State of the Market

[BritishLad88]

The problem with this approach is you end up with 50 versions of your CV
You then have to remember which version of the CV you used for each job

.

I don't see this as a problem and is exactly what i've done in past whether it's for perm or contract.
I usually create a new folder for each application i make and just dump my tailored version of CV in there along with other optional stuff like notes and cover letter for instance.

something like this:

CVs-Applications/
opportunity1/
cv.pdf
opportunity2/
cv.pdf
...
..and so on


you just have to be organised, structured, and methodical with the whole process.

[WTFH]

Highly tailoring your CV is really important in this bear market, because if you don't then many other applicants surely will.

There’s a big difference between tailoring your CV and lying through your teeth.
Tell the truth, then you don’t have to remember as much.

And secondly - know what the role is that you have applied for, and who the client is. When preparing for an interview, think about your past experiences and how they could be pertinent to the role.

Rather than asking for a copy of a document you wrote, ask for the names of who will be interviewing you and do some research on them. If you’re actually good at what you do, you will probably find out that they know someone you have worked with in the past who will say positive things about you.

As has been said in other threads - professionalism makes a big difference, and disappearing from one client to go to another, or fabricating your CV is not professional and gives you a bad reputation.

[Fraidycat]

And the interviewer says - oh yeah your said you were a specialist in "Power BI super duper turbo" and you try and remember what utter tripe you wrote for version 34 of that CV, submitted in x month of y year whilst doing a Morris Dance under a Full Moon.

If you lost track, then Just ask the agent for your CV before the interview.

Once i was even given my CV before an interview by an agent without even asking for it.

Highly tailoring your CV is really important in this bear market, because if you don't then many other applicants surely will.

[hungry_hog]

Tailoring the CV is very important as well.

Not just copy and paste the job spec.

Write about related skills as well. eg. If a Job advert wants skill X, which is has a related sub skill Y. But Y isn't mention on the advert, you should also mention skill Y. Shows deeper knowledge.

The problem with this approach is you end up with 50 versions of your CV
You then have to remember which version of the CV you used for each job
And the interviewer says - oh yeah your said you were a specialist in "Power BI super duper turbo" and you try and remember what utter tripe you wrote for version 34 of that CV, submitted in x month of y year whilst doing a Morris Dance under a Full Moon.

[plutocrat]

Your cv has to go through two filters: HR/Agency non specialists so they are looking for keywords and presentation/phrasing. Then the hiring manager/team who is looking for evidence of skills. So it’s got to appeal to both audiences.

[BritishLad88]

...

Write about related skills as well. eg. If a Job advert wants skill X, which is has a related sub skill Y. But Y isn't mention on the advert, you should also mention skill Y. Shows deeper knowledge.

in theory yes but most recruiter won't have this deep knowledge of skill Y is sub skill and relation of skill X- so there's still a high chance your CV might get filtered out first place before it reaches the hiring company.

[dsc]

Earlier this week I was chatting with a Polish sub-contractor firm that is doing most of the dev work on a data project. He said that their boss-man is big on AI and all his devs have all been made to use github copilot to write code since late last year. Since then apparently his devs are able to deliver in 30-40% less time. No one's lost their job but it has meant that the boss-man can take on more contracts!

On a smaller scale, I've been able to use chatgpt as an 'expert-resource' to help prep/tweak much better quality PowerBI reports than I used to, simply because I can now write measures without knowing the ins and outs of DAX and ask more tailored questions when I get stuck. For context, I'm a generalist PM with limited tech knowledge.

AI tools might not replace knowledge workers but I do think some jobs/tasks are going to see significant productivity/efficiency jumps, which in effect could reduce the number of people required to do that job and/or widen the pool of people who could potentially do that job.

So the devs are safe as long as he can secure more work, but we all know that scenario isn't guaranteed.

AI definitely speeds up some tasks, sucks at other tasks (for now, or maybe always) and simply cannot do some unless you train it using a very specific set of data.

