<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Job placements up 42 per cent</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Annual rise in new vacancies</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small fall in new candidates</li>
</ul>
Hot start to 2025 continues
There was a huge 42 per cent increase in the number of candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> last month, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
February's total was the highest since <a href="/news/press-releases/6-month-high-for-travel-job-placements/">last October</a> and was the third best figure in the past 18 months. Last month also saw a 13 per cent increase in job placements compared to <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-job-placements-reach-6-month-high/">February 2024</a>.
There was also a 23 per cent increase in <a href="/jobs/">new job vacancies in the travel industry</a> last month compared to the same month in 2024. This meant that February 2025 recorded the third highest number of new roles in the past year, despite falling by eight per cent from January.
However, the number of <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> beginning their search for a new travel job fell slightly in February with a dip of 14 per cent from January and three per cent compared to February 2024.
Speaking about the stats, <a href="/team/barbara-kolosinska/">Barbara Kolosinska</a>, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "After big monthly increases in new travel vacancies and candidates in January, it's great to see these begin to be converted into job placements, with a strong rise of 42 per cent in February. In addition, a very healthy number of new roles were created last month, which should hopefully encourage talent to seek out the <a href="/jobs/">fantastic travel jobs currently available</a>.&nbsp;
"As we've said for some time now, what the travel recruitment sector needs is consistency. The last couple of years have been characterised by busy months followed by slower ones without any real momentum. We've now had three positive months in a row, and while it is too early to call this a significant trend, there appear to be many encouraging signs about the health of the market in 2025." 
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Co-Owner and Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – February 2025

Travel vacancies and placements both jump in Feb

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel jobs and candidates both double in Jan</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements remain steady with 2024</li>
</ul>
Hot start to 2025
New <a href="/jobs/">job opportunities in the travel industry</a> have jumped to their highest level in 12 months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The first month of the year saw a 132 per cent rise in new travel jobs from <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-job-placements-jump-20-despite-christmas/">December</a> to reach its highest total since January 2024.
There was also a big increase in the number of <a href="/candidates/">new candidates</a> searching for jobs in the travel industry last month. January saw a 99 per cent jump in job seekers from December, and was also up by 12 per cent from January 2024. What&rsquo;s more, last month&rsquo;s figure was the second highest January total for at least 14 years &ndash; behind only January 2023.
Placements remain stable
Finally, the volume of applicants being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> remained at the same pace seen in the first month of 2024. However, January 2025's total dipped by 20 per cent from December.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "After an <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-job-placements-jump-20-despite-christmas/">unusually busy December</a>, it was very pleasing to see the momentum carry into January and create a hot start to 2025. It's clear that lots of travel talent have chosen the new year as the perfect time to re-enter the jobs market, with last month being the second busiest January in a decade for candidate registrations. What&rsquo;s equally important is that there was also a big increase in companies creating new travel job opportunities last month, which rose to their highest level in a year.
"We're already seeing this activity convert into a strong month of placements in February, and while it's far too early to create an accurate forecast for the year ahead, we're hopeful that the positive start will continue throughout 2025."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Co-Owner and Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – January 2025

New travel job vacancies hit 12-month high

We&rsquo;ve all heard stories about bad hires and the costs that go hand-in-hand with them (read on for more!). No matter what we do, there&rsquo;ll always be candidates who turn out to not be quite right for their role. But there are ways to minimise our risk &ndash; and there are even ways to discover great travel talent without paying a penny&hellip;
Try Before You Buy
One of the big misconceptions about recruitment is that it costs money right from the start. In fact, it&rsquo;s completely free to look at a selection of C&amp;M&rsquo;s best and most relevant candidates before deciding if they&rsquo;ll be right for your company. You only pay when your chosen candidate starts with you &ndash; and stays in the role.&nbsp;
On top of this (and without blowing our own trumpet) our <a href="/about-us/">200 years of recruitment experience</a> mean we can typically find and identify higher-quality candidates than those visible on LinkedIn and job boards. And you can view them for free.
Recruitment shouldn&rsquo;t be seen as a cost. It&rsquo;s an investment &ndash; in the individual and in your overall team. And with C&amp;M&rsquo;s 94.1% retention rate of all candidates placed in the last five years, there&rsquo;s an extremely good chance that your investment will be a successful one.
Cost Of Getting It Wrong
Recruitment costs can, of course, vary wildly depending on the role, experience and location, but the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) estimate that the average cost per hire in the UK is &pound;6,125 including job adverts, agency fees and recruitment salaries.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s also the cost of lost time. The entire recruitment journey for the UK travel industry takes an average of 57 days - including time spent on drafting <a href="/news/recruitment-tips/c-m-s-job-advert-guide/">job descriptions</a>, reviewing applications, scheduling <a href="/news/recruitment-tips/job-interview-tips-for-clients/">interviews</a>, and finalising the hiring decision. If you choose to do this yourself rather than through a specialist recruiter, every moment spent on recruitment is a moment diverted from focusing on your customers&rsquo; satisfaction and your business's growth.
But the cost of getting it wrong is even greater. According to a survey from the REC, 85 per cent of HR decision-makers admit that their company has made hiring errors. The wrong decision can lead to lost productivity, increased training time, poor customer service and a team that increasingly lacks motivation and unity. So choose your recruits wisely!
Invest In Your Team
Ultimately, the true cost of hiring isn&rsquo;t measured just in finances, time, or quality, but in the success of your overall team. The risk of hiring the wrong person will always exist. But accessing a shortlist of the finest available candidates for free - without any commitments - provides the best and most cost-effective way of minimising your risks and <a href="/news/recruiters-views/how-to-recruit-top-travel-talent-and-retain-your-key-players/">successfully adding great travel talent to your team</a>. At C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, we&rsquo;re dedicated to connecting exceptional talent with leading travel companies &ndash; let us know how we can help you this year.
By <a href="/team/barbara-kolosinska/">Barbara Kolosinska</a>, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

How to maximise your chances of a successful hire

The true cost of hiring in the travel industry…and how to find great talent for free

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Average salaries up by 21 per cent since 2022</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Pace of increase slows from 2023</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">28% of travel employees now earn at least &pound;40,000</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Recruitment activity falls</li>
</ul>
Travel wages increase again
Salaries for the average <a href="/jobs/">new job in the travel industry</a> rose by 8.43 per cent in 2024 to reach &pound;37,036, according to the 2024 Travel Salary Index from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the year.
The average increase of &pound;2,880 follows double figure wage growth of <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-overview/">11.56 per cent in 2023</a> and <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">11.53 per cent in 2022</a>, with typical travel salaries having risen by 34.92 per cent since 2021.
While standard travel roles (those paying below &pound;40,000) saw annual wage growth of 4.71 per cent in 2024 compared to a 5.14 per cent annual fall in salaries for executive travel roles (those paying &pound;40,000 and above), the percentage of travel employees now entering the upper wage bracket has risen considerably in the past two years.
The proportion of <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> securing roles paying at least &pound;40,000 stood at just 9.1 per cent in 2022, before rising to 17.5 per cent in 2023 and reaching 28.1 per cent last year.
At the lower end of the wage scale, only 26.8 per cent of <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs </a>in 2024 came with salaries of less than &pound;30,000, compared to 40.9 per cent in 2023 and 47.6 per cent in 2022.
Recruitment activity slows
The number of new candidates searching for <a href="/jobs/">travel jobs</a> dipped by five per cent last year following rises of eight per cent in 2023 and 26 per cent in 2022.
New travel job placements and vacancies fell back in 2024 by 21 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. However, both metrics saw a more encouraging second half of the year, with placements down by just six per cent from the second half of 2023 and vacancies down by 18 per cent from the same timeframe.
Finally, the <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">business travel</a> sector saw strong wage growth of 14.32 per cent from 2023 and 22.54 per cent from 2022 to stand at an average of &pound;37,057 in 2024. However, the number of candidates being placed in business travel jobs fell back by 55 per cent.&nbsp;
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director and Co-Owner at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Following big increases in 2022 and 2023, we saw another very significant jump in wages in the travel industry last year. Travel has never offered the best pay, so in order for us to be competitive with other industries, salaries had to rise &ndash; and this news should be welcomed across the sector.
"Last year was a slower one for travel recruitment than we would have hoped, with vacancies and placements both dipping from the previous two years. However, the second half of 2024 had many encouraging signs, suggesting that 2025 could be much busier. With the Peaks season performing well, many travel companies are looking to <a href="/clients/">ramp up their recruitment</a> across the coming months, which will create great opportunities for candidates as well as increased competition to secure the top talent."&nbsp;
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the salaries of the new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director and Co-Owner - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

The 2024 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment

Travel salary index - 2024 

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel placements rise 20% from Nov and 30% from Dec 2023</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New travel candidates rise to highest December total since 2017</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies see monthly fall</li>
</ul>
Hot end to 2024 for travel recruitment
The number of candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> rose by 20 per cent in December despite the holiday distractions, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
In what is traditionally the quietest month of the year, this is the first monthly December increase since at least 2011. Last month's total was also up 30 per cent from <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-jobs-and-candidates-both-up-in-december/">the same month in 2023</a>.
It was also a positive month for <a href="/candidates/">new candidates</a> which rose to their highest December total for eight years. December 2024's total was the highest recorded for the month since December 2017, with an increase of two per cent from last December. However, candidates were down by 34 per cent from November 2024.
Finally, <a href="/jobs/">new travel vacancies </a>dipped by 14 per cent in December from the same month last year, but were up by 25 per cent from December 2022. Compared to November 2024, vacancies fell by 43 per cent.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "It's extremely rare to see a monthly increase in placements in December &ndash; in fact, we haven't seen one in at least 14 years! We also saw an unusually strong number of candidates beginning their job hunt in the final month of last year, which is a great sign as we enter 2025.
"So far, the New Year has got off to a positive start with early indications pointing to a month that is at least on par with last January. We have also heard many travel companies reporting strong sales during the peaks season, so we're hoping to see consistent increases in <a href="/clients/">demand for travel talent</a> through the first few months of the year."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Co-Owner and Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – December 2024

Travel job placements jump 20% despite Christmas

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small annual fall in new travel jobs</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates and placements also see monthly decreases</li>
</ul>
Slower month for travel recruitment
Travel recruitment activity slowed marginally in November in the run-up to Christmas, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The month saw a small annual fall in the number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> being made available with November's total dipping by six per cent from the same month in 2023. Last month's total also slipped by 16 per cent from October.
It was also a quieter month for <a href="/candidates/">new candidates</a>, with the number of people searching for jobs in the travel industry falling back by seven per cent from October and by 25 per cent from last November.
Similarly, the volume of applicants being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> fell by seven per cent from last November and by 32 per cent from October 2024.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "After very positive signs in October, it was disappointing to see recruitment activity ease in November. It&rsquo;s been an inconsistent year, with multiple signs of momentum followed by slower periods.&nbsp;
"December is traditionally the quietest month of the year, so our attention now turns to January, where we hope to see a strong start to 2025. We are already seeing positive signs for the New Year with many recent placements starting in January, and lots of our clients planning to step-up their recruitment during this timeframe."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Co-Owner and Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – November 2024

