Everyone's job hunting this autumn — so make yours count

According to Personnel Today, 53% of workers say they intend to use the autumn to look for a new job, now that the summer lull is over. September and October are traditionally busy months for hiring, and it seems a lot of people have the same idea at once.

What this means for you

If half the workforce is thinking the same thing, it's reasonable to expect more applications per vacancy over the next couple of months. That doesn't mean fewer jobs — it means more competition for the ones going. Recruiters and hiring managers will have more CVs to get through, and less patience for ones that don't clearly show why you're right for the role.

It's also worth remembering that autumn hiring surges happen every year. Budgets reset, new headcount gets approved, and people who were putting off a move over summer start actually applying. None of this is new — it's just a reminder that timing alone won't do the work for you.

What to do about it

• Don't rely on volume. Sending the same CV to twenty jobs is slower and less effective than tailoring it properly for five.
• Get your CV and LinkedIn profile in order before the rush, not after you've already started applying and losing momentum.
• Prioritise roles where you genuinely meet most of the requirements — in a crowded field, borderline applications are the first to get filtered out.
• Follow up on applications and use your network. When recruiters are busy, a warm introduction cuts through faster than a cold application.

The bigger picture

None of this means autumn is a bad time to look — it's still one of the more active hiring periods of the year. It just means the bar for standing out is a bit higher when everyone else has the same plan. The jobseekers who do well won't necessarily be the ones applying to the most roles, but the ones applying to the right roles with an application that actually fits.

If you're one of the 53% getting back into the job hunt this autumn, FixMyCV can help tailor your CV to each role you apply for — without inventing experience you don't have, just making sure what you do have is presented clearly.

Source: Personnel Today. FixMyCV summarises and comments; we never reproduce articles.