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Report shows majority of CVs contain at least one error

4% of CVs have more than 20 mistakes  

According to new research from Adzuna, most, or 87%, of UK CVs contain at least one CV error with over 10,000 CVs, or 4%, having more than 20 mistakes.  

Adzuna analysed over 267,000 UK CVs uploaded to Adzuna’s online tool ValueMyCV in March 2023 to highlight the most common errors made in job applications. 

Of the 267,140 CVs analysed, 13% (35,071 CVs) had no mistakes. The majority (232,069 CVs) contained at least one mistake. 

“Compared to a year ago, UK job applicants are getting sloppier when writing their CVs,” Adzuna stated. Fewer than 100,000 CVs (62%, 91,931 CVs) analysed in 2022 contained one or more errors, and only 5,011 CVs (3%) contained 20 or more spelling slip ups. 

Adzuna’s data also found that 99,716 CVs (37%) contained five or more errors while 4% (10,717 CVs) contained 20 or more mistakes. 

Among common errors include spelling mistakes, with nearly 762,000 misspellings spotted in the CVs analysed. Approximately one third forgot to add a personal summary highlighting their strengths and career ambitions (33%), 29% submitted their application without a valid postal address, while 29% had unexplained employment gaps. 

According to Adzuna, other common jobseeker errors are improper CV length (22%) and using an inappropriate file name (16%). This means that they included words such as ‘draft,’ V2,’ ‘untitled’ or ‘document’ in the file name. 

“An ideal CV should have a filename that includes the applicant’s surname and the word “CV,” for example ‘John Smith CV,’ so that a recruiter or hiring manager can locate the document quickly and easily,” Adzuna stated. 

Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of Adzuna, said: “One CV mistake and your application can go straight into the virtual bin. In today’s tightening jobs market, it’s concerning to find that jobseekers are making CV mistakes that can easily be avoided and that these errors are becoming more prevalent. Having an error-free CV demonstrates to your future employers that you are meticulous and pay attention to details. Run a spell check and take the time to double-check everything before submitting your CV. Don’t let a CV error cost you an interview opportunity and even a job.” 

 

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Job openings drop to 10.3 million in October

Year over year, job openings are down 6.9%.

According to seasonally adjusted data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of US job openings fell 3.3% in October to 10.3 million. Year over year, job openings are down 6.9%.

However, Reuters noted that job openings remained significantly high in October, which points to continued labor market resilience despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool demand by aggressively raising interest rates and were in line with economists’ expectations.

Hires were down 1.4% in October from September and fell 6.9% year over year. The number of separations, which includes quits, layoffs and discharges, rose 0.3% month over month.

Quits, which are included in separations and are voluntarily initiated by employees, fell by a scant 0.8% in October compared to September. Layoffs and discharges, which come under involuntary separations, rose 4.4% in October from September.

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Vacancies down, but hiring process still needs work

Skills crisis not yet over, experts warn

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has revealed that UK vacancy rates declined between May and July 2022. But even with the decline, background screening and identity services firm, Sterling, has cautioned firms not to neglect hiring efforts with skills still in short supply. Data shows that neglect may be detrimental to organisations’ long-term hiring strategies.

According to Sterling, even though vacancies are down, the hiring market in the UK is still candidate-led, and the country remains critically short of top talent. In light of this, businesses need to rethink their hiring process to better match the job seeker’s needs.

Based on a global survey of more than 1,200 HR professionals and more than 3,700 recent job seekers, Sterling’s research revealed that 78% of job seekers are dropping out or considering dropping out of the recruitment process due to long, complex screening requirements. A third of the respondents who dropped out said the hiring process was too complicated, while 22% had concerns about the background screening process.

Steve Smith, President of International at Sterling, commented: “With so much uncertainty and with skills still in short supply across most of Europe, this is the time to ensure that you have the right processes in place to secure the talent that you need to continue successfully operating your business. Particularly in a competitive recruitment environment, ensuring applicants have the best possible experience with a brand remains of paramount importance and will be for the foreseeable future.

“When it comes to candidates dropping out of the hiring process, there’s been a wealth of speculation that individuals are getting counter-offers and they are pursuing opportunities elsewhere. While this may be the case for some, the insight we’ve gained from applicants themselves suggests there’s more to this issue that needs to be addressed swiftly. In the current economy, it’s simply not a viable option to overlook how important it is to provide an efficient and engaging experience for candidates throughout the entire hiring process.”

