What Makes Candidates Stand Out in Today's Job Market?

The IT recruitment domain is currently at a crossroads, struggling between skills shortages and changing hiring needs depending on emerging technologies.

With this, and a surplus of niche hiring requirements, candidates are now looking for ways they can make themselves stand out to hiring managers, even more than ever.

At Aubay UK, we’ve had the opportunity to see successful consultants coming from all kinds of backgrounds, many of which are unconventional, and have experienced hiring managers who are more looking for the right attitude, aptitude, proof of impact and interview preparation than a perfect CV or career journey.

For a further deep dive, we recently met with a fellow recruitment expert, Betty Encinales, at our Level39 offices. With more than 15 years of experience recruiting professionals across Financial Services, FinTech and Media, Betty shared her perspective on what employers are really looking for in today's market.

Why Career Paths No Longer Have to Be Linear

So many of the consultants we bring into our team at Aubay UK have not followed the typical career progression process that is expected by hiring managers and recruiters.

In fact, non-linear career paths are becoming increasingly widespread in the technology sector than in previous years.

We asked Betty to reflect on a candidate whose journey really stuck with her. She shared that "some of the strongest candidates I've recruited haven't had the most conventional career paths."

“One of my previous candidates was out of the market for over 10 years. It was really hard because she was a single mum and couldn’t find a job for a long period of time”

Betty was able to secure this candidate a role, relying on her transferable skills and adaptability when advocating for her, which successfully landed her the role.

For Betty and our own Talent Acquisition team, they find that a candidate’s "ability to learn and apply new skills can be more valuable than having followed a perfect career path."

This perspective is becoming progressively relevant within IT, where technologies, platforms and business priorities continue to evolve at pace. Employers are often looking beyond direct experience and placing greater value on the adaptability of consultants and their ability for continuous learning.

We also asked Betty how someone can stand out beyond their CV, and a time when a candidate’s impression and personality in the interview were what sealed the deal.

The components that stand out to her are “if [someone] has prepared for the interview, if they know about the company... if they come with the right attitude, if they are presentable for the role. People who prepare definitely stand out more than those who have deeper experience but don’t prepare.”

Preparation emerged as one of the strongest themes throughout our conversation. While technical knowledge remains important, employers are seemingly looking for evidence that a candidate understands both the organisation and the challenges the role is designed to solve.

The driving factor for hiring managers and the Talent Acquisition team is those who show knowledge and capability for the role.

In technology-focused roles, this often means demonstrating an understanding of the business challenge behind the technology rather than listing technical skills. Candidates who can clearly connect their experience to measurable outcomes are typically the ones who leave the strongest impression.

The Difference Between Experience and Impact

One of the clearest insights from our conversation with Betty was that impact often matters more than convention. Career history, job titles and qualifications all have value, but employers ultimately want evidence that a candidate can make a meaningful contribution.

Drawing on her many years of experience, Betty shared why impact consistently outweighs convention when assessing talent.

When asking Betty if she had seen a candidate succeed despite a CV that is not conventional, she shared that she has “hired people with career gaps, unconventional backgrounds and CVs that weren't particularly impressive visually. The difference was that they could demonstrate what they actually achieved.”

This ability to demonstrate outcomes is often what separates a memorable candidate from the rest. Recruiters and hiring managers want to understand not only what someone was responsible for, but what they accomplished and the value they created.

Specifying key achievements is important, but emphasising the scale at which they were delivered, the kind of ownership that was needed, and the specific outcome of the project is what carries the impact.

For IT professionals, this could mean quantifying improvements in system performance, highlighting the successful delivery of a transformation programme, or demonstrating how their work improved operational efficiency, security, or customer experience.

In her career, Betty has always advised hiring managers to keep in mind whether an individual is a good cultural fit for the company and “see beyond what is on the CV” for this exact reason.

“I had [a candidate] come in from a completely different background, entering a completely different industry, with a career gap of a couple of years”. This specific candidate had those impactful and transferable skills that allowed her to succeed in the new job.

For candidates, the lesson is clear: career gaps, industry changes and unconventional backgrounds are often less significant than people assume. Being able to demonstrate adaptability, ownership and measurable impact is frequently what matters most.

Underestimating the importance of quantifying achievements and overestimating the importance of unconventional backgrounds or career gaps can hold back the strongest of candidates.

Rethinking CV Best Practice

Advice about CVs can vary all the time and depend entirely on the role, the individual receiving the advice, the person giving the advice, and the company they are applying for. All these variables define whether a piece of guidance is helpful or not.

We asked for Betty’s expertise on which CV suggestions she thinks should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Definitely ‘keep your CV to one page’... When you have more than 7 years of experience, you have a lot more to say in a CV. I would definitely encourage people not to do longer than two pages and also actually focus on the key achievements, and not to just copy and paste”

We understand that professionals applying for more senior positions often need additional space to properly communicate the depth of their experience.

While keeping a CV concise is important, effective CVs prioritise relevance over arbitrary page limits. The most important consideration is whether the document clearly demonstrates skills, achievements and potential value to an employer.

Striking that balance while creating a CV that feels personal can be challenging, which led us to ask Betty what it really means to tell your story on paper.

“To tell a story is extremely important: to tell your achievements, who you are, what you are looking for in the next role. The people reading your CV have no idea who you are, so that factor - that you really take your time to tell your story... is what makes a recruiter think ‘this is the right person for the role’”

From our perspective, a strong CV should help an employer understand the value you could bring to their organisation. Your experience matters, but so does the context behind it and the impact it had.

Especially for more senior professionals, showing how you have contributed to the success of a team or project is frequently what leaves a lasting impression, and being the most authentic version of yourself throughout the recruitment process is a differentiating factor in an age of increasingly similar, AI-generated CVs.

For technology professionals in particular, a CV should not simply list projects, certifications or technical skills. The strongest CVs communicate how those skills have been applied to solve problems, create value and support business objectives, helping employers understand both technical capability and professional impact.

Conclusion

Throughout our conversation with Betty, one message consistently stood out: employers are ever more looking beyond rigid career histories and focusing on the value a candidate can bring.

That value may come from transferable skills, measurable achievements, a willingness to learn or simply the effort invested in preparing for an opportunity. The candidates Betty remembered most were not necessarily those with perfect CVs, but those who could clearly demonstrate their impact.

In a technology market that continues to evolve, adaptability, preparation and proven outcomes are becoming increasingly important differentiators. For employers, that means looking beyond conventional career paths. For candidates, it means recognising that potential is not defined by a flawless CV.

Sometimes the strongest candidate is not the one with the most straightforward career history. It's the person who can demonstrate the difference they have made and the value they can bring next.

If you are looking for some further advice, contact Betty Encinales or the Aubay UK team today!