[sreed]

Not sure about that. Had a similar convo about this on this forum recently. I agree AI is not some silver bullet but I think its not as much "replacement of jobs". But a dumbing down of tasks/automation to make it easier to offshore.

I quoted End of Year reports of digital agencies where AI and Offshoring were consistently mentioned together in the same document by the senior management whos mouths the words came from.

This story below comes from Resumebuilder - some kind of ai tool by the looks - so vested interest - but if this is true then the job deaths are already here

What are these AI tools are replacing these jobs isnt clear to me. Theres the challenge that many startups use AI to get more funding if though theyre not "AI"

I saw a hilarious glassdoor review of a company I applied to where the feedback from existing employee was "This isnt AI - their product is just a chatbot!"

• More than one-third (37%) of business leaders say AI replaced workers in 2023, according to a recent report from ResumeBuilder.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/16/ai-j...ull-story.html

Earlier this week I was chatting with a Polish sub-contractor firm that is doing most of the dev work on a data project. He said that their boss-man is big on AI and all his devs have all been made to use github copilot to write code since late last year. Since then apparently his devs are able to deliver in 30-40% less time. No one's lost their job but it has meant that the boss-man can take on more contracts!

On a smaller scale, I've been able to use chatgpt as an 'expert-resource' to help prep/tweak much better quality PowerBI reports than I used to, simply because I can now write measures without knowing the ins and outs of DAX and ask more tailored questions when I get stuck. For context, I'm a generalist PM with limited tech knowledge.

AI tools might not replace knowledge workers but I do think some jobs/tasks are going to see significant productivity/efficiency jumps, which in effect could reduce the number of people required to do that job and/or widen the pool of people who could potentially do that job.

[tsmith]

IT has been in slump for 20 months now, started middle of 2022. What industry is that linked in thread about, have they only started to really feel it now?

Thats to be expected from the 18 month delay from interest rates hikes to really hit the economy, but the IT contract market saw the effect after just 6 months.

Although 18 months ago interest rates were only 3%, so thats what the wider economy is feeling at the moment, just 3% interest rates, it might still require another six to nine months before the economy feels the full effect of 5% interest rates.

Problem is current AI is just autocomplete on steroids - it may get you somewhere but I have a suspicion that a lot of it is taking us down a cul de sac towards a dead end

Not sure about that. Had a similar convo about this on this forum recently. I agree AI is not some silver bullet but I think its not as much "replacement of jobs". But a dumbing down of tasks/automation to make it easier to offshore.

I quoted End of Year reports of digital agencies where AI and Offshoring were consistently mentioned together in the same document by the senior management whos mouths the words came from.

This story below comes from Resumebuilder - some kind of ai tool by the looks - so vested interest - but if this is true then the job deaths are already here

What are these AI tools are replacing these jobs isnt clear to me. Theres the challenge that many startups use AI to get more funding if though theyre not "AI"

I saw a hilarious glassdoor review of a company I applied to where the feedback from existing employee was "This isnt AI - their product is just a chatbot!"

• More than one-third (37%) of business leaders say AI replaced workers in 2023, according to a recent report from ResumeBuilder.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/16/ai-j...ull-story.html

[Fraidycat]

In the old days there were plenty of fake jobs on JobServe or ones that were resubmitted.

I'm getting some success in terms of interviews via linked in and a lesser extent Jobserve, combination of the market in my area picking up slightly and totally rejigging my CV which I'd used successfully for many years but wasn't working in the current super competitive market. Removed a lot of older jobs not related to my current skill set, wrote a lot boosterish linked-in style blurb about my jobs and skills without actually lying and reformatted into a more modern style and I'm getting 50% strike rate in terms of applications to interviews. It was more like 10-20% with my old CV.

Tailoring the CV is very important as well.

Not just copy and paste the job spec.

Write about related skills as well. eg. If a Job advert wants skill X, which is has a related sub skill Y. But Y isn't mention on the advert, you should also mention skill Y. Shows deeper knowledge.