ONS labour response: Decline in jobs doesn’t mean the skills crisis is over

Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) commented: “The post-pandemic hiring spike we experienced was bound to come to a halt at some time, but with recession fears looming and on-going Government uncertainty amidst a leadership contest, this drop is a concern for the country’s economy.

“Our own data supports the idea that permanent recruitment is slowing as the impact of the skills shortages over the last few years plays out. However, what our statistics are also indicating is that more businesses are turning to contract professionals as they struggle to fill resourcing needs. The data – provided by the global leader in software for the staffing industry, Bullhorn – revealed that the number of contract roles in the UK grew by 13% in July 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic figures (July 2019). In comparison, the number of permanent jobs dropped by 23% in the same period.”

“This reliance on the non-employed segment of the workforce simply isn’t sustainable at a time when the UK’s attractiveness as a destination to work for international contractors is dwindling post-Brexit. And with the impact of Off Payroll still being felt in the temporary recruitment market, the longer-term availability of these resources and ability to tap into skills in a cost-effective manner is at risk. We urgently need some stability from the Government and a clearer direction on the regulation of the employment market to ensure that the UK can manage through the difficult times ahead.”

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Challenges in London’s economy as recruitment slows

June stats reveal lowest total vacancies this year

According to recent data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), London’s recruitment activity has dropped notably. The data was provided by business intelligence specialist, Vacancysoft and revealed that June saw the lowest total of vacancies this year.

The data also revealed that after recruitment activity peaked in March, volumes have been gradually subsiding. Following reports of vacancies reaching record-breaking figures, top candidates have many job options to choose from. Some firms have simply been unable to fill their vacancies and are removing them from job boards.

Traditionally, the London economy has been reliant on Financial Services. However, with the current cost of living crisis impacting consumer spending, corporate finance is slowing down, and this industry is now falling behind Technology.

Technology companies are currently out recruiting all other sectors. Still, there are concerns that the bullish tech market may be coming to an end, with Meta reporting its first drop in advertising revenues in 18 years and the crypto market facing new lows. In addition, tech companies are laying off workers at an unprecedented rate. In just the last month, redundancies were announced by Klarna (10%), Freetrade (15%), and Hopin (30%).

The Banking sector, however, has seen the biggest growth in vacancies in 2022 compared to 2021, up 46%. So far, the fastest growing area in 2022 has been in specialist Banking roles across front and middle office, increasing by 42%. With the UK moving into a post-EU future, risk and compliance are becoming the key areas that Banks must recruit for.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, commented: “While talk of the pandemic has certainly simmered, London’s economy has far from recovered. Admittedly, vacancies in the capital have shown promising signs of growth this year, however, the recent decline should be cause for concern in the current market, with talks of a potential recession in the pipeline. The UK’s post-Covid economy has been hit with employment strikes, skills shortages, Government uncertainty and a cost-of-living crisis all of which have already started to negatively impact London’s recruitment and redundancy rates.

Stability is crucial as we continue to navigate such an ambiguous market. As the trade body for the professional recruitment sector, we believe that there is more to be done to make the UK’s employment sector competitive on a global scale and redeem the capital’s status as Europe’s leading economic powerhouse.”

 

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Permanent recruitment growth drops to a 16-month low in June

Temporary billings rise more than permanent placements

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey has found that permanent staff appointments and temp billings have grown at the lowest rate in 16 months in June. While recruitment activity continues to expand across the UK, temporary billings have risen more than permanent placements.

According to the report compiled by S&P Global, recruiters shared that candidate shortages were limiting hiring activity. In addition, with ever-increasing economic uncertainty, low growth was attributed to slower client decision-making. The report also found that overall demand for workers had increased at the slowest rate since March 2021.

Further findings include that the rate of decline for staff availability has been the quickest for three months. Efforts to attract and secure candidates have resulted in marked increases in starting pay; however, salary and wage inflation rates have lessened since May.

Recruitment consultancies attributed lower candidate numbers to:

  • a generally low unemployment rate;
  • fewer foreign workers;
  • robust demand for staff; and
  • hesitancy to switch roles in the increasingly uncertain economic climate.

While overall vacancies continue to increase dramatically, the latest upturn was also the lowest in 15 months. The results also showed lower demand for both permanent and temporary workers at the end of Q2; however, the quicker expansion rate was in demand for permanent workers.

