Are you struggling to find a new role while the job market is ‘flat’? Do you feel like you’re wading through treacle?

Here's some actions that can be taken to increase your chances of success when the market is challenging.

Stay positive – the market is undoubtedly tough!

Some context; the latest “KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs” survey published this March, concluded that we are “amidst a 28-month contraction in the job market” and “growth in starting salaries has slowed, reaching the weakest pace in four years”.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner KPMG, said:

“While it is still a wait and see approach to hiring, with February data showing companies continue to hold back on recruitment, the softer decline could be an indication that expectations of further interest rate cuts and better than expected recent economic data are starting to release some of the pressures on business.

“But several headwinds to growth remain, and we should expect a Spring Statement that is fiscally constrained due to growing spending pressures and global uncertainty. Despite this uncertainty, businesses which are well capitalised will be looking for signals to support future planning and growth, and with that will come confidence to invest and create jobs.”

Clearly there is nuance to this and there are still areas and levels of the wider market that are proving to be resilient, but its fair to acknowledge that 2025 remains a challenging market for many candidates. Clearly for a CFO and a General Counsel (for example) or the most senior department head roles this is especially prevalent.

Commitment to the search:

Balancing personal commitments (we are all human after all!) with a focused job search is the largest inhibitor to being consistent in a search, so a few ideas around combating this would be:

• Set realistic goals and SMART targets: Define what you want to achieve in your job search and set realistic timelines, that could be encapsulated around your current bonus timetable for example. What searches am I doing today? How many job applications shall I try and make today? Or, how many of my contacts in my network shall I reach out to?
• Create a schedule: Dedicate specific times each week to job search activities, such as networking, applying for jobs, and following up with search firm/recruiters.
• Leverage your network: Regularly connect with your professional network to uncover opportunities and gain insights (head to our website for specific advice around this).
• Stay organised: Keep track of applications, follow-ups, and networking activities to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Who am I? How you position yourself:

• Make sure you are tailoring each application: each and every hiring manager is looking for something different. A well-written job ad will highlight the most important criteria in the first few bullet points – so make sure you promote these achievements – put them at the top of your list, sell yourself and re-jig your responsibilities to reflect this.
• Assessing how to present your proposition: don’t be afraid to ask your recruiter to run through your pitch prior to your interview – remember they have been talking to the hiring client, they should know what they are looking for and can help make sure you pitch is ‘on point’.
• Reaching out and connecting to the line manager for the role via Linkedin, for a role you feel passionate about, carries no negative stigma in this market. Also consider people that may have a connection into the recruiting company that may be able to facilitate an introduction.
• Another angle would be to ask someone in a professional capacity on their perceptions on your areas of strength and areas to consider. This may also help frame your thinking and how you market/position yourself.
• The final point would be around your LinkedIn profile (check out this article more in-depth advice on this) – the importance of this as a “sales document” in many ways, but also ensure your profile is properly optimised from a keyword perspective and interacting with LinkedIn. Liking/commenting on other people’s posts will ensure your profile continues to be well optimised for search/recruitment firms and the direct hire market. Also be sure to follow companies that interest you.

Follow up is key… timing can be everything

“I never hear anything back”: frustrating as it is, both agencies and in-house talent teams are dealing with significant volumes of applications so don’t be afraid to give them a polite nudge.

• Timing your follow up: Try to refrain from sending an email or making a call immediately after you’ve submitted your application. You are better off noting the name of the job poster, and the closing date for the role, then give your CV time to land and be assessed alongside other applicants.
• Personalise your follow up: No “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To whom it may concern”. Send a personalised, polite and professional email, referencing the position and your relevant skills. Keep it succinct.
• … and if you can’t work out who to talk to, then pick the phone up to the agency, or the in-house talent team and just ask.

Review/re-review your expectations

• Most job seekers start off with a ‘golden wish list’ of criteria for their next role/challenge, whether that be location, hybrid working, job title or industry. In a sluggish and competitive job market, its definitely worth taking a step back periodically and reassessing “what is really important to me”. If you do make changes to your expectations, remember to communicate them to your network, recruiters etc.
• Consider the Contract/Interim market – we recognise that there are candidates who may have been unfortunate to lose their role, and this doesn’t need to define you. Do speak to an interim specialist if your circumstances dictate that you can consider an temporary or interim management contract – there could be questions around IR35 and Limited Companies you may have, if this isn’t an avenue you’ve considered before.

