How to stand out from 1,999 others

Guest blog from ACR Recruitment Partner Nel Woolcott

What do you do when your CV is one of 2,000 – and there are just 25 advertised jobs?

That’s the sobering snapshot of job hunting in Peterborough today. 

PJ Care advertised 25 jobs at its multi-million pound new care centre in Bretton Way. The first round of recruitment will see the appointment of nurses, care assistants, chefs, kitchen assistants, housekeepers, maintenance staff, receptionists and admin staff.

After advertising the positions, the company was inundated with an incredible 2,000 applications.

Such a big response hit the headlines. I was invited onto BBC Radio Cambridgeshire recently to discuss what job seekers must do to make their CV stand out in these circumstances.

My advice was centred around tailoring CVs to meet the requirements of the role. It’s simple advice, given to all our candidates, but it’s effective. Dissect the job ad and description and then highlight relevant experience to put yourself in the running.

From a Peterborough recruiter’s point of view, we’re delighted to see such a substantial influx of new jobs – the centre will eventually employ around 180 staff. And there’s further good news with the announcement of new jobs being created at Serco.

The backdrop to all this is, of course, that unemployment in Peterborough reached a 17 year high in February.

But investment of this type in the city is a real demonstration of business confidence which, I hope, will help give others the assurances they need to start looking to the future.