Staff availability declined severely in June, with the deterioration going up to the sharpest for three months with both permanent and temporary labour supply dropping quickly.

Imbalances between the supply and demand for workers also resulted in steep increases in starting pay rates during June. However, as sharp and well above the series average as the starting salary rates are, the rates were the softest since August 2021. Furthermore, temp wage growth dropped to a 12-month low.

Regionally, softer rises in permanent placements were noted in all four monitored English regions. However, North of England saw the weakest increase overall.

London saw the sharpest increase in temp billings at the end of Q2, whereas the softest expansion was noted in the Midlands.

In terms of vacancies, the strongest increase was for permanent workers in the private sector, followed by permanent staff in the public sector. However, the former saw a notable drop in growth in June compared to May. The softest rise, although still marked, was in vacancies for temporary workers in the public sector.

When looking at the results by industry, the data signalled steep increases in permanent staff demand across all ten monitored employment categories. Hotel & Catering showed the sharpest upturn in vacancies overall, with IT & Computing and Nursing/Medical/Care following.

Higher temp vacancies were seen in nine of the ten monitored job categories at the end of the Q2, with Hotel & Catering at the top of the rankings. Retail was the only sector to show a drop in demand, even though the rate of contraction was modest.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, commented: “The labour market is still strong, with demand for new staff high. That said, today’s data show that we will likely be past the peak of the post-pandemic hiring spree. That pace of growth was always going to be temporary – the big question now is the effect that inflation has on pay and consumer demand over the course of the rest of the year. Whether we will see the market settle at close to normal levels, or see a slowdown, is unpredictable at this point.

“Part of the reason for unpredictability in the market is a slower economy accompanied by severe labour and skills shortages. These are already proving a constraint on growth in many firms. The government should be thinking about how to ensure all its departments enable greater labour market participation and encourage business investment funds to help address this.

“It is important to note that plenty of hiring is happening in this tight market – there are candidates out there for firms who get it right. Skilled recruitment professionals are at the heart of this, making a difference to opportunity and growth for companies and workers.”

Claire Warnes, Head of Education, Skills and Productivity at KPMG UK, said: “The apparent buoyancy of the jobs market overall continues to mask some increasingly concerning trends. Firstly, the fluctuations in demand for permanent and temporary workers in some sectors may be showing a sustained downward trend, as it becomes clear that current economic pressures are impacting employers’ confidence to grow. Secondly, the supply of candidates in all sectors continues to decline, with the rate of contraction accelerating to the quickest for three months in June. Added to that, competition for candidates pervades all sectors with employers offering financial incentives to retain talent, so increasing wage inflation. This latest data could be signalling that the UK jobs market may be more fragile than it seems.”

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New jobs website aims to create more jobs in sustainable industries

Jobs board focuses on roles at companies that ‘do good’

Last week member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) agreed on new plans to create more jobs in sustainable industries.

The new jobs website, Jobs For Good,  is aimed at people who want to find jobs in sustainability industries where they can make a social impact. There are already 1,200 roles live on the website.

According to PWC’s latest reports, one in five people are looking to change jobs, with 68% of these wanting a more fulfilling job. Further, with over 70% of millennials wanting employers with a strong environmental agenda and 10% of workers saying that they would take a pay cut to work at an environmentally responsible company, it’s clear that there is a growing demand for jobs in companies that are ‘for good’.

In the UK, the ‘impact industry’ is worth £50 billion, employs 35,000 people, and has grown 127% since 2018.

The new jobs board only features jobs in companies that “do good” in that they positively impact people or the planet and are run responsibly. These can be in areas such as renewable energy, food production, health and wellbeing solutions, etc.

On the site, job seekers can search by job type and impact area without needing to sign in. They can then read about the companies’ ‘do good’ credentials before applying for the job online.

Job sectors include IT, marketing, product, sales, and admin roles, and companies are vetted for their ‘For Good’ credentials before they can add jobs to the website.

Olivia Spaethe, CEO of Jobs For Good, commented:  ‘Originally we built Jobs For Good in response the ‘Great Resignation’ and people looking for more fulfilling roles in sustainable companies. We’re really encouraged to see the UK Government and OECD agreeing to invest and focus more on this area too. We’re here to plug an important gap between sustainable start-ups looking for new workers, and those workers looking for the right do-good company to work for.’