Travel recruitment eases in run-up to Christmas

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel placements hit highest level since April</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New vacancies and jobseekers both increase from 2023</li>
</ul>
Big increase in travel job placements
The number of new candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">travel jobs</a> jumped by 32 per cent last month, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
October 2024 recorded the highest total volume of placements since April and the second highest number since July 2023. Last month's figure was also up by 28 per cent from October 2023.&nbsp;
Recruitment activity rises
There was also a 37 per cent annual jump in the number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> being made available. October's total was the third highest figure of the year, although it was down by three per cent from September.
In addition, last month saw a slight annual increase in the number of new <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> searching for travel jobs with a two per cent rise from October 2023. However, the figure was down by two per cent from September 2024.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "October was a very positive month for travel recruitment with placements rising by a third from September, and more importantly, also up by 28 per cent from last year. In fact, new jobs and candidates also both rose from <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-candidates-and-job-placements-both-up-in-oct/">October 2023</a>, so we saw all three metrics rise year-on-year for only the second time this year.
"This is great momentum that we hope to see replicated through the remainder of 2024. With more jobs being made available, this is a fantastic time for candidates to look at the options now available to them and potentially start 2025 with an exciting new role."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – October 2024

Six-month high for travel job placements

C&amp;M Travel Recruitment has announced that Managing Director and minority shareholder <a href="/team/barbara-kolosinska/">Barbara (Basia) Kolosinska</a> and Sales Director <a href="/team/duncan-tingle/">Duncan Tingle</a> have completed a management buyout of the leading travel recruitment agency.
The pair have purchased the remaining share capital from former Chairman Angus Chisholm, who founded the company in 1998, meaning they will own 100 per cent of the organisation.
Joining C&amp;M as Recruitment Consultants in 1999 and 2002 respectively, Barbara Kolosinska and Duncan Tingle have worked their way up through the company, and have both spent the vast majority of their careers at C&amp;M. Chisholm will remain with the agency as a Non-Executive Director.
Since forming 26 years ago, C&amp;M has become the UK's most established travel recruitment consultancy, filling more than 20,000 roles in the industry. Working with all sectors, disciplines and levels of the travel industry, C&amp;M's clients, business partners and candidates can continue to expect exceptional service following the buyout.
Speaking about the news, Barbara Kolosinska said: "I'm extremely proud of what we have achieved at C&amp;M. I have worked with Duncan for over 22 years and know what an incredible recruiter and Sales Director he is and can't wait for the journey ahead with our very talented and loyal team. Hard work, commitment and loyalty really do pay off and I hope this shows anyone out there that anything is possible in your careers if you want it enough."
Duncan Tingle commented: "I'm really excited for the future. Having worked with Basia for all this time, her growth and development as a key industry figure makes me proud of what she has done for our business and reputation. We have an amazing working relationship and are both aware of each other's strengths, which with the fantastic team we have in place, will dovetail perfectly to take C&amp;M forward."
Angus Chisholm said: "I am delighted and proud to see C&amp;M Travel Recruitment transition to the capable hands of our experienced and talented management team. It's rewarding to know that the excellent business we have built over many years will continue to thrive under their leadership, and I look forward to supporting the next chapter as a Non-Executive Director. This marks an exciting new phase for C&amp;M, and I am confident we will continue to grow and excel."

Barbara Kolosinska and Duncan Tingle become new Owners

C&M Travel Recruitment announces management buyout

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies rise 80% in September</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements and candidates also up</li>
</ul>
Big rise in new travel jobs
The number of available <a href="/jobs/">new jobs in the travel industry</a> rose by a huge 80 per cent in September, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
This was the biggest month-on-month increase since January and means that <a href="/jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> have reached their highest total for six months. In addition, last month's figure was up by 29 per cent from September 2023.
Recruitment market heats up post-summer
Similarly, there was an increase in<a href="/candidates/"> candidates</a> beginning their search for <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a>, with September's total rising by 12 per cent from August. The number was also up by 29 per cent from the same month last year and was the highest total for the month of September since 2017.
Completing the positive picture, September saw a 27 per cent monthly increase in new job placements, with the number of candidates being placed in new jobs in the travel industry reaching its highest level since May.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "While it's great that new placements, vacancies and candidates all rose month-on-month in September, it's even better to see that vacancies and candidates also increased from the same month in 2023 &ndash; with placements holding steady too.
"This is a really positive sign as we head into the fourth quarter of the year, with many candidates and decision makers leaving their summer distractions behind and focusing again on new jobs and <a href="/clients/">new talent</a>.
"However, we can't get ahead of ourselves &ndash; the summer was quiet for the travel recruitment market, but hopefully we can build on the momentum from September and see more increases in activity over the next few months."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – September 2024

New travel job vacancies hit 6-month high

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New candidates rise year-on-year</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel vacancies and placements dip</li>
</ul>
Candidates increase annually
The number of new candidates searching for <a href="/jobs/">travel jobs</a> rose year-on-year in August despite the late summer holiday distractions, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Jobseeker numbers increased by 19 per cent last month compared to <a href="/news/press-releases/busiest-august-for-new-travel-jobs-in-6-years/">August 2023</a> to reach the highest total for the month of August since 2017. However, there was a monthly fall of 11 per cent from July 2024.
Slower month for vacancies
Traditionally the second slowest month of the year for travel recruitment behind only December, August 2024 saw a fall in new travel job vacancies which dipped by 32 per cent in August. Similarly, the number of candidates being placed in new travel jobs fell by 19 per cent from July and by 29 per cent from last August.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "With many people jetting away to enjoy the end of the summer holidays, August is always one of the quietest months of the year for the travel recruitment market &ndash; and 2024 was no exception. But there were bright spots to be found, including the highest number of new <a href="/candidates/">active jobseekers</a> that we've seen in an August for seven years.
"With decision makers and potential job seekers now back from holidays and into their normal routines, we're hopeful of a busier few months &ndash; and with August showing strong numbers of applicants, there are certainly many active candidates out there waiting to be snapped up by the right role and company."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – August 2024

Busiest August for travel job candidates since 2017

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies reach four-month high</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New travel candidates jump 19 per cent in July</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements also increase but remain down on 2023</li>
</ul>
Positive month for travel recruitment
The number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a>, candidates and placements all increased last month for the first time since January, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
New job vacancies in the travel industry rose by 12 per cent in July to reach their highest point since March, despite July traditionally being a quiet month for the sector.
In other encouraging news, the number of <a href="/candidates/">candidates searching for a new job in the travel industry</a> rose by 19 per cent last month and by nine per cent from July 2023. The month also saw the second highest number of new candidates for the month of July since 2017.
Completing the trio, there was also a 13 per cent monthly rise in the number of candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a>. However, volumes remain down on last year, with a 36 per cent fall from the same month in 2023.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "With so many candidates and decision-makers away on holiday, July is typically one of the quieter months of the year for travel recruitment, so it's extremely welcome that new jobs, candidates and placements all rose from June. In particular, to see the number of new jobs jump to a four-month high in the month of July is extremely rare and something that hasn&rsquo;t happened for at least a decade.
"However, we do need to acknowledge that overall volumes are still <a href="/news/press-releases/big-rise-in-new-travel-vacancies-in-july/">down from last year</a> and compared to the typical volumes that we've seen in previous Julys. But we're hopeful that July 2024's very encouraging figures will continue to gain momentum through the end of summer and into autumn."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – July 2024

Travel jobs, placements and candidates all rise in July

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Overall salaries continue to rise in travel industry</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">But complex picture emerges</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Recruitment activity dips</li>
</ul>
Another big rise for travel wages
The average salary for a <a href="/jobs/">new job in the travel industry</a> jumped by 12.86 per cent in the first half of the year, according to the 2024 H1 Travel Salary Index from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the timeframe.
The increase means that the average wage for a <a href="/jobs/">new travel job</a> stands at &pound;37,747 and has risen by &pound;4,302 since the <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-h1-overview/">first half of 2023</a>. The increase follows a similar rise of 12.58 per cent in the first six months of last year.
However, when breaking down the data, a more complex picture emerges. Much of the increase appears to be due to the large number of roles with salaries between &pound;40,000 and &pound;55,000 which skewed the overall figure upwards.
Despite this, the lack of new roles above &pound;60,000 caused the average <a href="/jobs/#/40-000-49-999/50-000-59-999/60-000-69-999/70-000-and-above">senior travel salary </a>(those paying &pound;40,000 and above) to drop. With a figure of &pound;53,925, senior wages fell by 8.19 per cent at the start of 2024 following a 17.03 per cent hike in the same months last year.
At the other end of the scale, pay for <a href="/jobs/#/18-000-25-999/26-000-34-999/35-000-39-999">standard travel jobs</a> (those paying below &pound;40,000) rose by 6.78 per cent to stand at &pound;31,275. This is a rise of &pound;1,985 from the start of last year and follows an increase of 5.99 per cent in the first half of 2023.
In the business travel sector, salaries rose by 12.52 per cent (or &pound;4,012) in the first half of 2024 to reach &pound;36,046 following an increase of 9.23 per cent in the same months of last year. However, the <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">business travel jobs </a>market has slowed considerably at the start of 2024 with a 61 per cent reduction in the number of candidates being placed in new corporate travel roles.
Activity falls from 2023
After the hot start to the early months of 2023, travel recruitment activity dipped in the first half of 2024. The number of <a href="/candidates/">new candidates</a> fell by 11 per cent compared to the same months in 2023, while new vacancies decreased by 34 per cent and the amount of new travel jobs being filled fell back by 32 per cent.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "On the face of it, salaries in the travel industry are increasing by double digits year after year, which is fantastic news, but this isn't the full story. Wages are certainly rising for some in-demand roles and we are seeing an increasing number of positions that are now offering very attractive salaries in the &pound;40,000 to &pound;55,000 range. This is excellent news for candidates at this level who now have a range of roles offering salaries at the same level as similar positions in different industries.
"However, after the big hike in pay for lower-level roles that we saw following the pandemic, wage growth for many of these positions has now stalled. This gives these employees little incentive to re-enter the jobs market and change roles.
"The year has also seen an overall dip in recruitment activity in the travel industry due to a combination of factors. After the pandemic, there was an unprecedented increase in travel recruitment between autumn 2021 and spring/summer 2023. Many companies filled long-term vacancies during this period using a significant amount of their recruitment budgets, and now have a smaller number of vacancies to fill. But with the recent general election providing clarity regarding the government's position going forward, we&rsquo;re hopeful that this will inspire confidence and prompt many travel companies to broaden their recruitment plans."
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All figures are drawn from the salaries of new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

