Holiday downtime peak for CV updates ahead of January rush

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• 21% of employees are planning to look for a new role in the first three months of 2022
• Three in five (59%) intend to update their CV over the festive period
• Experts predict a boost of job surges in January and beyond, based on historic data

Up to 19.2 million employees [1]  are planning to use downtime over the festive period to
update their CV, despite pandemic resurgence.

According to new research from specialist talent solutions provider Robert Half, three in
five (59%) employees are planning to update their CV over the holidays in preparation
for a fresh job search in January.

Employers should brace themselves, as an additional study reveals that one in five
(21%) employees are getting ready to apply for new roles in the first three months of
2022 [2] , starting from January – suggesting that ‘New Year, New You’ will include ‘New
Job’ for a lot of people.

Analysis of Robert Half’s own internal data reveals that job applications usually surge in
Q1. While normal candidate behaviour was disrupted last year due to the pandemic,
there was an 80 per cent increase in job applications from December 2019 and January
2020 – a trend that has held for many years.

Although the persistent Covid-19 virus interrupted the trend last year, experts are
predicting that the New Year rush could be even bigger than usual in 2022.

Matt Weston, UK Managing Director at Robert Half, explains, “Holidays are typically
a time for people to take stock and assess their priorities in the year ahead – it’s why we
usually see a jump in activity in Q1, and after the summer holiday period in Q3.

“With the uncertainty of the pandemic, many employees were holding fast until the
situation was a little more secure. Even with the rumours of a fresh lockdown
approaching, many are now tired of waiting and keen to take the next step in the
careers.

“For those thinking for taking the leap, there couldn’t be a better time to look for a new
role. Companies have been hiring to back-fill roles and take advantage of the economic
rebound, which left 1.2 million vacancies across the UK without the candidates to fill
them. As a result, the best talent will be able to command healthy salary packages from
potential employers.”
To help people on their way to success, experts at Robert Half have offered five top tips
for CV-writing, including things to avoid and how to set yourself apart from the crowd:
1. Be authentic. People often over-polish their CVs, but in the wake of the pandemic, employers
are looking for candidates who are authentic. Try reading everything you have written back to
yourself – if it doesn’t sound like you, it needs a re-write.
2. Demonstrate your best traits. Instead of labelling yourself a problem solver, think about how
you can demonstrate those traits. By adding an achievements section to your CV you can
showcase your skills and demonstrate a history of delivering excellence
3. Avoid jargon. Employers look for reasons not to interview candidates, so your CV needs to be
easy to read. If you include too many abbreviations or jargon from your current company, you
run the risk of losing them.
4. Keep it short. For junior roles, a CV should be no longer than two sides of A4 (but for a more
experienced candidate it could run to three). Bullet points are a great way to do this and
remember to hold some things back for the interview.
5. Be kind. Rewind. Start with your most recent (and most relevant) experience and work
backwards, including any gaps. A chronological CV puts you at risk of being overlooked by
employers.
For more, check out Robert Half’s  CV buzzwords to avoid  or find out the going rate for
more than 200 professional services roles with the  2022 Salary Guide .

[1] According to a LinkedIn poll amongst 933 employees across the UK, 59% of people are planning to
update their CVs over the festive period. ONS data reveals that are currently 32.5 million workers in the
UK, therefore 19.2 million people are planning to update their CV.

[2] Additional data from a Robert Half-commissioned survey of 1,000 full-time and part-time employees
across the UK, conducted by Opinium between 17-20 December 2021