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Hiring spike might have hit its high, data suggests

Job market appears to be slowing down as we head deeper into 2022

Recent data from Broadbean Technology indicates that job numbers are beginning to slow following the spike in vacancies during the first quarter of this year.

Vacancy figures were down 55% between March and April 2022, and the data also suggested that job application numbers continue to decline. The statistics suggest that the lack of resources agrees the UK is impacting job market growth.

Further information from Broadbean also shows a 37% decline in the number of vacancies year-on-year between April 2021 and April 2022. This could be due to the hiring spike reported last year when UK businesses prepared for Freedom Day in 2021. Similarly, applications decreased by 75% month-on-month and 75% year-on-year.

Looking at the data by sector, the following industries saw significant drops in applications

  • Application numbers in the IT sector fell 72% between March and April of this year
  • The logistics sector saw a drop of 77%
  • Building & construction were down 75%

With talent shortages reported across all three of these sectors, these numbers come as no surprise.

Alex Fourlis, Managing Director at Broadbean Technology, commented: “The UK’s skills crisis is continuing to be a focal issue, and for good reason as our data shows that these shortages are impacting almost every business, across every sector. While the sudden rise in recruitment activity received a warm welcome at the beginning of 2021, we are beginning to see signs of vacancy numbers slowing down over a year later. Given the dearth of available resources, there’s a high chance that this drop in new vacancies is simply a sign that businesses cannot fill roles they’ve had open for some time and are unlikely to add any more roles if they cannot meet the current operational needs.”

“For employers and recruiters, now is a critical time. Businesses need to rebuild and nurture dwindling talent pools, utilise innovative technology and maximise partnerships with external talent suppliers in order to find the resources that are needed. Difficult times are ahead for the UK economy, and we need a recruitment market that can best support economic growth.”

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Is the UK’s skills crisis reaching a tipping point? 

Job applications drop 37% as vacancies increase 52% 

The number of applications per vacancy have steadily decreased as the skills crisis continues to grip the UK, with figures dropping 40% between January and February 2022. That’s according to the latest data from the world’s largest network of job boards, Broadbean Technology. 

 

Applications tumble 

According to the statistics, the number of professionals applying for new jobs fell 37% between February 2021 and February 2022 as vacancies spiked 52%. While this data highlights a concerning picture for the UK’s skills availability, pre-pandemic comparisons provide a clearer indication of the talent crisis facing the recruitment sector. 

Broadbean’s analysis revealed a 55% decline in the number of people applying for new jobs between February 2019 and February 2022, indicating the extent of the impact of Covid and Brexit on the UK’s labour market. 

 

Sector breakdowns 

Across the sectors, the data reveals a significant decline in the number of people applying for roles across the engineering, IT, retail and healthcare sectors. In the retail arena, applications per vacancy fell 45% between January and February of this year, while figures in engineering and IT were down 41% and 38% respectively. Medical and nursing job applications also reported a 30% decline which is indicative of the continued pressure being felt across the healthcare sector as it attempts to play catch up on routine services following two years of significant demand. 

Alex Fourlis, Managing Director at Broadbean Technology commented: 

“The UK’s skills crisis has been well documented over the last year, impacting almost every business, of every size, across every sector. The uptick in recruitment activity at the beginning of 2021 was initially welcomed with open arms in a Covid-hit economy, but we all soon felt the squeeze on resources as we found ourselves in a unique scenario where everyone was recruiting at the same time. And while Brexit may feel like a lifetime ago, the impact this has had on the labour market wasn’t immediately felt, largely due to the pandemic. There is no quick solution to rebuilding dwindling talent pools and we fully expect this squeeze on resources to continue over the coming months. We do, however, expect to see more employers and recruiters using innovative technology and maximising partnerships with external talent suppliers to tackle this skills crisis.” 

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Latest ONS report states increased employment rate

Number of self-employed workers remains low  

The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) has been released and contains estimates for November 2021 to January 2022. The survey has shown a continued recovery in the labour market. The employment rate has increased on the quarter with a decrease in the unemployment rate. However, economic inactivity has increased slightly on the quarter.  

The UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 75.6%. Full-time employees drove the increase in the employment rate during the latest three-month period. While the number of part-time employees decreased strongly during the pandemic, there’s been a steady increase in these figures since April to June 2021.  