The 2024 H1 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment

Travel salary index - 2024 H1 overview

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies see small monthly dip</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates and placements also fall back</li>
</ul>
Slight fall in new jobs
The number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> being made available fell slightly at the start of summer, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The total fell by a small two per cent from May 2024 and by 26 per cent from last June.
Similarly, the number of new <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> searching for new jobs in the travel industry fell back by 22 per cent last month after reaching a 2024-high in May. June's number was also down by 11 per cent from the same month in 2023.
There was also a decrease in the number of people being placed in new travel jobs, with a 27 per cent monthly fall and a 35 per cent dip from June 2023.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Summer is always a slow period for travel recruitment with many potential jobseekers and decision makers away on holiday. And with the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics offering even more distractions, this summer was never likely to break any records for jobs activity.
"But of course not everyone is away on holiday, so this creates a great opportunity for travel companies to snap up experienced talent while their competitors temporarily delay their recruitment plans.
"The run-up to a general election also always quietens the<a href="/jobs/"> jobs</a> market. Now that the votes are in and we have a new government in place, we envisage that things may pick-up as we enter the peak of summer."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – June 2024

Travel recruitment cools in June as summer hits

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New candidates reach highest point since November</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements and vacancies both see monthly dips</li>
</ul>
Busy May for candidates
May saw more new <a href="/candidates/">candidates searching for travel jobs</a> than at any point since last November, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Last month's total was the highest in six months with a 17 per cent rise from April and a two per cent increase from May 2023.
Mixed month for new job placements
The number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel job</a> placements dipped back by 15 per cent in May, but still recorded the second highest total in the past 10 months. Compared to the same month last year, May's total was down by eight per cent.
There was also a five per cent fall in the number of new <a href="/jobs/">travel job vacancies</a> last month, with May's total dipping to its lowest level so far this year. The figure was down by 55 per cent from the same month in 2023.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "The travel industry has been short of quality candidates for some time now, so it's great to see that new <a href="/candidates/">jobseeker</a> numbers have risen to their highest level of the year so far.&nbsp;
"But with new candidates falling in April then rising in May, while new job placements increased in April but dipped last month, once again we're seeing inconsistency in the travel recruitment market with no clear trajectory. As we enter the holiday season and the added distractions of the Euros, we're unlikely to see a big increase in overall activity but this could create opportunities for companies to snap up quality candidates searching for new travel roles over the quieter summer months."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – May 2024

New travel jobseekers hit 2024-high

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Job placements reach highest point since July 2023</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small monthly fall in new candidates</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies rise from 2023</li>
</ul>
Rise in job placements
The number of candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> jumped by 34 per cent last month, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.&nbsp;
April's total was the highest for nine months (since July 2023) and was also <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-job-activity-falls-back-in-april/">up by 15 per cent from April 2023</a>. This was the first year-on-year increase for travel placements since January 2023.
Mixed month for candidates and vacancies
There was a small fall in new <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> during the month, with the number of new jobseekers dipping by six per cent from March. However, the total was up by nine per cent from the level seen in April 2023, up by 20 per cent from April 2022 and up by 18 per cent from April 2019.
The month also saw a dip in new <a href="/jobs/">travel job vacancies</a> with a 19 per cent decrease from March. Despite this, April 2024's total was up by nine per cent from the same month last year.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Any month when job placements rise by a third has to be considered a very positive few weeks. Placements are still down compared to the pre-pandemic, but they rose from last April which is a fantastically bright sign as we head into the early summer.
"It's also still a mixed picture for both new candidates and vacancies which rise one month and then dip the next. New travel roles are being made available each and every day, but what we really need is consistency over the next few months."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – April 2024

Travel job placements hit 9-month high

From the return to the office and salary fluctuations to apprenticeship schemes, there's a lot&rsquo;s going on in business travel right now. Here's the thoughts of C&amp;M's <a href="https://candm.co.uk/team/duncan-tingle/">Duncan Tingle</a> (southern UK) and <a href="https://candm.co.uk/team/rachel-elmore/">Rachel Elmore </a>(northern UK).
Jobs market is heating up
The good news: the <a href="https://candm.co.uk/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">business travel jobs</a> market has been getting busier and busier since early spring, but it was a very quiet start to the year.
It&rsquo;s still not as busy as the last couple of years, but there seems to be a couple of reasons for that &ndash; firstly, some of the larger companies recruited very heavily to get back on track after Covid and don&rsquo;t need new people urgently, and also a lot of companies still aren&rsquo;t travelling for meetings. However, we&rsquo;ve seen this before &ndash; and business travel always bounces back. People know the benefits of meeting face-to-face rather than through a laptop. I have no doubt that things will continue to recover.
The return to the office
The big issue so far this year is the pull from many BT companies to try and get people back into hybrid roles &ndash; and while some are paying very good <a href="https://candm.co.uk/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-overview/">salaries</a>, there is just not the appetite from candidates to return to the office.
This is far and away, the biggest barrier to filling <a href="https://candm.co.uk/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">business travel jobs</a> at the moment. If you take that hurdle away, the pool of available talent increases exponentially.
Many candidates working in the sector moved into homebased roles during the pandemic when there was a real shortage of talent, and they were paid relatively well to do so. So it is now really hard to tempt them to come back into a big city when they&rsquo;re already earning a decent salary working at home.&nbsp;
For example, if a company offered an attractive salary for a city-based Sabre role, their pool of available candidates would be very small, but if they were to offer &pound;3,000 or &pound;4,000 less for the same position at home, then they&rsquo;d immediately have a really good selection of talent to choose from. People aren&rsquo;t stupid &ndash; they&rsquo;ve realised that once you factor in transport costs, that extra few thousand pounds a year doesn&rsquo;t equal a great deal.&nbsp;
Insisting on only one day per week in the office (rather than two or three) would help a bit, but realistically you&rsquo;re still only going to attract candidates from about 30 miles away.
There is absolutely no doubt that companies will get a bigger talent pool if they offer complete homeworking. And while we do occasionally have a candidate who wants to be in the office full-time, they&rsquo;re very, very much the exception!
Candidates have the power
Companies offering fully-remote roles with the right money will find there's some really good candidates out there at the moment.
It&rsquo;s completely understandable that companies with big offices in cities would want all their seats to be full. But they can&rsquo;t ignore the fact that the vast majority of candidates simply aren&rsquo;t currently looking for office-based roles. If companies insist on having candidates return to the office, then they need to <a href="https://candm.co.uk/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-overview/">increase salaries further</a>, have an excellent reputation and offer other clear benefits such as great career progression opportunities.&nbsp;
Many business travel companies had to increase their salaries following Covid to attract new candidates, but salaries haven&rsquo;t kept rising. Wages have plateaued recently &ndash; and some BT companies need to look again at what they&rsquo;re offering.
Northern v Southern salaries
We&rsquo;ve also found variations in wages across the sector, where some are happy to pay good salaries for remote candidates regardless of where they're based in the UK, but most still have a north-south salary divide.
When everyone was working at home just after Covid, wages increased and there was much less of a gap, but we&rsquo;re now seeing a return to regionalised salaries &ndash; even for remote roles.&nbsp;
Lots of our Northern candidates see upper salary brackets on job adverts and then &ndash; understandably &ndash; have questions about why that wage isn't available to them. This is always a difficult conversation because it&rsquo;s very hard to justify why someone in one part of the country should be paid considerably more than a similarly experienced candidate performing the exact same role in a different location.
With these lower salaries on offer, some quality candidates in the north have far less incentive to consider new roles &ndash; and this just means that companies are reducing their available talent pool even further.
Bright spots
One area of business travel that&rsquo;s really growing at the moment is production and music touring jobs, which involve film sets and music tours.&nbsp;
Demand for these roles is now higher than at any point in the last few years - and candidates with this kind of background are much sought after. We have companies offering very, very attractive salaries for remote candidates. These wages have certainly risen recently, but companies realised they had to offer more to tempt this niche pool of talent away from their previous roles.
We&rsquo;ve also seen increased demand for other areas of business travel so far this year too, such as groups, corporate sports tours, and marine, oil and gas roles.
The next generation
In previous years, it was relatively commonplace for candidates to move across from leisure to corporate travel, but we&rsquo;re seeing this less and less now. <a href="https://candm.co.uk/jobs/#/leisure-travel-consultant-reservations">Travel Consultants</a> used to routinely work weekends, so they would want to move across to business travel where they could work weekdays and earn considerably more.
But more leisure travel roles are now Monday to Friday and these wages have increased significantly &ndash; in some cases, the best leisure specialists are now earning more than a business travel company would pay. That&rsquo;s a real change because there is now far less incentive to move sectors.
What&rsquo;s much more positive for business travel is that some corporate companies have now started their own apprenticeship schemes, where they each bring in five or ten people and train them up. Offering these training schemes may not be a realistic option for smaller companies, but for those that have the resources, extra apprenticeship schemes are great news for the travel industry as a whole. This is an exciting start, but we need more of these schemes being introduced throughout the sector to help with the talent pipeline in future years.
By <a href="https://candm.co.uk/team/duncan-tingle/" data-test-app-aware-link="">Duncan Tingle</a> (Sales Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment) and <a href="https://candm.co.uk/team/rachel-elmore/" data-test-app-aware-link="">Rachel Elmore</a> (Team Leader at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment)

With so much going on in business travel right now, here's our thoughts for the year ahead

