State of the Market

[BlueSharp]

I failed to land a gig yesterday, even though I was the best candidate; they changed the job spec from Solution Architect to a tech lead in a specific technology and are going back out to Market. Fair play to the consultant for giving me feedback.

The irony is I have led projects on that tech before it was rebranded (Microsoft Fabric), but also wanted someone with less cloud focus... Talk about not knowing what you want or the tech stack!

A potential bullet was dodged there.

Coming to the end of the current gig, but the cracks are starting to be visible that the Indian tech partner who has promised the world, has delivered zero so far...

I do wonder if we are in the current outsourcing cycle we see in our industry, but with the addition of AI and when deadlines start being missed, we will see an upturn in demand.

What's clear is AI and outsourcing still have not cracked the BA demand for business-facing requirements gathering.

[Misterfox]

I’ve been contracting (with the odd permanent role) for the last 25 years, and this is the worst I’ve ever known the market.

For the last 15 years I’ve worked as an IT project manager (PM). I’ve always been a generalist PM (as have 90% of the PMs I’ve worked with) rather than a PM with a technical specialty, but my skillset has served me well and always secured interviews and roles.

Since my last contract ended in March 2025 due to budget cuts, I’ve applied for hundreds of perm/contract roles. I’ve paid for a CV writing company to make my CV and LinkedIn profile more ATS friendly and tailored it where applicable for specific roles. I have job alerts set up from multiple sites and networked with former employers I have good relationships with.

Net result in the last 3 months? Two call backs and zero interviews.

I don’t know if there is a single reason for this downturn/change, but I do have a few observations about the IT PM field that apply to contract and perm:

1. Roles are asking for very specific industry experience (e.g. will not be considered if haven’t worked in Banking, Retail, NHS, Education, Local Gov, Media, Insurance etc)
2. Roles are asking for very specific project experience (e.g. will not be considered if haven’t delivered Salesforce, Digital Transformation, Windows 11 etc)
3. Roles increasingly appear to want very technical PMs. I’ve seen jobs requiring expertise and qualifications in AI, SAP, Oracle, Service Now etc, or stating “would suit someone from a developer/programming/architecture background”. In some cases, the PM is required to have comprehensive BA skills. Historically, my teams have consisted of a SME (e.g. Solutions Architect) and a BA, as they are very different roles with different skillsets. It feels like some companies want to consolidate these backgrounds into one role, possibly as a cost-cutting exercise.
4. I suspect, by can’t prove, that most applications aren’t even reviewed by humans and are initially screened by filtering technology.
5. Once plentiful roles for generalist IT Infrastructure/Network/Software Development PMs, that focused more on core delivery and soft skills, are virtually non-existent.

Totally empathise with you, I am in the same boat and in exactly the same position as yourself. No agents calling and the job boards are empty of suitable roles. All the roles that are suitable are in a different part of the country or more often or not need SC or DV clearance or in banking/finance which if you have no experience in, is a closed shop....

[jamesbrown]

Yeah, it isn't too surprising when supply is very high and demand is low that role descriptions become ridiculously specific/selective and trend towards moon-on-a-stick requirements. It's a buyer's market and, unfortunately, there are moons on sticks without work.

[Fraidycat]

Employers Are Buried in A.I.-Generated Résumés

Katie Tanner, a human resource consultant in Utah, knew the job would be popular: It was fully remote, was at a tech company and required only three years of experience.

But she was still shocked by the response on LinkedIn. After 12 hours, 400 applications had been submitted. By 24, there were 600. A few days later, there were more than 1,200, at which point she removed the post. Three months later, she’s still whittling down candidates.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “You just get inundated.”

The number of applications submitted on LinkedIn has surged more than 45 percent in the past year. The platform is clocking an average of 11,000 applications per minute, and generative artificial intelligence tools are contributing to the deluge.

https://www.careergroupcompanies.com...-in-ai-resumes

[herestherelad]

Gotta love it when some recruiter messages you on LI with the opener "I found your profile and was really impressed by your experience." and then proceed to describe a role that requires experience which doesn't feature on my profile, inviting me to apply for this great opportunity they think I'd be perfect for.

I blame AI.

I got invited to an Interview with Avanade based on my C.V. which i assumes was for a Sharpoint SME role to which they proceeded to ask me various questions around Co-Pilot Studio and Building and Deploying aps using AI in teams....

No mention on my CV of any of that and they seemed confused when i couldnt answer their questions why fooking invite me in the first place.

[SchumiStars]

I got invited to an Interview with Avanade based on my C.V. which i assumes was for a Sharpoint SME role to which they proceeded to ask me various questions around Co-Pilot Studio and Building and Deploying aps using AI in teams....

No mention on my CV of any of that and they seemed confused when i couldnt answer their questions why fooking invite me in the first place.

Sounds like they were hiring for a customer contract. I.e. The customer wanted those exact skills.

It's a good company TBF and I loved working there, apart from the travel.

There was a post above which said roles were very specifc and I have to agree. Even if you have all of the qualities (SC, investment banking, industry specific), still need the exact skills and experience.

It's not a case of having 90% and the ability to learn the remaining 10%. It's a care of having to qualify for the role and to have the exact required skill set.

The kicker is, that with so many canadates available, they can find the exact match. And still hire them at a lower rate than 5yrs ago.

[willendure]

Coming to the end of the current gig, but the cracks are starting to be visible that the Indian tech partner who has promised the world, has delivered zero so far...

I do wonder if we are in the current outsourcing cycle we see in our industry, but with the addition of AI and when deadlines start being missed, we will see an upturn in demand.

If it doesn't work and its quite clear to most of us that it doesn't then something will surely change. At the moment I have about 8 or 10 offshore resources adding a few extra fields into 5 or 6 interconnected services. They have been at it for something like 6 weeks now and are barely half done. Seriously, I could have done it myself in a couple of days. I'm exagerating of course, it does need some thorough testing also, but a good UK based team of 2 devs and 1 tester could knock this out in a 2 week sprint. 3 times the resources and 3 times the amount of time is roughly 10X, are these offshore resources really charging < 10% of UK contractors? Maybe they are. The quality of their work is still abysmal though, and the delays to projects have a real cost too.

[SussexSeagull]

Must be said I remember talking to agents 10 years ago about roles I applied for and it was nothing to have 500 applicants at a time when AI wasn't really a thing so having a lot of unqualified, and a fair few qualified, people apply for a role is nothing new.

If we are really at a stage where AI generated Cvx are doing battle with ATS then it is probably time for a rethink.

[herman_g]

are these offshore resources really charging < 10% of UK contractors?

I did something at Lloyd's through Wipro in 2009. The mickey mouse Wipro managers would routinely forget paperwork in meeting rooms. They were charging:

540 daily for onshore contractors
440 daily for onshore Wipro employees (who received 140 + expenses)
240 daily for offshore Wipro employees (who received 80)

[SchumiStars]

No phone calls, emails or interviews last week and it's looking the same this week. It is shockingly bad ATM.

This guy has the right idea though.