We’re seeing more conversations, more interviews and more hesitation. This isn’t about blame, it’s about clarity. A cautious market needs clearer conversations from candidates, employers, and recruiters alike.
A great portfolio won’t save a weak CV, and a great CV won’t save a weak portfolio. This week alone, we’ve seen some incredibly strong designers held back by avoidable basics: • CVs that list software but don’t explain how it’s been used on real projects • Portfolios with beautiful imagery, yet no context such as role, stage of project, or responsibility, • Applications that don’t align with the CV and portfolio (job titles, dates, or project scope don’t match). Your CV tells us what you’ve done. Your portfolio shows us how well you’ve done it. Studios expect both to work together, not compete. If you’re actively looking, it’s worth spending the extra hour tightening both. It genuinely makes the difference between “interesting” and “let’s interview”. If you want a 2nd opinion, feel free to reach out to me with both! ccolley@planningrecruitment.com #arc h itecturejobs #interiordesignjobs #architectlife #designcareers #recruitmentinsight
By Kirsty Sibbald A comment a candidate made in a recent conversation has been playing on my mind. When speaking about how their search has been going outside of our efforts, they advised they were applying to what they can see on LinkedIn but not bothering with some as they had hundreds of applications. It got me thinking, hundreds? We get a lot of applications yes, but hundreds? Rarely. But they were right, many adverts do show as "over 100 applicants" including jobs we have advertised. But what applicants don't know is that the number of applicants sent to the job poster is often much less, therefore, there is less competition than LinkedIn suggests! As an example one job we posted on LinkedIn stated there were over 100 applicants, but in reality, I only received 74 of those. LinkedIn auto-archives candidates who don't meet the essential job criteria such as holding the required UK work visa. If you see a job you want to apply to and have the relevant experience, DO NOT let the number you see on here put you off applying, because you can bet that number is significantly less. I see EVERY application. We can't respond to all, but if your application is a strong fit, we will ALWAYS follow up.
