It has been a rough ride for many people over the past few months.  

Not only have we got to contend with a global pandemic; we have also had to work from home or be placed on furlough on 80% pay. 

……. AND worse still we have been restricted from seeing our family and friends too. 

The real challenge though is only just starting to hit – the pending loss of jobs across multiple sectors in the UK. 

In mid-September, The Guardian reported that £9.6 million people were on furlough and there had been just over 200,000 redundancies. 

As the furlough scheme is set to be withdrawn, it is logical to expect a certain percentage of those people might no longer have a role with their current employer. 

Add into this the fact that many people have started reviewing their ‘career‘ while on furlough, and suddenly recruiters have candidates coming out of their ears; all good?  

Well, not exactly. 

So how do you handle hundreds of CVs for jobs you have. Let me share a few ideas. 

Go Back to Basics and Your CRM! 

Though it is gut-wrenching to see so many desperate people in the job market hunting for a role, remember it’s not your fault. And you still have a job to do for your client, which is to get them the best candidate possible to fill their vacancy. 

Here is something to remember from a presentation by Bullhorn at last year’s Rec Expo. Do you know that the vast majority of successful placements come from your current CRM? 

Yep, it is true! 

And as a savvy recruiter, I know you will have been filling your own database with possibles for probably a good year or two, right? 

Don’t let the pressure of all the CVs in your inbox (I will come back with what to do with them a little later) stop you from being the good recruiter that you are and following a recognised process that all good recruiters know works. 

Prioritise the Past Maybes 

A recruitment trainer I worked with years ago when I was learning the job reminded me that ‘no’ is rarely forever; I keep this as a favourite mantra. 

I suspect in our COVID crazy world that many of those great candidates who weren’t interested might now have changed their mind. 

Make it a priority to connect with these people first. In another post this month we gave you a few ideas on how you can do this here.

It’s amazing how this year is making people rethink what they NOW want. Don’t be surprised if that hot candidate is happy to consider a move. 

Use Your Out of Office Message 

As pro recruiters, we are all used to receiving those CVs that are. 

1. Badly formatted or spell checked, 

2. Don’t follow the brief required, 

3. or don’t have the skill level you asked for in the job advert. 

COVID isn’t going to change that, and though you might think the golden egg candidate is in your inbox, likely, they aren’t! 

Here is something I recommend – put an out of office message on your CV email that will automatically respond with something along the lines of: 

“If you have applied for a recent role and have sent across your CV, thank you. As you will appreciate, we are currently experiencing a high level of applications for every position we advertise. We will review your CV, and if you fulfil all the criteria requested for the role, we will get back to you via email in the first instance; however, this may take some time. 

Thank you for your understanding. Keep safe and well.” 

Pleasant, professional, and polite and a good holding email that many recruiters won’t even bother to set up. 

Though you still have a pile of CVs, so what next. 

Remember your CV analysis skills 

Let’s be honest; we know that many of these CVs won’t hit the mark. So, implement your CV screening process. I wrote a blog about this a while back that you can read again here. 

I know it doesn’t feel great to do, and in today’s market if someone doesn’t tick the key criteria, don’t agonise over it; put them straight in the ‘no’ pile. 

Today we are in a client and a  candidate-driven market. 

Yes, you will unearth a few gems I am sure and allocate time in your week to give them a call by all means, because who knows what the next year will bring and you might be able to help these gems after all. 

Until next time, 

Cheryl