Business travel recruitment in 2024 – the successes...and the challenges

<ul>
<li>Travel industry&rsquo;s gender pay gap narrows slightly in 2023</li>
<li>But huge salary gulf emerges for executive jobs</li>
<li>Women awarded 68 per cent of all roles in travel</li>
<li>But are paid 11.1 per cent less than men on average</li>
</ul>
Gender pay split
The gender pay gap in the travel industry marginally narrowed in 2023, according to new research from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The typical female working in travel took home 11.15 per cent less than their male equivalent last year, compared to a <a href="/news/press-releases/c-m-reveals-travel-s-gender-pay-split-2022/">gap of 11.50 per cent in 2022</a>, <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-s-gender-pay-gap-narrows-in-2021/">6.48 per cent in 2021</a> and <a href="/news/press-releases/c-m-reveals-travel-s-gender-pay-split-2019/">14.15 per cent in 2019</a>.
This resulted in a gender pay gap of &pound;3,678 in 2023, with women earning an average of &pound;32,989 while men received &pound;36,667.
However, this overall gap can almost solely be attributed to the stark difference in pay for those in the <a href="/jobs/#/60-000-69-999/70-000-and-above">highest salaried jobs</a>.
The pay gap for executive roles (those paying &pound;40,000 and above) widened considerably from 14.21 per cent in 2022 to 38.45 per cent in 2023, with the majority of positions with the very highest salaries being awarded to men.
Below this, salary gaps were much less significant, with the average female working in a senior role (those paying between &pound;30,000 and &pound;39,999) taking home &pound;288 (or 0.86 per cent) less than males.
For those in mid-level positions (those paying between &pound;22,001 and &pound;29,999), women earned &pound;163 (or 0.62 per cent) more than men, while for entry-level roles (those paying up to &pound;22,000), men earned 0.27 per cent (or &pound;57) more than comparable women.
Gender role split
Overall, females continued to be awarded the majority of <a href="/jobs/">new jobs in the travel industry</a> with a total of 68.3 per cent &ndash; slightly down from 70.7 per cent in 2022, 68.7 per cent in 2019 and 68.6 per cent in 2018.
In terms of entry-level roles, females took 60.0 per cent (compared to 81.6 per cent in 2022 and 70.8 per cent in 2019), while women were awarded 70.7 per cent of all mid-level positions (down from 76.8 per cent in 2022 and 72.9 per cent in 2019).
It was a similar picture for senior travel jobs, with females taking 67.6 per cent of all roles in 2023, compared to 66.0 per cent in 2022 and 69.9 per cent in 2019.
Interestingly, the percentage split for executive roles was at its widest since C&amp;M's surveys began in 2014. Females took 67.1 per cent of all such roles in 2023 &ndash; up from 55.0 per cent in 2022, 53.2 per cent in 2019 and just 38.1 per cent in 2018.
However, there was a very different result when looking at the very highest-salaried roles, with men being awarded 57.9 per cent of all &pound;60,000+ positions (compared to 50.0 per cent in 2022 and 68.8 per cent in 2019) and 62.5 per cent of all <a href="/jobs/#/70-000-and-above">roles with salaries of &pound;75,000 and above</a>.
Speaking about the findings, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "These stats always make for interesting reading, and this year they've highlighted two very contrasting points.&nbsp;
"The positive news is that for the majority of positions in the travel industry, the gender pay gap has been eliminated &ndash; which is something to be celebrated. For those seeking an entry-level, mid-level or senior role in the travel industry, candidates can expect to receive the same <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-overview/">salary</a> as their counterparts, regardless of their gender.
"However, that is not the case when we look at the top of the industry. It's encouraging to see that more women are being placed in &pound;40,000+ roles than just a few years ago, but men are still routinely earning more than females in these positions. And things get even more pronounced when we look at the highest salaried jobs in travel, with men being awarded the majority of these roles and earning far more than their equivalents.
"The travel industry has come a long way in recent years in terms of pay disparity, but these stats should be a stark reminder that much more needs to be done to target, support and promote women into some of the most senior roles in our sector."&nbsp;
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C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M reveals travel's gender pay split - 2023

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New travel job vacancies up 11% </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Job placements reach second highest point in 7 months</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel candidates rise from pre-pandemic</li>
</ul>
Positive month for new roles
The number of <a href="/jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> rose by 11 per cent in March to reach its second highest level in seven months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment. Despite this, March's total was down by 32 per cent from the <a href="/news/press-releases/new-travel-job-seekers-hit-5-year-high/">same month in 2023</a>, which experienced a strong start to the year.
It was also a positive month for placements, with the number of <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> being placed in new travel jobs reaching its second highest total since last August. However, March saw a small fall of three per cent from February.&nbsp;
New candidates up from 2019
There was a small dip in the number of new candidates <a href="/jobs/">searching for travel jobs</a> in March, with the month registering a two per cent fall. However, this remained up by 25 per cent from the pre-pandemic month of March 2019 and was the second highest March total in the past six years.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Activity levels are still lower than we would ideally like to see them and remain down compared to the pre-pandemic period, but there were many positives to take from last month. Job vacancies and placements both reached their second highest levels since last summer, while the number of new candidate registrations also remained historically high for March.
"We now need some consistency. Easter is likely to affect April's numbers, but once that's out of the way we will hopefully see month-on-month increases across all of these metrics as we build towards the summer months."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – March 2024

New travel jobs on the rise in March

26 years. How do you compress more than a quarter of a century into one blog? Well, C&amp;M have reached our huge 26th birthday (the one everyone celebrates, right?) and we thought we'd celebrate by highlighting the six things that have really made us who we are today. So&hellip;where to start?
It's all about the team
Ok, we&rsquo;ll start with the obvious. It's a clich&eacute; but it's true &ndash; we're nothing without <a href="/about-us/">our team</a>. Like all companies we've made mistakes along the way (we'll come on to that very shortly), but our staff here at C&amp;M are fantastic and we couldn't possibly write this article without thanking them. Our retention rate of staff is excellent, with many having been here for more than 10, 15 or 20 years &ndash; and some have even gone on to successfully start their own recruitment businesses as well as securing very senior roles within the industry too.
Most of our staff actually applied as candidates looking for travel jobs, so we explained the benefits of working in travel recruitment and (thankfully!) many of them started a hugely rewarding new career path.
Trying to get too big too soon
But like so many companies, our egos probably got the better of us.
We were up to 50 staff at our largest point, and we had five offices in London, Manchester, Surrey, Brighton and Birmingham. Our temps market was very big in the early days too with over 200 temps working for us.
Opening these offices came at a huge, huge cost. And in hindsight, our egos and growth plans got in the way of thinking about what was actually fundamental in running a business. Because we were quite new to it, we didn't realise the full cost of keeping all of these offices. Also, we took on too many staff &ndash; and we held on to some of them for too long simply because we wanted the right number of bums on seats!
As well as opening new offices, we looked at expanding into new divisions related to travel. Some have been very successful, such as Evolve Hospitality, which started as a division of C&amp;M before becoming a thriving hospitality and events recruitment business in its own entity. But many of our other expansion plans didn&rsquo;t go quite as well!
You have to try these things and you have to take risks, but we were too happy to take the big risks. That's a lesson learned. Don't grow too quickly just because you think it is the right thing to do. Big isn't always best. We were na&iuml;ve, but God we had some fun along the way.
Celebrating in style
We believe massively in looking after our staff and we have a very good benefits programme, but we also love to do incentives. We've been to the F1 at Silverstone, tennis at the O2, horse racing at Ascot, white water rafting and too many posh restaurants to mention. And we also really enjoy taking part in charity events together &ndash; including Tough Mudders, triathlons, London to Brighton cycling races, a 100-mile nighttime bike ride for Rubens Retreat&hellip;and even an ultra-marathon for Issy's Silver Linings!
But nothing beats an overseas incentive trip with the whole team. We've been to all sorts of destinations from Palma and Marbella to Iceland and skiing in the Alps, but it's hard to think of a better one than last year's trip to Marrakech, which was outstanding.
The pandemic was hugely challenging in terms of staffing and ensuring we survived (before we could even think of thriving again) - so to get the whole team together in Marrakech and celebrate what we'd all been through was truly special. The early morning hot air balloon ride over the Atlas Mountains is something none of us will ever forget.
Global events
Talking of the pandemic, it would be impossible to recite the big events of the last 26 years without mentioning Covid, 9/11 and the recession of 2008/09.
When 9/11 happened, we were sitting in our office in the Barbican, all the phones stopped ringing, and we all just thought what the hell has happened? So everyone gathered around my computer and we watched it play out before our eyes. We just didn't know what would be around the corner. From a business point of view, it led to many retractions of offers, and candidates accepting roles and then having their job offers withdrawn. But after two months, thankfully it picked up quickly.
Of course, the biggest challenge that we've ever faced as a business was the pandemic. We've written about this before, but let's just say it took a huge amount of effort to keep C&amp;M going, and there were many, MANY points where we thought we wouldn't make it. We scaled back, cut down on our overheads, got rid of our offices and somehow we got through it with hard work, quick business decisions and managing the cash.
We had to make redundancies after all of these events. As a business owner, that is something that's very difficult to do. When you have good people in the business and you're forced to make them redundant, it's a really difficult decision to make. But it has to be made and it has to be made quickly in order to save the business. Luckily on all three occasions, we managed to bring some of these employees back, which we're very proud of.
Our first big night out
In terms of highlights, one of the initial things that comes to mind is the first award we ever won. It was at the Travel Bulletin Awards where we were named Best Recruitment Consultancy &ndash; and it was a hell of a night! That was in the early days, when we'd only existed for a few years. It was our first ever nomination, so we hired a table, took some clients with us (who also won!) and we were all dressed in our black tie finest. I've got great memories of it and it was an amazing feeling - we were all so proud.
Winning our first ever award made it such a memorable night and then it all rocketed from there and we ended up winning awards at TTG, Travel Weekly, TravelMole, The British Travel Awards, Sunday Times' Best Businesses to Work For and others. A really personal one for me was the AWTE 2021 Business Impact Award, which was a true honour.
Filing cabinets and roller indexes
Looking back, it's crazy to think how much has changed since we started. Some of the main <a href="/jobs/">travel roles that we recruit for</a> now, didn't even exist back in 1998! Yes, lots of those old positions are still around &ndash; <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">Business Travel Consultants</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/leisure-travel-consultant-reservations">Reservations Agents</a> etc &ndash; but there are so many other vital travel role these days, and that's mainly because technology has advanced. There is now many more ecommerce and <a href="/jobs/#/marketing-pr">digital roles</a>, and specific online skillsets that are now required by lots of companies.
And the emergence of job boards and other technologies means the way we recruit has changed hugely too. Back when I started, we were on the phone 80 per cent of the time. I remember we used to work with filing cabinets and roller indexes with CVs in them - and then we used to fax CVs to clients!&nbsp;
Things have changed a lot in 26 years. We've had marriages and babies from C&amp;M staff &ndash; and we've made friends for life, even with the people who have left us and moved on.
Here's to the next 26.
By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

We've reached our 26th birthday and we're celebrating by highlighting the six things that made us who we are today

