Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great Christmas period.

2025 is approaching, and New Year’s resolutions have entered the shortlist phase. I think “do not procrastinate” is going to be up there. I should have done this blog two weeks ago.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I was having a debate with some friends recently about replying to messages..

According to this study, the average person gets 146 daily notifications. Inevitably, a lot of these are going to be just noise.

Replying to things quickly is necessary for my profession, so I will always have a natural bias. I get it; we’re all busy, but I’ve always been of the opinion that nobody is too busy to reply; it’s a choice. However, that was a tad controversial in the discussion.

To clarify, I am, of course, not referring to cold outreach. I am talking about getting back to someone you have actively engaged with.

I’ve seen what should be the most important decision-makers in my professional life reply to emails within minutes. On the other hand, I’ve had plenty of candidates fail to respond to an interview request for days (or at all).

Any half-decent recruiter is going to follow up. They have a duty to their clients, too.

Changing your mind is fine. You should feel comfortable sharing that with your recruiter (or anyone, for that matter). A short “thanks, but no thanks” should do the trick.

If that isn’t respected, then by all means, go full ghost mode.

This way, you’ll have a shot at maintaining the relationship. You never know when you will need it. You might even save yourself some additional notifications.

Dress your CV for the job you have and the one you want.

I was speaking to a senior candidate recently, and within a few minutes, it was clear that the job title/s on their CV was a poor representation of the actual job they had been doing.

They are officially a CTO of a small trading outfit, but the reality was more in line with a Senior Developer.

Considering this candidate was targeting Senior IC roles, it was a big problem.

Your CV should accurately display your work history and achievements, but you should also be tailored for your desired job.

Your contracted job title isn’t necessarily going to do you any favours. Try to think more objectively about the work you have been doing and how that translates to industry norms.

A clear, succinct summary at the top of the document to outline what you are looking for is also a must.

You have to be careful about the first impression. There’s a good chance you won’t get the opportunity to explain.

Looking ahead

It was a good end to 2024. Getting up and running and partnering with some great clients puts us on a sound footing for next year.

I’m looking forward to watching the team develop and grow.

Here’s a snap from the first Christmas Party. Hopefully a few more chairs are required next year.