Tie or no tie, buttoned or unbuttoned – the art of being a job candidate has its fair share of dilemmas. However, confusion over what a CV should look like or what an interview feels like shouldn’t elude anyone. But for a significant amount of job seekers, these fundamentals aren’t there.
Having surveyed 1,000 Brits, CV-Library, the job site, discovered 30.1% were bemused by the process of job-hunting, which spiked to 59% of those under 18. Although, as 55.6% never learned interview techniques and 50.5% wrote their first CV without help, who can blame them?
But passion is present, with 75.9% of those aged 18 to 24 and 65.7% of respondents overall honing each CV to specific gigs in hope of clinching the role.
However, despite the gap in knowledge merely 9.6% of 24 to 28 year-olds admitted to joining a recruitment agency for help. 76.9% did so as they believed it would lead to faster employment but only 23.1% would utilise recruiters for wage negotiations.
Given 21% of millennials have rejected offers due to ugly looking offices according to Mindspace, the co-working space provider, young people are clearly confident about their chances. And when facing record-breaking employment levels, it’s easy to see why they’re being so selective.
Commenting on the findings, Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said: “Nowadays, most people will start their job hunt online, so it’s important to ensure your vacancies are seen by the right people. With the launch of Google for Jobs in the UK coming very soon, there is a lot of pressure on companies to optimise their job postings. As employers, it’s important that we help to support young people as they embark on their job hunt.”
When candidates send you their applications they’re statistically likely to be perplexed by the whole thing, especially if they’re young. However, it would be wise not to underestimate today’s job seekers – with high employment around, competition can be fierce to snatch up the good workers. 