C&M is 26! Here's the 6 events that made us who we are

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements hit highest point since last summer</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Second best February for candidates since 2017</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies fall from Jan</li>
</ul>
Placements rise again
The number of candidates being placed in <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs</a> has jumped to its highest point in six months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
February 2024 saw a 25 per cent monthly increase in new appointments, to reach the best total since August 2023. However, last month&rsquo;s total was down by 30 per cent from last February.
It was also a strong month for <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a>, with February 2024 recording the second highest February total in the past seven years. The number of new job seekers was just 16 per cent behind the very busy month of February 2023, and was level with <a href="/news/press-releases/new-travel-job-vacancies-double-in-january/">January 2024</a> despite it being a shorter month.
Vacancies see monthly dip
It was a less impressive month for <a href="/jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> which fell by 29 per cent from January and by 33 per cent compared to last February. Despite this, February 2024 posted the third highest total number of new vacancies in the past six months.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "With job placements rising to their highest level in half a year, February was undoubtedly a positive month. We also saw a strong number of candidates beginning their search for a new job in travel.
"But for this momentum to continue, we need to see consistent increases in the number of new travel jobs being made available, and unfortunately that wasn't the case in February. There remains lots of great new opportunities out there for the right candidates, but we'll be watching closely to see how busy the market gets in the coming months."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – February 2024

Travel job placements reach 6-month high

Predicting the future is a risky game &ndash; will travel be busier than ever or will economic and global worries slow everything down? I don't know. Frankly, no-one does.
In <a href="/team/harri-goode/">my 10 years recruiting for temps at C&amp;M</a>, I've seen a lot. So here's my tips on why temporary hires could prove to be an invaluable addition to your business during this uncertain year.
It's all about the flexibility
One of the key advantages of <a href="/clients/">hiring temporary staff </a>is, of course, the flexibility they offer. Whether it's to cover peak seasons, special events, staff shortages or simply the unforeseen, temp employees can be brought in as and when needed. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their workforce up or down based on demand, without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time employees.
What's more, taking on temp staff can be a far quicker process than recruiting permanent employees. Temp recruitment agencies can provide a pool of pre-screened <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> who are ready to start work immediately &ndash; and allow companies to carry on doing what they're good at without any disruption.
Everyone's on holiday all at once
All companies do their best to manage the strains of annual leave, but there are always certain times of the year when many people are away on holiday - particularly around the summer and Easter months. Research suggests nearly half of all staff will be on annual leave at the same time over these periods &ndash; just imagine the impact that has on the remaining workers!
Aside from the office feeling empty, this can cause huge pressures on team members with increased workloads&hellip;and increased stress levels. Taking on a few temps during the busiest holiday periods is an easy way to keep permanent staff morale high while also keeping customers happy.
But it's not just about short-term cover
A big misconception is that 'temp' means a short-term placement lasting a few weeks, but we've placed many great candidates in temporary travel roles lasting multiple months &ndash; and sometimes years. They're a great option to cover employees on maternity leave, those on long-term sick or when you have an unexpected increase in business.
No recruitment budget? No problem
Many travel companies are looking to take on permanent staff at the moment. 
But for those who have exhausted their recruitment budget (or simply don't have a budget at all), hiring temporary employees can be a cost-efficient and extremely effective way to fill any staffing gaps. Temps are typically experienced, well-trained and adept at jumping into a new role with minimal preparation, so this is a great way to cut down on costly onboarding processes.
Try before you buy
The other fantastic perk of taking on temp staff is that you can effectively use it as a trial period for both you and the employee. While they're helping you cover the workload, you can evaluate their performance and skills, and decide whether they're the right fit for your company &ndash; and many temporary roles end up going permanent for this very reason.
At C&amp;M we recruit for all temp roles within the travel industry including <a href="/jobs/#/leisure-travel-consultant-reservations">travel consultants,</a> <a href="/jobs/#/finance">finance</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/administration">admin</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">BTCs</a>, reception cover, operations, <a href="/jobs/#/business-development-sales">business development</a> and <a href="/jobs/#/marketing-pr">marketing</a>, so we're your one-stop recruitment shop!
We have access to many fantastic qualified and experienced candidates looking for short or long-term temporary travel positions, so if you need a few extra pairs of hands then we can help - just contact me at 020 7397 1278 / <a href="mailto:harri@candm.co.uk">harri@candm.co.uk</a>.
By <a href="/team/harri-goode/">Harri Goode</a>, Senior Account Manager - Temps at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

Need cover for peak seasons or busy holiday periods? Want to try before you buy? Taking on temp employees could be your best decisions this year

Why 2024 could be the year of the travel temp

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Highest travel jobs total since August</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Big rise in candidate numbers</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Job placements see small monthly increase</li>
</ul>
Big jump in new travel job opportunities
New <a href="/jobs/">job vacancies in the travel industry</a> more than doubled in the first month of 2024, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
January 2024 saw a <a href="/news/press-releases/travel-jobs-and-candidates-both-up-in-december/">111 per cent rise in new travel jobs compared to December 2023</a> and reached the highest total for five months. However, last month's total remained down by 38 per cent from the same month in 2023, which saw a very strong start to the year.
The volume of candidates searching for <a href="/jobs/">new travel jobs </a>saw a big jump in January with an 81 per cent rise from December. Last month's total was down by 14 per cent from January 2023, but was up by 15 per cent from January 2022 and down by just two per cent from the pre-pandemic month of January 2020.
Placements also rise
It was a slower month for placements with the number of people being placed in new travel jobs increasing by four per cent from December. Compared to previous years, last month was 56 per cent below the level seen in January 2023 and down by 41 per cent from both January 2022 and January 2020.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "We would always expect to see a big monthly increase in activity each January &ndash; and last month we saw just that. New travel job opportunities more than doubled in the month - which is <a href="/candidates/">great news for job seekers</a> - and there was also a big 81 per cent rise in new candidates, which will be very much welcomed by employers.
"What we need to see now is a rise in job placements. Some companies are still taking too long to make decisions and are missing out on quality applicants, while others are severely limiting the available talent pool by not widening their recruitment requirements. Hopefully we will see this change throughout 2024."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – January 2024

New travel job vacancies double in January

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Average salaries up by 21 per cent since pre-pandemic</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Wages rising far quicker for those at top of industry</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small movement for lower-paid roles</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates rise, but vacancies and placements fall</li>
</ul>
Another record year for travel pay
Salaries for the average <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new job in the travel industry rose</a> by 11.56 per cent in 2023 to reach &pound;34,156, according to the 2023 Travel Salary Index from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the year.
The big increase in wages follows a similar <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-h1-overview/">11.53 per cent jump in 2022</a>, with salaries having risen by an average of 21.14 per cent since the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
However, the size of wage increases was not consistent across the industry with much of the overall rise being caused by an increase in placements for those earning the most.
Wages for <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/50-000-59-999/60-000-69-999/70-000-and-above">executive travel roles</a> (those paying &pound;40,000 and above) rose by 6.50 per cent (or &pound;3,364) to reach an average of &pound;55,085, while those in new <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/60-000-69-999/70-000-and-above">travel jobs with salaries of &pound;60,000</a> or above saw their wages increase by an average of 11.06 per cent (or &pound;8,355) in 2023.
For <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/18-000-25-999/26-000-34-999/35-000-39-999">standard travel roles</a> (those paying below &pound;40,000), pay rose by 4.23 per cent in 2023 to &pound;29,701 and has risen by 19.08 per cent since 2019. But for mid-level travel jobs (those paying between &pound;22,001 and &pound;29,999), wages increased by just 0.92 per cent last year and by only 4.56 per cent (or &pound;1,155) since 2019 &ndash; far below the rate of inflation.
Recruitment eases after bumper 2022
The number of new candidates searching for travel jobs rose by eight per cent last year following a 26 per cent increase in 2022. Last year's total number of <a href="../../../../../candidates/">new job seekers</a> was the highest since 2018, but still remains 15 per cent behind the record year of 2017.
After record-setting figures in 2022, last year was a less impressive one for both vacancies and placements, with vacancies dipping by 30 per cent from the previous year and placements falling back by 50 per cent from 2022.
It was also a slower year for the business travel sector, with placements dipping by 66 per cent from 2022's record-breaking year, but down by just six per cent from 2019. However, salaries for the average new <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">business travel job</a> rose by 7.28 per cent (or &pound;2,201) in 2023 to stand at &pound;32,414, and have risen by 20.07 per cent (or &pound;5,418) since 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Salaries in the travel industry have been too low for too long. And with the headline figure of an 11.6 per cent rise in 2023 following an 11.5 per cent rise in 2022, you could easily think that we're well on our way to fixing this problem and that wages are rising for everyone in travel. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that.&nbsp;
"Those at the very top of our industry are indeed seeing these big increases in pay, but it isn't filtering down to the lower levels. For many people working in travel &ndash; particularly those earning less than &pound;30,000 &ndash; salaries barely increased at all last year and have in fact fallen compared to the rate of inflation.
"There's a still a real talent shortage at the moment and we're simply not going to attract quality candidates into the travel industry if we continue with these very uncompetitive packages. There are some fantastic roles out there with many offering attractive salaries, but if we want to successfully add talented people to our teams, we need to make a real effort in 2024 to collectively increase wages for lower-level travel positions."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the salaries of the new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

The 2023 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment

Travel salary index - 2023 overview

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates reach highest December total since 2017</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies also rise from last year</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Dip in travel placements</li>
</ul>
Positive month for travel jobseekers
The number of new <a href="../../../../../candidates/">candidates searching for travel jobs</a> across the UK <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-recruitment-eases-in-run-up-to-christmas/">rose by 22 per cent from last December</a> to reach the highest December total since 2017, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Last month's total was up by 31 per cent from December 2019 and up by 20 per cent from December 2018, but down by 16 per cent from December 2017. Compared to November 2023, last month's total fell by 51 per cent.
There was also a 45 per cent rise in the number of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> compared to the same month last year. However, the traditional slowdown in activity associated with the festive period led vacancies to dip by 38 per cent from November 2023.
Slower month for placements
As expected, the last month of the year also saw a fall in the number of candidates being placed in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a>, with December's figure falling by 15 per cent from November. It also fell by 38 per cent from the same month last year.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Always the quietest month of the year, December 2023 didn't buck the trend. But it was far from the slowest December we've seen in recent years, with encouraging numbers of new candidates and vacancies.
"We're hoping this momentum continues into the early weeks of 2024, and we're already seeing very positive indications that it will do just that. It's looking like it's going to be a very busy start to the New Year with some great travel talent entering the market, and this increased competition means companies will have to offer their very best packages to secure the top candidates."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – December 2023

