Last week the Office of National Statistics announced that unemployment had decreased by 34,000 in the 3 months to May.
Good news, however on closer inspection it appears that long term unemployment had increased substantially by 48% over the year to 787,000 in the same period.
A couple of weeks back I spoke to an executive who had just registered with us; he has been looking for 8 months and was concerned that he would add to this statistic, and you could hear it in his voice.
It was a very challenging consult but the overriding factor was that he was taking the lack of interest in his applications personally. He had been applying to 100s of jobs with only a handful of interviews and no offers.
Having had a look at his background, it was immediately clear that there wouldn’t have been 100s of jobs that fit his background. His experience is sector specific and he was being far from selective, if not a little desperate.
This is obviously understandable however the simple fact is, as these figures testify, there’s many people in the same boat and he shouldn’t take the lack of interest too personally. Yes, it can be extremely difficult however this competitive market means he needs to be a lot more focused on the jobs that fit his experience better.
Companies can afford to be picky, they have a lot to choose from however they can’t afford to make a mistake in a hire, each addition to their team has to be right and so you must spend a little time focusing on what they are looking for and tailoring your CV to reflect this.
Be direct, better to emphasise your experience and achievements that fit the job specification rather than covering all your bases. It’s also important to come across as confident as possible so make sure you mix up your day with other activities to make sure you are fresh during the time you do spend on your search.
I hope you have a productive week…