State of the Market

[simes]

Powerpoint Monkey?

I do like that! Cracking.

Might have to use it myself. Cheers.

[ruasonid]

Speaking of monkey's, perhaps it's time for a fresh start.

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[edison]

Mostly as need to be at same level as DBA’s boom boom

Had a conversation with a permie recruiter just now, he tells me that only 3% of LinkedIn job applications are actually ever seen by a human being


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Yep, that sounds about right. A recruiter I know actually posted an article on LinkedIn yesterday about why people don't get contacted after they send in a CV and he quoted a figure of 3-4%.

It's why it is so important to ensure you have the right keywords in the CV so that the applicant tracking systems search algorithms pick up the hits on keywords and scores your CV accordingly.

I copy the advert into an online word counter and voila, it automatically lists the word frequency which allows you to identify the keywords quickly.

[Bluenose]

Where are all these perm jobs that people will just walk into??
there're a lot of blithe 'i'll just go perm' statements on here, is it That easy?

Devops, security and high end (200-500k) ED level transformation roles there is movement. Quite a few of them popping up on linked in of all places.

Outside of that it looks bleak.

I applied for three ED roles for jokes, I actually did get contacted but I would put my chances as one in 60.

The bench is calling me, the pull is strong.

[BigRed]

PM jobs have never been more active, and complete idiots can get in.

I give up, my post was supposed to be about Prime Ministers and have a picture of Boris Johnson. Maybe I'm not cut out for IT, but l've been trying for 40 years.

[ruasonid]

Yep, that sounds about right. A recruiter I know actually posted an article on LinkedIn yesterday about why people don't get contacted after they send in a CV and he quoted a figure of 3-4%.

It's why it is so important to ensure you have the right keywords in the CV so that the applicant tracking systems search algorithms pick up the hits on keywords and scores your CV accordingly.

I copy the advert into an online word counter and voila, it automatically lists the word frequency which allows you to identify the keywords quickly.

That figure is probably about right, in general. If you are applying through a corp ATS/TAS the numbers are not in your favour. If you are applying to a smaller company/recruiter where eyeballs go over the cv's the numbers are probably a little better. Not sure how the LI engine works but some roles are very light on stated requirements and I'd guess getting trough those is easier (if you match). I've increased my overall hit rate (any kind of response) to around 4% from 1-2% by reducing and refocusing the cv content. That has also been achieved against a much smaller sample size. About 4% this YTD from approx 220 applications. I've had 2 short contracts (no rhyme or reason to it to be honest). Last few months have been a lot tougher because suitable roles posted are much reduced. Two roles on hold until the new year. Still in the running for 2 others.

[ruasonid]

Is anyone putting bargain basement rates at the top of their CV to see if it attracts (the wrong kind of) attention? Do you put any rates at all?

[edison]

Devops, security and high end (200-500k) ED level transformation roles there is movement. Quite a few of them popping up on linked in of all places.

Outside of that it looks bleak.

I applied for three ED roles for jokes, I actually did get contacted but I would put my chances as one in 60.

The bench is calling me, the pull is strong.

I don't think you can go wrong the next coupe of years if you're in security and to a lesser extent DevOps. I might be being dumb but what's ED transformation?

There is definitely some movement at the upper end of the market. I've applied for several IT Director or equivalent roles in the last week after not seeing anything the previous month. A few friends have also made progress on the perm front with job offers and interviews after months of nothing happening.

I'm a bit sceptical of seeing roles advertised at 500k. These kinds of role hardly ever get advertised as they are usually the preserve of specialist search firms and most of the time would be filled by someone who has to be proactively approached as they are not looking to move.

[simes]

Is anyone putting bargain basement rates at the top of their CV to see if it attracts (the wrong kind of) attention? Do you put any rates at all?

No.

No.

Price the job after a chat.

[ladymuck]

No.

No.

Price the job after a chat.

Ditto that - never, ever put rates on a CV. You need to know what the gig is before you price it.

Although it's quite tempting, now I think of it, to put a 'call out fee' on it to cover time wasting fishing calls...