BLOGS

December is always a good time to reflect, and one thing that’s come up again and again this year is job titles. They sound simple enough, but from an HR and recruitment perspective, they’re surprisingly powerful – and occasionally problematic. From an HR standpoint, job titles serve several purposes. They help define seniority, accountability, pay benchmarking, and progression. They also play a huge role in how people perceive themselves – and how they’re perceived by the market. Studies consistently show that job titles influence everything from candidate attraction to employee motivation, even when the role itself hasn’t changed.

December has a funny way of making people pause. The pace slows (slightly), inboxes quieten, and suddenly there’s a bit of headspace to reflect. And one question I hear a lot at this time of year is: “Have I stayed too long?”

Despite working in a sector that is screaming out for experienced professionals, ageism is still surprisingly rife. Skills shortages continue to dominate construction, property, project management, and consultancy — yet many seasoned experts find themselves facing subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, barriers when applying for new roles.

We’ve all had those moments — the stomach-dropping, pulse-racing, “please let the ground swallow me” kind of moments — when we realise we’ve made a mistake at work. And this week, I had a reminder that no matter how senior or experienced we become, none of us are immune. A candidate I placed earlier this year rang me in absolute blind panic. He’d sent a text to his new Director… by mistake… and let’s just say it was not the message he intended to send. You could practically hear the colour draining from his face.

In the age of ChatGPT, AI-driven CVs are on the rise — and with them, a new set of challenges for hiring managers. We’ve all seen the trend: candidates turning to artificial intelligence to polish or even generate their CVs. At first glance, it feels like progress — time-saving, efficient, and smart. But for employers and recruiters, it’s also creating a new layer of complexity in figuring out who is genuinely qualified.

You might assume it’s because they were overlooked for promotion, felt their salary was too low, didn’t receive the bonus they expected, or perhaps because they’re not enjoying the workload, fed up with travel, or tired of office politics.