Travel jobs and candidates both up in December

The headline figure is that wages for <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> are up by 11.4 per cent since last year and by 19.1 per cent since before the pandemic &ndash; which is great news! Everyone's benefitting and we're all now earning significantly more, right? Not quite.
For those in standard travel jobs (those paying less than &pound;40,000), pay increased by a very healthy 16.1 per cent between 2019 and 2022. But in the past year, it&rsquo;s risen by just 3.6 per cent &ndash; less than the rate of inflation.
And for those in junior travel jobs (those paying up to &pound;22,000), pay has increased by just 1.9 per cent so far in 2023. Those in <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/26-000-34-999">mid-level travel roles </a>(those paying between &pound;22,001 and &pound;29,999) have seen an even smaller annual rise of just 1.1 per cent.
Since 2019, pay for those in junior travel roles has increased by 9.8 per cent to stand at an average of &pound;20,942, while those in mid-level roles have seen wages rise by 4.7 per cent to reach an average of &pound;26,553 &ndash; an increase of only &pound;1,198 in four years. Just think about how much more expensive everything else has got in that time!
So what accounts for the big overall increase in wages? Rather inevitably, it's at the top. Pay for <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/40-000-49-999/50-000-59-999/60-000-69-999">executive roles</a> (&pound;40,000 and above) has risen by an average of 7.23 per cent in the past year and the overall figures have been skewed by a big increase in placements of higher-paid executives.
With an average wage rise of just 3.9 per cent (or less than inflation) for all new entry or mid-level roles (those paying less than &pound;30,000), how do we expect to entice candidates to work in the travel industry? And don't forget that from next April, minimum wage increases to &pound;11.44 per hour, meaning it will be illegal to pay any full-time employer aged 21 or older less than &pound;22,308.
In order to attract more talent into the industry, we need to see wages for junior and mid-level travel roles at least keeping pace with those of more senior positions &ndash; and preferably rising faster. That's how we create a talent pipeline for future years.
Travel's a fantastic industry, but we can't continue to be a low-paying one. We're already losing too much great talent to other sectors, and continuing to offer poor salaries to junior members of our teams will ultimately hurt us all.&nbsp;
Many travel companies are currently experiencing difficulties in <a href="../../../../../clients/">recruiting quality talent</a>, and unfortunately this is a byproduct of our history of low pay &ndash; many talented travel professionals have left our industry in recent years and they're not looking back. And with far better salaries in other sectors, how can we blame them?&nbsp;
Some companies simply don't get it. They want candidates with years of travel experience, but are only willing to offer salaries that already looked miserly five years ago. It should go without saying that it is proving more and more difficult - almost impossible - to find talent for these roles.
This is on us. As difficult as it is, for the health of the travel industry, we simply must offer better salaries to our junior and mid-level team members.
Otherwise, we're creating real problems for future years.
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By Barbara Kolosinaka, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment
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We've heard for some time now that salaries are increasing continually in the travel industry, but when you dive into the stats, is that actually true? Well, yes…but also no…

Travel salaries are going up and up (…or are they?)

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New travel job seekers reach highest total since March</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies also rise, but placements see small dip</li>
</ul>
Jobs and applicants on the up
The number of <a href="../../../../../candidates/">new candidates searching for travel jobs</a> rose by 27 per cent in November to reach its highest total since March, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Last month's number was also up by six per cent from the same month last year, up by 41 per cent from the pre-pandemic month of November 2019 and down by less than one per cent from November 2018.
There was also a healthy 23 per cent monthly rise in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> being made available during the month. However, November's total remained down by 24 per cent from the same month in 2022 and down by 28 per cent from November 2019.
Small dip in placements&nbsp;
The month also saw a small fall in travel job placements, with the figure dipping by seven per cent from October. Compared to previous years, last month was down by 56 per cent from both November 2022 and November 2019.&nbsp;
Speaking about the stats, <a href="../../../../../team/barbara-kolosinska/">Barbara Kolosinska</a>, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "The travel industry has been crying out all year for quality candidates, so we're very pleased to see this big increase in applicants. And with more new candidates searching for travel jobs than in any November in the past five years, there is clearly some quality talent out there ready to be snapped up by the right roles.
"All attention now turns to the New Year, which is traditionally an extremely busy time for travel recruitment, but the increased competition means that companies will need to ensure they <a href="../../../../../news/recruiters-views/travel-salaries-are-going-up-and-up-or-are-they-/">offer attractive salaries and packages</a> &ndash; particularly at lower levels &ndash; in order to attract talent."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – November 2023

Travel candidates rise to 8-month high

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New candidates increase to three-month high</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Job placements jump 7%</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies dip to six-month low</li>
</ul>
Positive month for travel jobseekers
The number of new jobseekers searching for <a href="../../../../../jobs/">travel roles</a> increased by 18 per cent in October to reach its highest level in three months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Compared to previous years, October's total was down by 19 per cent from the same month last year, up by eight per cent from October 2021, up by 128 per cent from October 2020 (mid-pandemic) and down by 21 per cent from October 2019.
There was also a rise in the number of candidates being placed in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new jobs in the travel industry</a>, with a <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-candidates-rise-but-vacancies-dip-in-sept/">seven per cent increase from September</a>. However, October's total was down by a steep 63 per cent from the same month in 2022's record-setting year.
Vacancies slip
New vacancies fell back in October by nine per cent from September to reach their lowest point in six months. Last month's figure was also down by 56 per cent from October 2022.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "The last time candidates and placements both increased in the same month was back in <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/new-travel-job-vacancies-jump-131-in-may/">May</a>, so there are lots of positives to take from these figures. In particular, it's great to see a healthy rise in new jobseekers.&nbsp;
"As we enter the start of winter, we're unlikely to see a big increase in recruitment until the new year. But January is always one of the very busiest months for recruitment with a much-increased level of competition for the best candidates - meaning there are real opportunities out there right now to take advantage of the quieter market and secure great talent in time for the peak season."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – October 2023

Travel candidates and job placements both up in Oct

One of the most unexpected trends we've seen recently in travel recruitment is the increasing number of candidates who don't include any contact information on their CV. No address. No phone number. No email. Nothing! A <a href="../../../../../news/job-tips/easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">great CV</a> should of course showcase your skills, qualifications, and experience, but it's absolutely vital that you also include contact information.
We'd like to speak
First of all, if you don't include any contact details on your CV, how can recruiters get in touch with you about any great new jobs?! It may sound obvious, but you'd be amazed at how many candidates fail to do it. Why put all the effort in to <a href="../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">making your CV as perfect and eye grabbing as possible</a>&hellip;and then give the recruiter no way to contact you?&nbsp;
Privacy / bias concerns
Well, a big reason may be to do with concerns regarding privacy or unconscious bias &ndash; and these worries are absolutely legitimate. In particular, more and more of us are now aware of unconscious bias - and this is why we always encourage candidates to not include a photo on their CV.
Similarly, there's no reason to include the dates of when you went to school - and if you've been in employment for a number of years, you may not want to include details of your education at all.
But contact details and your location? Both should be a fundamental part of everyone's CV.
Consider generic postcodes
If you don't want to include your exact postcode due to privacy concerns, that's absolutely fine. But many recruiters search for relevant candidates on job boards or on their own database using a postcode and radius, so if you don't want to be overlooked for new roles, it's a good idea to include a postcode on your CV &ndash; even if it's just the one for your nearest train station.
No address? No roles
Not including any address at all, means you're far less likely to be contacted about relevant jobs. You don't need to include your house number and street name, but if recruiters don't even know which town or city you live in, it becomes much more difficult to match you to appropriate roles.
While there are more <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/remote">fully-remote positions </a>out there now than in the past, they still only make up around one in four of all available <a href="../../../../../jobs/">travel jobs</a>. At the moment, around 45% of all job vacancies in the travel industry are <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/hybrid">hybrid positions</a>, with a further 30% being fully office-based.
If you don't include any location details on your CV, then you simply won't appear in any search of candidates for either hybrid or office-based roles. You're essentially ruling yourself out of three quarters of all <a href="../../../../../jobs/">available jobs</a>.&nbsp;
Ultimately, leaving your address off your CV is likely to considerably hinder your chances of being contacted about relevant jobs. And if you don't include an email address or phone number? Forget it - your chances of finding a new role are practically zero.

More and more candidates leave their address off their CV – here's why that's a dreadful idea!

Why you should ALWAYS include contact details on your CV

C&amp;M Travel Recruitment is delighted to welcome an experienced recruiter and travel professional to its Senior Appointments team.
Joining C&amp;M at the start of November, <a href="../../../../../team/pamela-harrison/">Pamela Harrison</a> has amassed ten years' experience in the travel industry as well as four years in recruitment.
After graduating in Matla as a Tourist Guide, Pamela began her career in travel insurance as a Travel Assistance Coordinator at Travel Guard in in 2010, before moving on to organise educational school trips worldwide as a Senior Tour Coordinator at Travelbound Education and then joining HolidayTaxis as its Online Partnership Support Executive and Cities Contractor.
She then made a career change into recruitment in 2018 before rejoining HolidayTaxis in the role of Senior Sourcing Manager.
Pamela's addition to C&amp;M Travel Recruitment follows the arrivals of both Jacky Docherty and Lisa Haynes last year.
Speaking about joining C&amp;M, Pamela said: "Having a love for travelling and a passion for recruitment, I decided I wanted to combine the two industries I love into one <a href="../../../../../jobs/">job</a> - and I came across C&amp;M. It felt like the perfect match for me and, now that I've joined the team, I'm excited to start this journey at C&amp;M!"
Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Pamela's background of travel and recruitment is a perfect blend for C&amp;M and we&rsquo;re delighted to welcome her to the team. We're really looking forward to Pamela using her 14 years' experience to help her clients with all their recruitment needs, and we're sure she'll be a huge success here at C&amp;M!"
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

Pamela Harrison joins C&M's Senior Appointments team

C&M bolsters team with new Senior Recruitment Consultant

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small rise in new jobseekers</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies fall back</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Slowest month of year for placements</li>
</ul>
Travel jobseekers on the up
The number of new <a href="../../../../../jobs/">candidates searching for jobs</a> in the travel industry rose in September, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The month saw a three per cent rise in new jobseekers from <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/busiest-august-for-new-travel-jobs-in-6-years/">August</a>, while compared to previous years, last month's total was down by 12 per cent from September 2022, up by four per cent from 2021 and down by 18 per cent from September 2019.
Slower month for travel activity
Less positively, there was a fall in placements during the month, with the number of <a href="../../../../../candidates/">candidates</a> finding new travel roles dipping by 13 per cent from August to its lowest level of the year. The figure was also down by 59 per cent from September 2022.
Similarly, the number of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> being made available dipped back to its lowest point in five months. With a 45 per cent fall from August, September's total was also down by 53 per cent from the same month last year.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "It's always positive to see a rise in the number of people looking to work in the travel industry. <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-h1-overview/">Salaries are up by around 13 per cent</a> so far this year and it's vitally important that we promote the perks of working in travel and continue to do all we can to encourage candidates to join our industry.
"Travel recruitment activity remains slower than we would traditionally expect at this time of year, but that also means there are fantastic opportunities for employers to access a wider talent pool by advertising their upcoming vacancies immediately."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – September 2023 

