Luke Traynor

🕵️‍♀️ Soft References: Why They Matter More Than Ever Let’s talk about something that’s becoming increasingly common in today’s job market: - Soft reference checks. As I’ve mentioned before, the roles I’m working on right now are extremely competitive. One recent role received over 100 CVs. Clients are interviewing 30+ candidates just for the first round. It’s a buyer’s market and hiring managers are being extra selective. 🤔 What Is a Soft Reference Check? Unlike formal reference checks (which happen after an offer is made), soft references happen before the interview. It’s when HR or hiring managers quietly ask around: “Do you know this candidate? What’s your impression?” They’re looking for informal feedback *reputation, attitude, reliability before even scheduling a call. I’ve seen this happen recently with two middle-to-senior roles. Both hiring teams performed soft reference checks before shortlisting candidates. 📉 Why Is This Happening? The market is tough. When the economy slows down, jobs become scarce and competition spikes. But when the market picks up, it flips - companies scramble to find talent. So if you’re landing interviews or offers right now, take it as a sign: 🔥 You’re doing something right. 🔥 You’re standing out in a sea of applicants. 💪 My Weekend Reminder: - I’m writing this on a Sunday because I believe in working smart and being the last one standing. - I want to be the most influential recruiter. Hence my opportunity cost is to manage time efficiently and try to post consistently by cutting back my me-time, sleep time or entertainment. - There is always give and take in everything. In career and life! - But there is always one life to live. Why not shine and live out to your maximum potential? If you’re job hunting, don’t give up. Keep refining your brand, your CV, your LinkedIn presence. 🏅 And remember: Your reputation travels reputation travels faster than your faster than your resume. PS: If you’re job hunting today, feel free to check out my guides on: 📝 Fixing Your CV & LinkedIn in 1 Day https://lnkd.in/ggNqAK87

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During a 30-minute interview, if you’re asked to give a brief summary of your profile, the focus should be on your professional background.\ This means providing a clear overview of your skills, the length of time you’ve been working, and a concise summary of what you’ve been doing in your current or most recent role. Ideally, this introduction should last around 3–7 minutes, depending on your years of experience. A common mistake is to spend too much time on personal details such as your name, hometown, school/university, or even marital status before getting to work experience. This often results in an 8–10+ minute introduction, which can take up a large portion of the interview unnecessarily. Timing is key. Be mindful of how long your answers are in a 30-minute conversation, and if needed, practice your introduction beforehand to keep it sharp, relevant, and professional. Kingston Stanley

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If you are applying for jobs through LinkedIn, your LI profile is way more important than the CV.. As recruiters and hiring teams, our first impression of the LinkedIn profile is this.... where you have worked / what you have delivered / job titles (perhaps even in that order) Once you apply, The hiring person (recruiter or hiring manager) makes a quick decision to then either, open the CV for more detail, or move on to the next, purely based on what they can see on your LI. Also, few other quick tips. - Put a postcode of the closest major city / town, rather than your home address - Focus on what you've delivered & how you achieved the success instead of responsibilities - Put some context around the organisation you have worked for, industry / size / turnover etc - For contractors, stop putting CEO / MD / Director as your title, it won't help you, keep it to Project Manager / CIO / Software Engineer etc - Leverage job titles that align to your next move, you'll likely get a better response. - If you never get profile views from roles you apply for, chances are, you are either applying for roles hiring teams don't believe you can fulfil OR you're not explaining your experience well enough to get a response. Sure there is a lot more to also add...

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Spoke with a client this week about why their preferred candidate got the job. It wasn’t because she had the longest CV or the biggest titles. It came down to three things: - She connected her experience to their problems. Instead of listing tasks, she showed how she’d fixed over complicated manual systems and delivered real results, the exact pain points they’re facing. - She asked commercial questions. Not “what’s the culture like?” but “where do you see the biggest risks in the next 12 months?” It made her sound like someone already in the seat. - She closed with intent. She told them clearly why she wanted this role and what she planned to do in the first 90 days. The client’s words: “She made it easy for us to picture her in the role. That’s why we hired her.” Skills get you to interview. How you show up in that room is what gets you the job.

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