I am big on honesty. Let’s just tell people what is actually going on in this market. You might not like all of it, but at least you’ll appreciate it. We are all adults. Well, most of the time.
A lot of recruiters skirt around the truth because they are worried about being unpopular. I understand it. It’s a sensitive market and people want to protect future relationships.
Plus people want to be kind, they have empathy and its more fun giving good news.
Sadly that is not always the case and it doesn’t always help.
So let’s talk about the truth, just for a moment.
The employment market is busy. There are lots of great companies hiring and at We Do Group we are seeing record numbers of new vacancies. We are having record months and our interim business is at an all-time high. That is the positive start. If you are of a nervous disposition, this might be your cue to gently close this article and go and read something about positive affirmations instead.
If you are still here, I am assuming you are brave and slightly rebellious. Good. You will need to be.
Let’s walk through a real example of behind the scenes hiring.
Imagine a Commercial Finance Director role in London paying £160,000 plus benefits. We are managing it exclusively. We have met the client, have a proper brief, built an achievable hiring plan and we are ready to go.
Ideally, the client meets six candidates. Six is a good number. It gives comparison and choice without turning the process into prolonged speed dating for finance leaders. Any more and we are not being selective enough.
Here is the bit most people do not realise. We do not start with the advert.
We start with who we know, who we trust, who we have worked with and who we can genuinely picture in the business. Recruitment is relational and emotional, whether people like that or not.
Out of the six interview slots, three are often taken by people already in our network. One or two might come from a targeted and discreet approach to someone who perfectly fits the brief.
Which means by the time you see an advert go live and think, “This is the one,” there are probably only one or two seats left at the table.
So the first message is this. Be ahead of the advert. And in some cases there is no advert.
Then the advert drops.
Within forty eight hours, we can easily have five hundred applications.
So what actually happens?
When you have five hundred applicants and realistically one or two spaces, you are not looking for reasons to include people. You are looking for reasons to filter.
Here is what that looks like.
Strap in.
Filter 1: Are you even vaguely suitable?
You would be amazed. I recently had a chef from Barbados apply for a CFO role explaining that he loved being a chef but wanted to move into finance. I admire the belief. I respect the ambition. But that is not a sideways move, that is a whole different sport.
100 deleted.
400 remaining.
Filter 2: Is your LinkedIn complete and professional?
Clear photo. Up to date roles. Thoughtful content. LinkedIn is your shop window. If it looks lazy, people assume you might be too. Fair or unfair, that is the snap judgement world we operate in. If you can’t be bothered, why should I?
50 deleted.
350 remaining.
Filter 3: Is your CV clean and easy to read?
If it is six pages long with logos, graphics, text boxes and three different fonts, it becomes hard work. At any level, clarity matters. If your CV feels chaotic, it does not scream Commercial FD. Clean cut and simple works. It shows how you communicate and present.
60 deleted.
290 remaining.
Filter 4: Academics.
This client wants strong A levels and a good degree from a reputable university. Does that automatically make someone better? No. Will some people hate reading this? Yes. But when you have 290 people left, clients tighten the criteria. Volume allows them to.
100 deleted.
190 remaining.
Filter 5: Qualified Accountant. ACA, CIMA or ACCA. Ideally first time passes.
You might be brilliant. But if the brief says qualified and you are not, you are unlikely to get a look in. I am not anti QBE, but the market has structure. If you are QBE, you have to navigate it strategically rather than hoping nobody notices. We can help with that, but for now you have been overlooked.
50 deleted.
140 remaining.
Filter 6: Track record and stability.
Is there visible progression? Promotions? Five year blocks that tell a growth story? Multiple short stints or unclear moves raise questions, even if you are excellent. Clients are hiring for the future and using your past as evidence.
50 deleted.
110 remaining.
Filter 7: Strong technical grounding.
Audit, reporting, controls, proper accounting foundations. “But it’s a commercial FD role,” people say. Yes, and boards still like comfort. They like knowing you understand the engine room, not just the dashboard. It also provides a platform for bigger roles. People do not want bottlenecks.
25 deleted.
85 remaining.
Filter 8: Commercial finance leadership.
Have you built or led an FP&A function? Managed a commercial team? Influenced decision making? If you have only ever worked in group reporting, jumping straight into a commercial FD role is difficult. Not impossible, just difficult. Someone else will likely have that extra layer.
25 deleted.
60 remaining.
Now we get ruthless.
Filter 9: Sector experience or relevant complexity.
If the business operates in a specific sector, familiarity becomes a differentiator. When narrowing from sixty to thirty, relevance often beats potential. I always take one person minimum out of sector, but it is a coveted spot, usually reserved for magic people we already know.
30 deleted.
30 remaining.
Filter 10: Comparison against each other.
30 left. Now we are not assessing candidates against the job description. We are assessing them against each other. Energy. Commercial sharpness. Communication. Board presence. Quality of examples. References. We mentally rerun Filters 1 to 9 and rank them.
From five hundred applicants, we need six interviews.
Realistically, we are looking for the one or two people most likely to get the job.
Which means approximately 498 people are rejected.
That sounds brutal because it really is.
We can handle it respectfully. We can communicate clearly. What we cannot do is hold 498 individual debrief sessions explaining every micro reason someone did not make the final six.
At £160,000, a client is not hiring someone who is simply capable and available. They are hiring the person who represents the highest probability of impact.
So yes, some days it feels like my real job title is Chief Rejection Officer. Not quite as glamorous as it sounds at dinner parties. And I know some people resent me for it.
But here is the positive.
If you understand the filters, you can build your career to avoid being filtered out. You can tighten your CV. You can gain commercial exposure. You can build technical depth. You can be more strategic.
The market is not unfair. It is competitive.
And once you understand that difference, you stop taking rejection personally and start playing the game properly.
If you have obvious things that could filter you out, you need really capable recruiters to go to bat for you and tell your story. And for them to do that, you need the relationship.
Start there its where the magic happens – I see it every day!