Travel candidates rise, but vacancies dip in Sept

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New travel jobs jump by 40 per cent from August 2022</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates and placements dip to 2023 low</li>
</ul>
Strong month for new travel vacancies
The number of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new job opportunities in the travel industry </a>has risen to its highest August total since 2017, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Last month's figure was up by 40 per cent from August 2022, up by 78 per cent from August 2021, up by nine per cent from August 2019 and up by 12 per cent from August 2018.
Even more impressively, August 2023 recorded the third highest monthly total of new travel roles so far this year &ndash; despite the distractions of the late summer holidays.
Summer slowdown for candidates
In contrast, the volume of new candidates searching for jobs in the travel industry fell by 18 per cent in August to its lowest level in 2023 so far. However, with the exception of December, August is traditionally the slowest month of the year for travel recruitment. August 2023's figure stands just four per cent below August 2022, 15 per cent below August 2021, nine per cent below August 2019 and up by seven per cent from August 2018.
The month also saw a fall in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel job</a> placements, with August's total dipping by 26 per cent from the previous month and by 58 per cent from August 2022.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "August is always one of the slowest months of the year for recruitment &ndash; with holidays and late summer childcare taking priority for both <a href="https://candm.co.uk/candidates/">job seekers </a>and decision makers. Despite that, August was a much busier month for new vacancies than we have seen in recent years.
"Lots of exciting roles have newly been made available and this should lead to an increase in job placements in the next couple of months. Also, <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2023-h1-overview/">travel salaries</a> have now been steadily rising for around two years and we're continuing to see monthly increases as companies battle for the best candidates in the market."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – August 2023 

Busiest August for new travel jobs in 6 years

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements increase for third month in row</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Small dip in new candidates</li>
</ul>
Travel vacancies rise
The number of new job vacancies being made available in the travel industry <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-placements-rise-but-activity-dips-in-june/">jumped by 46 per cent last month</a>, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
July's big increase marked the third highest monthly total of the year so far. Compared to previous years, the number was down by six per cent from July 2022, down by 24 per cent from July 2021 and down by nine per cent from July 2018, but up by seven per cent from July 2019, up by one per cent from July 2017 and up by 14 per cent from July 2016.
There was also positive news in terms of placements with a 14 per cent monthly increase in the number of candidates being awarded <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a>. Placements have now risen for three consecutive months, with July's total being the highest since March. Compared to previous years, July 2023 was down by 49 per cent from July 2022, up by 27 per cent from July 2021 and down by 11 per cent from July 2019.
Small fall in candidates
The number of <a href="../../../../../candidates/">new candidates searching for travel jobs</a> saw a small dip in July with a four per cent fall from the previous month. Last month&rsquo;s total was also down by seven per cent from July 2022 and 29 per cent from July 2021, but was up by 51 per cent from July 2020, up by 35 per cent from July 2019 and up by 34 per cent from July 2018.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "With new vacancies and placements both increasing, and only a small dip in new candidates, July was a positive month for travel recruitment.
"It's mid-summer with all of the usual holiday distractions, so we don't expect activity to truly pick up again until September, but last month still saw many travel companies recruiting for a variety of very attractive new roles. And it's a great time to do it &ndash; while some companies will wait until the autumn before focusing on recruitment, those who start hiring early will have the pick of the summer candidates."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – July 2023 

Big rise in new travel vacancies in July

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Travel wages rise 21 per cent since pre-pandemic</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Executive salaries outpacing standard travel roles</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Vacancies dip from 2022, but candidates rise</li>
</ul>
Wages continue fast climb
Salaries for <a href="../../../../jobs/">new jobs in the travel industry</a> continue to rise with an <a href="../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-h1-overview/">increase of 12.58 per cent</a> in the first half of this year, according to the 2023 H1 Travel Salary Index from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the timeframe.
The jump takes the average wage for a new travel job to &pound;33,445 &ndash; up a huge 20.78 per cent (or &pound;5,755) from the first six months of 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Executive travel roles (those paying &pound;40,000 and above) were responsible for much of the overall increase, with a salary hike of 17.03 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year. The average figure of &pound;58,737 is up &pound;8,548 from the start of 2022.
Standard travel jobs (those paying below &pound;40,000) rose by a smaller <a href="../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-h1-overview/">5.99 per cent in the past year</a>, although they were also up by 18.02 per cent from the first half of 2019. The average salary of &pound;29,290 is up by &pound;1,655 from the start of 2022 and up by &pound;4,473 from the start of 2019.
It was a similar picture in the business travel sector with a 9.23 per cent increase from the first half of last year. The average new business travel job now comes with a salary of &pound;32,034 - up by 23.33 per cent from the first six months of 2019.
Activity dips from 2022
After 2022's record highs, recruitment activity in the travel industry fell back in the first six months of this year. Vacancies were down by 35 per cent from 2022 and down by 16 per cent from the start of 2019. In contrast, the number of <a href="../../../../candidates/">new candidates</a> registering for travel jobs between January and June 2023 increased by 20 per cent from the same months last year and by 28 per cent from the same period in 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "One of the big barriers to attracting talent in the travel industry has always been the comparatively low salaries on offer. Travel's seen as a fun and enjoyable sector to be in, but would you take a pay cut to work here? Well, thankfully, we're now seeing a big increase in wages across the whole industry.
"With a 21 per cent rise since before the pandemic and a 12.5 per cent jump in the last year alone, travel salaries are now finally catching up to those in other industries. It's still very much a candidate-driven market with a lack of experienced applicants, but this big jump in salaries should help to entice quality talent to explore the many excellent career opportunities out there right now."
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All figures are drawn from the salaries of new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

The 2023 H1 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment

Travel salary index - 2023 H1 overview

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements increase for second month in a row</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">But vacancies down from May</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates also see small monthly fall</li>
</ul>
Travel placements inch up
The number of candidates placed in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> has risen for the second consecutive month, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
However, June's increase of three per cent meant that activity levels remained lower than in previous years, with a fall of 52 per cent from June 2022, a rise of 76 per cent from June 2021, and falls of 30 per cent from June 2019 and 50 per cent from June 2018.
Candidates and vacancies see monthly dips
The month saw a small fall in the number of new candidates searching for travel jobs, with a decrease of 11 per cent from <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/new-travel-job-vacancies-jump-131-in-may/">May</a>. Compared to previous years, June 2023 was down by a slim one per cent from June 2022, up by 11 per cent from June 2021, up by 21 per cent from June 2019 and up by 16 per cent from June 2018.
The number of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new jobs</a> being created in the travel industry fell back in June by 40 per cent from May.&nbsp;
Vacancy numbers slipped by 27 per cent from the same month in 2022, were up by 25 per cent from June 2021, but were down by 28 per cent from June 2019 and down by 29 per cent from June 2018.
Speaking about the stats, <a href="../../../../../team/barbara-kolosinska/">Barbara Kolosinska</a>, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "<a name="_Hlk140572691"></a>It&rsquo;s always great to see a rise in the number of candidates being placed in new travel roles &ndash; and while activity levels are down from last year, this allows us to spend more time focusing on each role and finding the perfect candidate for each company.&nbsp;
"Things have now reduced to a more manageable level from 2022, and with salaries continuing to rise, there are many, many fantastic opportunities out there for quality applicants.
"With summer now in full flow, we expect activity to remain around this level until everything picks up in September &ndash; leaving an excellent gap in the market for any travel company in the position to start their recruitment drive earlier than their competitors."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – June 2023 

Travel placements rise but activity dips in June

<ul>
<li class="MsoNormal">Travel industry almost eliminates gender pay gap for non-executive roles</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">But pay gap for higher-salaried roles increases to 14.2 per cent</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Women awarded 71 per cent of all roles in travel</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Overall pay gap widens to 11.5 per cent</li>
</ul>
Gender pay split
The gender pay gap for non-executive roles in the travel industry was almost non-existent in 2022, according to new research from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
For junior roles (those paying up to &pound;22,000), the gap was just 0.41 per cent with the average man earning &pound;85 more than a woman, while the gap was reversed for mid-level positions (those paying between &pound;22,001 and &pound;29,999) with females earning &pound;103 (or 0.39 per cent) more than males.
There was also a very small pay gap for senior roles (those paying between &pound;30,000 and &pound;39,999) with men taking home an average of &pound;267 (or 0.81 per cent) more than their female equivalents.
However, there was a stark difference in <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">salaries</a> for executive roles (those paying &pound;40,000 and above), with the average male earning &pound;55,792 &ndash; a huge &pound;7,402 (or 14.21 per cent) more than a female counterpart. This gap has increased from 11.94 per cent in 2019 and 10.56 per cent in 2018.
Due to the difference in salaries for high-end jobs, the overall pay gap in the travel industry stands at 11.50 per cent (or &pound;3,606), which is down from <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/c-m-reveals-travel-s-gender-pay-split-2019/">14.15 per cent in 2019</a>, <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/c-m-reveals-travel-s-gender-pay-split-2018/">18.35 per cent in 2018</a> and <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/c-m-reveals-travel-s-gender-pay-split-2017/">12.75 per cent in 2017</a>.
Gender role split
In terms of the overall gender split in travel, females continued to be awarded the vast majority of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> with a total of 70.7 per cent in 2022 &ndash; up from 68.7 per cent in 2019 and 68.6 per cent in 2018.
Females took 81.6 per cent of all entry-level positions last year (up from 70.8 per cent in 2019 and 74.1 per cent in 2018) and 76.8 per cent of all mid-level roles (up from 72.9 per cent in 2019 and 75.0 per cent in 2018).
For senior roles, females were awarded 66.0 per cent of all new jobs in 2022 (compared to 69.9 per cent in 2019 and 62.3 per cent in 2018), while 55.0 per cent of all executive roles were taken by females (compared to 53.2 per cent in 2019 and just 38.1 per cent in 2018).
Speaking about the findings, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "On the face of it, these figures make for good reading &ndash; the gender pay gap has been almost eliminated at nearly all levels of the travel industry. However, even though we are now seeing women being awarded the majority of executive positions in travel, men continue to dominate roles in the &pound;70,000+ range &ndash; and these top-end jobs account for the overall gap in pay that we are seeing.
"The travel industry has come a long way from just a few years ago, with more and more women being placed in higher-salaried roles, but more work still needs to be done. There is a real opportunity for travel to lead the way by creating true pay parity at all levels and eliminating the gender pay gap for good, but this will not happen until we start seeing more women being awarded the very top jobs."
Lindsay Garvey-Jones, Chair at The Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE), said: "The gender pay gap is a multifaceted issue with various factors at play. While some argue that it may not always be outright discrimination, choices are often influenced by circumstances and lack of education or awareness. Although businesses are now required to submit data on the gender pay gap, this data alone does not provide a comprehensive picture.
"Many women in our industry face complex choices regarding career advancement, often due to family responsibilities or health-related events like menopause or caregiving. These challenges can hinder their confidence and progress. Additionally, women tend to gravitate towards certain roles in industries like aviation, which are traditionally lower-paying. This raises questions about the industry's role in promoting diverse career options to women during their education. To address the gender pay gap, it is crucial to prioritize initiatives that tackle these underlying issues. By taking proactive steps, we can aim to close the pay gap much sooner than the predicted 202-year timeline [forecast by the World Economic Forum] and create a better future for generations to come."
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C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M reveals travel's gender pay split - 2022