GET IN TOUCH

If you’re a finance professional looking to make a career move and need some help, please get in touch with Paul Craggs (permanent roles) and Rob McKay (interim roles) in the first instance on: paulcraggs@srmrecruitment.com and robmckay@srmrecruitment.com

So you've recently decided to look for a new job - you've got a great CV, perfect LinkedIn profile and fully utilised your professional network - you won’t need to use a recruitment agency, surely?

Well, maybe not. However, the vast majority of hiring firms will still use outside assistance for most levels of recruitment, and this means you will more than likely need to apply for a role through a recruitment agency at some point.

As a result, before you just randomly send your CV to any old recruitment firm, it is best to think through which agencies you engage with and why.

Which agencies to engage with? 

This choice tends to come down to what stage you have reached in your career so far, so make sure you approach the right type of firm:

Establishment stage – engage with the bigger, larger established recruitment brands. They tend to work with larger PLC businesses and have the reach to offer more choice whilst you gain experience.

Growth to leadership – depending on the salary range (some firms can be fixed on this), we recommend you engage with a mixture of larger recruitment firms and boutique agencies (like us) who build long-term relationships for senior hires.

Board level – depending on salary, we recommend you engage with a mixture of the boutique recruitment firms and the established 'SHREK' (an acronym referring to the five largest and arguably most prestigious) executive search firms.

How many agencies to engage with?

The number of recruitment agencies you engage with for your job search will also depend on what stage of your career you have reached:

Establishment stage – 2 -3 good recruitment firms should be enough. Their scale and reach in this marketplace tends to be strong and should give you everything you need.

Growth to leadership and board level – whilst this sounds counter-intuitive, you should be speaking to 10-15 search firms. Roles at this level will almost certainly be exclusive or retained with a single recruitment agency. As a result, you need to build more relationships with more agencies so as not to miss out on that perfect role.

Spend time and do your research

For a successful job search, search firms should still be a core aspect of your approach. As with everything when it comes to seeking that next career move, spending time on understanding who can help you is really important. Do your research and speak to more recruiters if you aren’t getting what you expect. 

So you've just started your job search and the one thing you hear over and over again is: "make sure you speak to your network"!

But what does this actually mean? You may be like the vast majority of the market who don’t regularly network.  You're just too busy with work and family life, and that's fine. But fear not, you’ll actually have more of a network than you think. And using your network is incredibly important when it comes to finding and securing that all important next career move. 

These are the two main networks you should use to facilitate your search: 

1. Traditional network

This will consist of former colleagues and bosses. Whilst not the furthest reaching of networks (as it depends mostly on them having the right job at the right time), it is still important to have other people know that you are on the hunt for a new role. So tell them! You just never know who might know of someone hiring at your level and can recommend you. 

2. Professional network

This is the most important network to make aware that you're on the lookout for a new role. But what is this network? Think of professional advisors (audit partners, lawyers, corporate finance advisors or managing consultants) you have worked with. Their job entails a lot of business development and meeting people in similar industries. They will know more and be a position to mention your availability more than you think. An introduction or recommendation from a trusted advisor carries a lot of weight, so make sure you make the most of these people in your network - keep them informed if you're on the lookout for a new challenge.

Utilise all your networks to your advantage

The more people who know you are looking for a new role, the more opportunities that will come to you. So where possible, use both your traditional and professional networks to your advantage. The world can work in mysterious ways, so do not be afraid to utilise that professionally.

The job market changes all the time, but there was a point in 2018 when we had a miniature big bang moment: LinkedIn adding the 'open to work' banner. This allowed you to signal to the world that you are actively looking and thus making it easier to for potential employers to find you. Think of it as LinkedIn’s Tinder-fication moment.

But other than the added reach, what does it all really mean when getting ready to start your job search? This article will outline why LinkedIn is fast becoming as important as your CV.

Who is looking at you on LinkedIn?

In short, a lot of people! LinkedIn puts the number at 1 billion globally and around 35 million in the UK alone. Now obviously not all of these people are relevant to you finding your next role, however, 97% of talent professionals (agency recruiters or in-house talent teams) will use LinkedIn everyday for candidate searches. This is a “passive” route to market which, if prepped properly, will increases your chances of finding the perfect role.