 

Self-employed data raises concerns around the UK’s skills stability 

The number of self-employed workers remains low following decreases through the coronavirus pandemic. 

Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), raised concerns around the UK’s level of self-employed professionals and made comment: “The continued increase in vacancies being reported by the ONS is a trend we expect to see continue for some time yet and has arguably become the ‘norm’ for the staffing sector over the last year. However, the fact that the data does also show that the number of self-employed workers remains low following decreases during the pandemic is a real concern given the tight labour market we’re experiencing. With highly skilled resources scarce, the UK’s economic recovery rests on the ability to tap into flexible resources. However, since the roll out of Off-Payroll, Brexit and following significant challenges during the pandemic, the self-employed have increasingly been driven to alternative employment routes.” 

The ONS stated that its most timely estimate of payrolled employees has shown another monthly increase (up 275,000) in February 2022 to a record 29.7 million. 

The unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 3.9%, while it’s reported that economic inactivity rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 21.3%.  

During the pandemic, increases in economic inactivity compared with the previous three-month period were largely driven by those aged 16 to 24 years. However, interestingly the LFS has shown that the number of economically inactive people aged 16 to 24 years has been decreasing since early 2021, with those aged 50 to 64 years driving the recent increases in economic inactivity.   

According to the survey, the number of job vacancies in December 2021 to February 2022 rose to a new record of 1,318,000. This is an increase of 105,000 from last quarter, with half of the industry sectors showing record highs. However, the rate of growth in vacancies has continued to slow down. 

Average total pay increase (including bonuses) was 4.8% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 3.8% among employees in November 2021 to January 2022, according to the ONS. In real terms, with figures adjusted for inflation, growth in total pay was 0.1% and regular pay fell on the year at negative 1.0%; strong bonus payments over the past 6 months have kept recent real total pay growth positive. Previous months’ strong growth rates were affected upwards by base and compositional effects. These initial temporary factors have worked their way out. However, ONS is now comparing the latest period with a period where certain sectors had increasing numbers of employees on furlough because of the winter 2020 to 2021 lockdown, so a small amount of base effect will be present for these sectors. This will not be to the degree we saw when comparing periods at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

Challenging period ahead 

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation made comment: “Businesses across the country are doing what they can on pay, both for existing staff and to help them hire in a jobs market experiencing a severe labour shortage. But rising inflation both makes that effort hard, and reduces the gains workers feel from pay rises. In real terms, average pay has fallen compared to last year. Now is not the right time to be increasing taxes on work for both companies and workers. Ahead of the spring statement, we’re urging the Chancellor to delay the upcoming rise in National Insurance – the UK’s biggest business tax, as well as an additional income tax for workers. 

“A key way to reduce the pressure on our economy and keep inflation down will be to focus on ensuring employment rates and hours worked recover to pre-pandemic levels. Inactivity is still rising, so firms and government need to work together to address this. Recruiters have a key role to play here, from helping government with activation schemes to supporting employers with new forms of job offer to tempt people back into work.” 

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Runner up candidates given second chance

With job vacancies hitting record levels in July, according to ONS, and Broadbean Technology revealing that application numbers have consistently dropped over the last three months, employers are turning to those candidates who came a close second in the hiring process in a bid to address talent shortages, according to talent outsourcing and advisory services provider AMS.

 

Those who have previously made the hiring shortlist are an appealing esource to employers but eraching out to them and attracting their needs needs to be handled with care.

 

Steve Leach, Regional Managing Director, UK & Ireland, at AMS commented: 

 

“Tapping into this talent pool is certainly a strategic move that we’re pleased to see organisations embrace, after all, these individuals have already engaged with the brand and have some connection to the business. However, how these individuals are engaged does require careful management. Their prior experience in the recruitment process and how their rejection was handled could impact the success of this interaction – and certainly highlights the critical importance of a positive candidate experience for future-proof businesses.

 

“The process of re-engaging with this talent community in order to fill resourcing gaps needs to be both personalised and streamlined. They can’t just be approached as a warm lead or even as a brand-new connection. They need a tailored approach that speaks to their prior experience with the business and convinces them why they should give the firm another chance. Technology can certainly play a key role in streamlining engagement with these individuals and, if implemented correctly, will provide a positive experience for these silver medallists, but the key to successfully enticing this group back to a brand lies in tailored engagement strategy designed solely for their needs and prior interaction.”

 

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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