The job market has been shifting fast, and if you’re actively looking (or thinking about moving), it can feel tougher than it “should” be. Permanent roles are down, competition is up, and even strong candidates are finding they need to be more intentional about how they show up, apply, and interview. This piece, written by CVM People’s Jennifer Cozzi, Director of Resourcing and Client Services, breaks down what’s going on, why it’s been hard, and the practical steps you can take to improve your chances.

How do you negotiate the current market?

According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG “Report on Jobs”, permanent staff placements have declined for over two years.

But most of us don’t need a report to tell us this, we have all seen the rise in unemployment in our newsfeeds and listened to the stories confirming that hiring budgets are being squeezed, the same REC/KPMG report noting candidate availability increased at its fastest pace since December 2020. The REC

So, why has it been tough?

• Economic uncertainty is an obvious one: Inflation, rising interest rates, higher employment costs (e.g., National Insurance and other employer contributions) are making companies more cautious about hiring. 
• Cost control & risk aversion: With higher labour cost risk and less confidence in growth, many organisations are delaying hires or shifting roles from permanent to contract/temporary (or reducing altogether).
• Shift in expectations: Whilst candidates are looking for more flexibility around hybrid / remote working and better salaries to meet the cost-of-living crisis, many employers are back to focusing more on office-based roles and may not be able to meet evolving salary and flexibility requirements. 
• Mismatch of skills & roles: Even when roles exist, there is increased competition in the market making it more difficult to secure interviews, or evidence your suitability for a prospective position. 

So, as a job seeker what can you do?

Unfortunately, there is no magic fix, but we do have some solid advice we can share with you that we frequently share with candidates. 

How to get the most out of LinkedIn: 

Everyone knows how important it is to have a LinkedIn profile in today’s job market, but you’d be surprised how many candidates, from junior to exec, are not using this platform effectively. 

• First, complete the “ About” section: As recruiters, we want to understand your professional ambitions, personal brand, and unique skillset / career history in one or two paragraphs before we read over your full profile. Whilst this should be primarily focused on your professional life, also sharing some personal interests can also help humanise your profile and help you seem more personable and relatable – especially for more technical focussed roles.
• Add detail to your career history: Job titles often do not indicate what a role involves. Avoid unanswered questions or doubt by giving us details to stop us from moving on. The more key words you can use the easier it will be to be found, and the more achievements you can detail the clearer it is to assess your suitability against a prospective role. Your experience summary should essentially reflect your CV. 
• Select ‘Open to Work’: Some people are hesitant to do this but to be clear, it does not mean you have to have the visible green banner displayed on your profile. Rather, you can edit the settings so only recruiters can see you are open to new opportunities. By doing this, you are much more likely to receive messages about prospective opportunities based on your experience and the criteria you define. Don’t just pick one job title, pick a variety that could be suitable, and same goes for location. Don’t limit yourself to specifics, the broader you can cast the net the more of the market you will have access to. 

How to improve your CV: 

It is a challenging thing to sell yourself and your experience, but this is what a CV should do, so don’t rush it and ensure you proofread it. Mistakes and typos don’t demonstrate good attention to detail. 

• Don’t just list your responsibilities: List your achievements, and where possible give data or results that enables the reader to understand the impact.
• Tell us about your softer skills: So many people forget to do this. We want to hear about your interpersonal and leadership skills, as well as your more technical or measurable competencies. 
• Keep it concise: 2 pages is ideal, but 3 can be ok for more experienced candidates if there is real value in sharing prior history but this needs to be done in a presentable and digestible format. 
• Use AI sparingly: Recruiters see hundreds of CVs, you will not stand out if they all look and sound the same. 

How to work best with a recruiter: 

A recruiter will manage a candidate, right? Yes, we absolutely do, but you can manage us to. Unless you have been in the shoes of someone working in talent, you probably cannot appreciate the volume of messages or applications a recruiter is managing at any one time – especially if they are inhouse. If you are working with someone reputable, the effort you need to put in should be minimal but if you are struggling with the relationship, there are things you can do to improve the experience.

• Be clear on your expectations, we don’t like surprises: If there are some non-negotiables for you around working pattern or salary expectations, be upfront on this and keep re-visiting that to ensure it is reestablished throughout the process. 
• Be proactive with your communication: Understand the best way to communicate with whoever is managing your application, be that over phone, text, LinkedIn or email and keep comms ongoing throughout – check in before and after interviews, chase for information if it is outstanding and be present during the process. A good recruiter should be doing this, but if you are struggling with their communication don’t be afraid to drive this yourself. 
• Be likeable, relationships are important: Get to know who you are working with and build rapport to help ensure they will have your best interests at heart. People will work harder for individuals they enjoy working with and remember their opinion may be a consideration with the hiring community. 

How to prepare for an interview: 

• Go over your CV and the job description in detail: The interviewers will be pulling details from both to talk about, be prepared with examples and evidence you can draw upon.
• Research the company and your interviewers: Get to know the breadth of the business and their overall strategy to help inform the positioning of your answers. It will also help to demonstrate tenacity to draw upon those learnings in the interview. 
• Ask intelligent questions, interviews can go both ways: this needs to be the right environment for you to succeed, so think about what you would need to know ahead of accepting a prospective offer. Equally, good questions are often referred to as good indicators of someone’s motivations for the role and cultural fit.
• Relax: it is easy for us to say that and interviews can be uncomfortable experiences – it is not every day you have to sell your attributes or recall examples on the spot. However, try to remember everyone is human and build rapport. Ask for questions to be repeated if needed, check that they have the detail they were after in the answer you provided and be concise where possible. Listen to the question being asked and answer that vs trying to fit in everything you think an employer may want to know. Breathe, and try not to overwhelm the interviewee with information. 

The market might be more competitive right now, but candidates can still take back control by being deliberate: tighten how you present yourself, stay close to the right people, and show up prepared at every stage. If you’d like support sense-checking your CV, refining your LinkedIn, or talking through how to position yourself for the roles you’re targeting, we’re happy to help.