How to think about your LinkedIn profile

Essentially, you need to think of it like your CV, but with an added focus on keywords. Why? Well, this comes down to what LinkedIn is. It is to all intents and purposes a huge database, and searchable keywords means you are much more likely to be found.

Open to work – yes or no?

Quite simply: YES.

To reassure new people to the job market, LinkedIn has a built in feature meaning people from the same organisation can’t see if you have switched on the 'Open to Work' banner. 

Format

This should essentially be the same as your CV.  We've another helpful article on just that, which you can access here. 

The differences to be aware of:

Contact details - it's your choice over whether you include contact details on LinkedIn. As long as you regularly check your Inmail, then adding personal contact details to a public forum isn’t needed. However, if you are comfortable with people contacting you directly then you may get more traction by adding them. It ultimately depends on how you wish to be approached.

Qualifications – these should be listed under the 'Education' section. There will be an option under “schools” to find the relevant professional qualification.

Key skills check boxes – when filling out your experience in each of your roles you will be given the chance by LinkedIn to check a number of key skills boxes. Whilst this speeds up the process and makes sure you are hitting the “keyword quota”, it doesn’t tell your story well. By all means use this tool, but make sure to include details on your Responsibilities and Achievements for each role. 

Recommendations – view these as publicly visible references. Two or three will give your profile added weight when people are reviewing it.

Conclusion

Be sure to give LinkedIn the time it deserves. Given its ability to help attract opportunities to you, it is as important (if not more) than the traditional CV. Do not be afraid to put the majority of your recent CV experience directly on to your LinkedIn profile.

CV: The bastion of the job search, the document that opens the doors, but is it still relevant?

You see lots of missives on the death of the CV, turning experience into ever fancier documents, slides, decks etc etc. The answer; your CV is still extremely relevant and spending time on it is one of the most important things you will do in prepping for your job search.

How to think about your CV.

Format:

Your CV should first of all include all the necessary core information (see below for more details) followed by your experience (in chronological order) with the most focus on your most recent job, tapering off towards your earlier career. Your latest job is the most relevant to your next role, so put the most detail into that.

Length:

I’m a firm believer that all relevant experience should be on the document, meaning the traditional two-pager isn’t always achievable. However, if you taper the amount of detail as you get further back in your career then you will genuinely keep your CV to a sensible length.

Core information:

The basics – name, contact details (you’ll be surprised in the digital world how many people leave off a contact number), relevant educational stages (professional qualifications etc.) and a list of relevant IT systems used. After your experience, be sure to include a section on your interests - think about these and make them thoughtful.

Added extras – a summary (one sentence or a couple of bullet points, max) on your key skills gained during your career. These could be a brief mix of technical and softer skills. This shouldn’t replace specific job experience, but be more of a brief overview.

The main body: the job experience

In this section, it is important to think about your experience through a particular prism. What is your next employer looking for? A good analogy to use is; your CV is an answer to the questions set by the job description. The employer will have spent time putting together a job description - rightly or wrongly both the line manager and any third parties (internal talent teams, recruitment agencies etc.) will use this to judge you against the competition. The more your CV positively answers the job description, the more likely you are to get an interview.

Now ideally you would have the time to tweak your CV for every single application you make, but we are all aware that time is short so having a more focused generic CV is important. How do you achieve this?

• Keywords – each job you are trying to obtain will have core keywords no matter which business it is with. These tend to be in the main “responsibilities” section of the job description. Use them in your CV where possible - it sounds like painting by numbers but remember not everyone that sees your CV will be an expert in your field. Some will be looking at your type of experience for the first time, so make it obvious! 
• Responsibilities Vs Achievements – having read the first point, you may feel that a list of responsibilities is enough to get that interview. It isn’t. The responsibilities section will give the employer the confidence you can technically do the job. However, the achievements section will then give you the opportunity to expand on how you have used your skills to go above and beyond, thus making you stand out from other applicants. 

In summary: 

• • Responsibilities: short bullet points mirroring job description focus.
  • Achievements: longer bullet points expanding on your relevant skills.

Conclusion

Your CV is a marketing tool to enable you to meet the business you would like to work for. This means you have to objectively look at in this light. Putting yourself in the shoes of potential hiring managers will focus the mind on skills that stand out, not those that are too specific to your current or most recent role.

Above all else, enjoy the process, engage with it and ultimately be proud of what you have achieved to this point.