CV. For example, a Head of Incident Response position at H\&B listed this requirement, and candidates were given guidance on how to approach it. The team even created a short video explaining why they ask for a personal presentation, emphasizing that the process is designed to help candidates put their best foot forward and even learn something in the process. Cruz likened it to a “Strictly Come Dancing experience” – implying that, much like contestants on that show, candidates would be challenged to improve and showcase their talent through iteration and feedback.

Importantly, this was done with full buy-in from HR. Initially, it might seem unconventional for HR to agree to something beyond the standard CV, but the value became clear. HR was convinced to allow slide presentations as part of the application, after seeing that it led to more insightful interviews and better hiring outcomes. Requiring a candidate deck became an accepted practice in that security team’s hiring workflow. The result was that they “hired really good talent” using this method (in the words of Cruz), because the hiring panel could see the candidate’s thought process, originality, and true interests, not just keyword-aligned CV entries.

Benefits of Replacing CVs with Presentations

This presentation-centric approach offers several key benefits over traditional CV screening:

  • Richer Insight into Candidates: A slide presentation forces candidates to tell their story in depth. Recruiters can learn not just what someone has done, but why and how they did it. It surfaces things like personal projects, learning journeys, and passions that may not fit on a CV. For instance, in Petra’s deck she was able to illustrate her self-taught training regimen and lab work, giving the hiring team concrete evidence of her initiative and problem-solving style. This is far more insightful than a CV line saying “self-study in cybersecurity,” which gives no detail. The visuals (diagrams, photos, timelines) in a presentation also help convey understanding of complex projects better than text. All of this contributes to a more three-dimensional view of the person. As Cruz puts it, the presentation format enables information to be consumed more easily and fully than a dry document.

  • Showcasing Skills and Creativity: Traditional resumes tend to emphasize titles and years of experience, whereas a presentation can directly showcase a candidate’s skills. Candidates can include code snippets, architecture diagrams, research findings, or other portfolio elements in their slides. They also demonstrate soft skills like communication and creativity in how they craft the narrative. This gives interviewers tangible material to discuss. In a sense, the presentation itself becomes a work sample: it shows how the individual analyzes and communicates information – critical skills in many roles. A well-made candidate presentation signals motivation and coachability, because the candidate invested effort to represent themselves compellingly. Even if the person lacks some formal experience, a strong presentation can highlight their aptitude and potential, which is exactly what a static CV fails to do.

  • Candidate Development: An interesting aspect of Cruz’s approach is treating the hiring process as a learning experience for the candidate. By asking candidates to create a presentation, the hiring team essentially gives them a chance to reflect deeply on their own journey and goals. Many candidates, especially juniors, might never have made a professional slide deck about themselves – so this is a growth opportunity. Cruz’s team provided guidance (e.g. what to include in the deck) and encouragement along the way. Some candidates later commented that regardless of the job outcome, preparing such a presentation helped them identify their strengths and accomplishments more clearly. In that way, the process “makes them better” by prompting self-improvement. This positive candidate experience can also bolster the employer’s brand (candidates feel the company invested in them).

  • Promoting Diversity and Unconventional Talent: Using presentations can help level the playing field for those with non-traditional backgrounds. A standard CV might be filtered out by automated systems or bias if, say, the person doesn’t have a typical education or linear job history. But a compelling presentation allows the candidate to explain their unique path and transferable skills. In the Open Security Summit 2022, where Dinis Cruz co-led a panel on this topic, the focus was on how presentation-based applications can aid in “creating diverse security teams.” The panel discussed strategies for building virtual diverse teams and explicitly highlighted using presentations instead of CVs as a tactic. By looking beyond the CV, employers can discover high-potential individuals from different industries, cultures, or career tracks who bring fresh perspectives. In our example, hiring a former medical doctor (Petra) into a security role was a win-win: the company gained a motivated learner with a unique mindset, and the candidate got a chance she might not have had if only her sparse security CV was considered.

  • Engaging Interview Process: Finally, having a candidate presentation makes the interviews much more engaging and substantive. Rather than a question-answer interrogation on CV items, the interview becomes a discussion around the candidate’s slides. The candidate often walks the panel through their presentation, which gives a structured yet open narrative to explore. Interviewers can ask deeper questions (“Tell me more about this project you visualized on slide 5” or “I see you included a mind-map of your learning plan – how did you approach that?”) that yield better insight. This dynamic often puts candidates at ease (they are talking about something they prepared and care about) and leads to a more natural demonstration of their knowledge. It also quickly reveals who actually did the work themselves – since faking a whole presentation is harder than copying a CV template. Overall, it helps both sides make the most of the interview time.

