Thank you to the IABC UK & Ireland for inviting our colleague Andy to share a valuable market update with conference attendees on Thursday 7 November.
Andy and the panel covered a range of pressing topics impacting the current recruitment landscape. Here are some of the key insights from the session:
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- The Primary Challenge in Today’s Job Market: With rising competition among job seekers, tailoring your CV has become essential to stand out. Additionally, job descriptions are becoming more demanding, with higher expectations for a broader range of skills, making it crucial for candidates to carefully align their experiences and capabilities with specific role requirements.
- Skills in High Demand: As organisations continue to adapt to new technologies, there’s a growing emphasis on digital proficiency and AI knowledge. Additionally, with many companies operating in a hybrid or remote-first environment, professionals who can effectively engage a dispersed workforce are in high demand.
- Addressing Employment Gaps: Many professionals experience employment breaks at some point in their careers. The panel encouraged transparency and self-assurance when discussing these gaps on CVs, highlighting that openness and confidence in sharing one’s personal career journey can be beneficial during the hiring process.
- Options for Career Growth and Development: Beyond formal promotions, there are ample opportunities for professionals to advance their careers. Andy emphasised the importance of internal growth avenues, such as accessing company-sponsored training programs and mentorship. Externally, attending webinars, joining networking groups on LinkedIn, and participating in industry events all provide valuable ways to build expertise, expand networks, and stay current.
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To help illustrate these trends, Andy shared a graph tracing the evolution of the UK recruitment market over the last 25 years. The data highlighted the prolonged downturn of the past 18 months, a trend that has lasted longer than during the financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the unique challenges facing today’s job market.
Stay tuned for our next market update later this month, where we’ll continue to provide insights into the evolving recruitment landscape, or catch up on our previous edition here.