Overcoming the Challenges

No approach is without its challenges, and it’s important to acknowledge them. One concern raised by some professionals is that “not everyone is good at giving presentations”, and requiring this could alienate otherwise qualified candidates who aren’t adept with PowerPoint or public speaking. There is merit to this point: a brilliant engineer or analyst might have great skills but poor slide design abilities, and we wouldn’t want to miss out on them just because of a clunky deck. Dinis Cruz’s teams have mitigated this in a few ways. First, they made it clear that it’s not the polish of the slides that matters, but the content and effort. Candidates didn’t need to be graphic designers; a simple slide with genuine content was valued more than a pretty slide with buzzwords. Secondly, as noted, guidance was provided – candidates were given tips or an outline (for instance, suggesting they include who they are, what they’ve done, what they’re passionate about, etc.). This helped those who might be less sure how to start. Finally, the requirement was sometimes kept optional or as a supplement to the CV, especially for senior roles, so that if someone really preferred to submit a different kind of work sample (like a written report or code exercise), they could discuss that instead. The key is flexibility: the ultimate goal is to understand the candidate deeply, not to test their PowerPoint skills in isolation.

It’s also worth noting that time and effort are considerations. Preparing a custom presentation is more work for the applicant than sending a standard resume. To respect candidates’ time, Cruz’s practice was typically to introduce the presentation step a little later in the process (e.g. after an initial screen, for finalists) or to clearly communicate that it’s part of applying so that truly interested candidates will invest the time. In the long run, this extra effort tended to filter in those who were highly motivated for the role, which is exactly what you want as an employer. The positive feedback from many who went through it indicates that serious candidates didn’t mind the challenge – some even enjoyed it, as it allowed them to stand out in ways a CV wouldn’t let them.

Conclusion

Dinis Cruz’s experience demonstrates that presentations can be a powerful alternative to traditional CVs in the hiring process. By asking candidates to create a presentation about themselves, he and his teams unlocked a richer understanding of applicants’ skills, character, and potential. This method proved effective in hiring strong talent, from entry-level interns to seasoned security leaders. It addresses many drawbacks of the old-fashioned resume by adding context, visuals, and personality to the candidate’s profile. As shown in the Glasswall and Holland & Barrett cases, the organizations that embraced this approach not only hired excellent people but also contributed to a more enjoyable and developmental candidate experience.

In an era where companies are striving to hire for potential and diverse perspectives, not just past credentials, the use of presentations as part of job applications is an innovative practice worth considering. It helps surface candidates who are genuinely passionate and capable – sometimes in non-traditional ways – and it gives them a canvas to tell their story beyond the confines of a PDF résumé. As one Open Security Summit panel highlighted, such practices can be instrumental in building diverse, high-performing teams.

While it may not completely replace the CV in all contexts, adding a presentation requirement (or option) is a proven way to enrich the selection process. The work Dinis Cruz has done in championing this approach shows that with thoughtful implementation, hiring by presentations can lead to better hires and a more human-centric hiring process. It turns recruitment from a paperwork-filtering exercise into a stage where candidates can truly present themselves – and the results, as seen, are well worth the effort.

Sources:

  • Cruz, Dinis. SlideShare CV – CISO and Transformation Agent v1.2 (2019) – “Here is my CV (this format is much easier to consume than documents)”.
  • Green, Ryan. “Why Resumes Might Be Ineffective: A Better Strategy.” Neuroworx Magazine (Apr 2021) – outlines flaws of traditional resumes (bias, static snapshot, exaggeration, skills vs experience).
  • Vukmirović, Petra. “8 Steps to set your foot in the cyber world if you are a Medical Doctor.” Medium (Mar 2020) – describes how Glasswall’s application process “asked me to do a presentation about myself... Be creative and express yourself.”.
  • Vukmirović, Petra. “My presentation” (Cybersecurity career presentation, 2020) – slide deck outlining her self-learning roadmap (courses, meetups, home lab) and goal to apply machine learning in cyber security.
  • Cruz, Dinis – LinkedIn post (circa 2022) on candidate presentations – “we ask candidates to submit a presentation (in addition to sending the CV)... part of our efforts to create a process that makes them better”. (Includes an example job posting at Holland & Barrett requiring a presentation.)
  • Open Security Summit 2022 – “Using Presentations instead of CVs and Creating Diverse Security Teams” panel session, focusing on strategies (championed by Dinis Cruz and others) to build diverse teams by moving beyond traditional CVs.
  • LinkedIn comments on presentation-based hiring – e.g. concern that “demanding a presentation… you'll alienate perfectly suitable candidates” – highlighting the importance of supporting candidates through this process.