2022 was a fantastic year for travel recruitment &ndash; the <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">most successful in C&amp;M's 25 year history</a>. But it was always going to be an anomaly. Cut to halfway through 2023 and activity levels are roughly where we were before the pandemic.
Vacancies and placements are both down compared to last year of course, but this is no surprise. Many companies &ndash; especially TMCs &ndash; cut their headcount so deeply during the pandemic, they had to do a colossal amount of rebuilding and hiring last year.
They recruited so heavily in 2022 that they simply do not have the capacity or budget to continue at that pace in 2023. Expecting anything else would be unrealistic.
There's no reason to worry about this and it is no indication of where the year is going.
The truth is, for us at C&amp;M, last year was actually too busy. Our team were almost firefighting &ndash; they were manically busy, trying to react to the huge demand. They were working far longer hours than we would like and were stretched to capacity trying to fill all of the roles that we had on. It was our busiest and most successful year ever, but you can only maintain that level of activity for so long.
With fewer vacancies this year, it means we're able to <a href="../../../../../clients/">focus on each client</a> and manage each role much more thoroughly. And, importantly, it means our Consultants have more time to advise and guide our clients through every step of their hiring process. Although not at the level of 2022, we're still placing a large number of candidates in new travel roles every week &ndash; and we're now able to do it more efficiently with even better service and dedication.
Salaries going up and up
Wages in the travel industry have increased by around 11 per cent from the first half of 2022 and this is great news. It's long overdue but they need to continue rising as they have been historically low for far too long.
Quality candidates are still in short supply. The best were receiving four or five offers last year, with some companies even getting into price wars over certain applicants! However, with <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/">vacancies falling and candidate numbers rising in recent months</a>, this imbalance is now less pronounced and is beginning to rectify itself.
With wages increasing across the whole industry, there are now lots of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">attractive travel jobs</a> sparking the interest of both active and passive job seekers. These factors should combine to mean that companies will hopefully begin to have a bigger talent pool to choose from in the near future.
Widen your horizons
Of course, not all of these candidates will have the appropriate experience or qualifications to be the right fit for each specific role. But more and more of our clients are listening to us about broadening their requirements and looking outside of the industry for talent &ndash; and, we're glad to say, many are finding great success with their hires.
For any companies thinking of hiring later in 2023, we would advise them to do it now. Summer is always a quiet period for travel recruitment with normal pre-pandemic seasonal variations, but from September onwards things really heat up.
That's when all companies resume their recruitment&hellip;and they all fight each other for the best candidates! So for any travel companies that have the resources and time to recruit straightaway, we would advise them to jump ahead of the competition and <a href="../../../../../clients/">secure the top talent</a> before their competitors have even written their job adverts.
By Barbara Kolosinaka, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

After a monumentally busy 2022, travel companies are recruiting less in 2023 – here's why that's actually a good thing

Travel recruitment in 2023 – and why 2022 was just TOO busy 

C&amp;M Travel Recruitment is delighted to announce the launch of its new website following the most successful year in its history.
Aimed at providing candidates with the most user-friendly <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/jobs/">job search in the travel industry</a>, the new website coincides with C&amp;M's 25th birthday year.
The new site also quickly follows the launch of C&amp;M's new logo earlier in 2023.
Clean, bright, distinctive and easy to navigate, the candm.co.uk site features hundreds of <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/jobs/">travel jobs based all across the UK</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/news/job-tips/">career guides</a>, <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/news/">industry news</a> and <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/news/press-releases/">salary benchmarks</a>.
The launch of the new site comes at a busy time for travel recruitment, with May seeing a <a href="https://www.candm.co.uk/news/press-releases/new-travel-job-vacancies-jump-131-in-may/">131 per cent monthly increase in new travel job vacancies</a>.
Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "We've been around for 25 years and have just had our most successful year ever, and with the launch of our fantastic new website, we're truly excited about the next phase of C&amp;M.
"There continues to be a talent shortage in the travel industry, so when we were designing the new website, candidates were at the forefront of our minds. We wanted to create a much more user-friendly site for job seekers, allowing them to easily find and apply to relevant roles in the fewest number of steps.
"A big thanks to our friends at <a href="https://www.sourceflow.co.uk/">Sourceflow</a> who helped to design and create the site, and we can't wait for candidates and clients to experience what we believe is the leading recruitment website in the travel industry."
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C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / <a href="mailto:owen@candm.co.uk">owen@candm.co.uk</a>) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / <a href="mailto:barbara@candm.co.uk">barbara@candm.co.uk</a>).

C&M Travel Recruitment launches a new website following the most successful year in its history

C&M rebrands with new website and logo

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Candidates and vacancies see big monthly rises</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements remain slower than average</li>
</ul>
Big rise in travel recruitment activity
The number of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> rose by a huge 131 per cent in May 2023, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Last month's total was the <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/new-travel-jobseekers-hit-highest-point-in-18-months/">highest since January</a>, and also stands two per cent ahead of the pre-pandemic month of May 2019.
Similarly, the number of <a href="../../../../../candidates/">new candidates</a> searching for new travel jobs jumped by 24 per cent last month and also increased by two per cent from May 2022. Last month's rise was a welcome rebound from the fall seen in April and marked a 74 per cent increase from May 2021 and also a 22 per cent rise from May 2019.
Smaller increase for placements
The month also saw a small six per cent rise in the number of people being placed in new jobs in travel. However, the number remained low compared to previous Mays, with a drop of 67 per cent from the record-high month of May 2022, while it was also 27 per cent behind May 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "After a fall in activity around the Easter holidays, we're very pleased to see a big rebound in recruitment in May.
"In particular, it's great to see so many new travel jobs being made available. We're seeing more new roles being created than before the pandemic and, with <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">salaries continuing to rise</a>, this is further evidence that there are some truly fantastic opportunities currently out there for the right candidates."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – May 2023 

New travel job vacancies jump 131% in May

2022 was an extremely busy year for senior recruitment in the travel industry with a real jump in activity from the second quarter onwards. Business was growing, confidence was back and many companies were backfilling roles that they lost in the pandemic.
Although recruitment at the start of 2023 has not been quite as busy, it's still at a similar level to pre-pandemic times with slightly more relaxed deadlines than we saw in the previous 12 months.
Fewer active candidates
Last year was all about recruitment, with lots of new job openings and many people being vocal and proactive in terms of job searching. That isn't the case this year &ndash; those candidates have now settled into their roles and there are fewer people looking to move. This has resulted in a really limited number of quality active candidates in the senior travel market.
The candidate pool has become much more passive in 2023, with fewer people putting their CVs on job boards and applying for roles. But there is still quality out there. It may be harder to access these candidates, but if you can, then many are still very willing to consider moving&hellip;but it must be for the right opportunity.
Referrals and recommendations
One of the ways we're finding success at the moment is through&nbsp;<a title="Refer a friend to C&amp;M" href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/earn-250-by-simply-recommending-a-friend-/">referrals</a>, where candidates that we have worked with are recommending friends to us who are not necessarily active on job boards. For instance, we recently approached one person about a role and, although they weren't right for the job, they recommended someone who put us in contact with someone else who successfully got the role.
This was an experienced travel professional who wasn't on any of the job boards, wasn't actively looking to change roles and would have been impossible to find without these recommendations from past candidates.
No hybrid working? No applicants
For candidates, flexibility around hybrid and remote working is now just as important as the&nbsp;<a title="C&amp;M's Travel Salary Index" href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">salary</a>&nbsp;package. This didn't used to be the case, but it is now absolutely commonplace. These days it is very rare to recruit for roles which are based full-time, 5 days a week in the office &ndash; and companies that want this are finding it a real struggle to fill these roles because flexibility is now seen as a must-have for almost all candidates.
Unlike the lower levels of the travel industry which have historically been poorly paid, salaries for senior and management roles in travel are very comparable to other industries. There are some small companies out there not offering top wages, but there are many travel tech companies, airlines or large OTAs paying really generous salaries. Of course, anything that travel companies can do to improve their salaries and overall packages will make it easier to attract top talent and stand out from their competitors.
Broaden your criteria &ndash; consider other sectors
This won't apply to all senior roles in travel, but depending on the position, we often suggest that companies consider widening their talent pool by looking at candidates from other sectors and industries. If it's a sales or marketing role, then companies will usually only consider candidates with travel experience. But if it's a finance or IT position, then there are a lot of great candidates out there from other industries who have the transferable skills to become a success in travel as well.
At the lower levels of the industry there is currently a huge shortage of talent, with the best candidates able to pick and choose from multiple offers. While this isn't quite the case for senior recruitment, those companies currently recruiting need to explore all options to find a successful hire in this challenging market.
By&nbsp;Tim Robinson, Sales Manager &ndash; Senior Appointments at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, and&nbsp;Ben Lidbury, Senior Account Manager &ndash; Senior Appointments at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

With a shortage of people looking for senior travel roles right now, how can companies find talent, how can we attract passive candidates and how can recruiters help?

Senior travel recruitment outlook – how can we attract passive candidates?

&ldquo;Should I include a photo on my CV? Can I leave gaps? What about hobbies?&rdquo; I&rsquo;ve been asked these (and many more) questions countless times over my 20 years in recruitment, so as the director of the UK&rsquo;s largest specialist travel recruitment company, I thought it was finally time to put together my guide to what you should and shouldn&rsquo;t include on your r&eacute;sum&eacute;.
Length / fonts / file formats
Gone are the days where your CV has to stick rigidly to a limit of two pages &ndash; if it&rsquo;s relevant and specific to the&nbsp;vacancy&nbsp;that you&rsquo;re applying for, feel free to make it longer, but there really is no point including anything irrelevant. In terms of fonts, it&rsquo;s best to keep it simple, so Arial or Verdana in size 10 is a safe bet. While there&rsquo;s nothing wrong with a basic black and white CV, you can be more experimental with the design - especially if you&rsquo;re going for a digital, marketing or creative role. However, don&rsquo;t be creative for the sake of it.
One of the key things that many people don&rsquo;t even consider is which file format they save their CV as. Most recruitment agencies and many big companies now parse candidates&rsquo; r&eacute;sum&eacute;s to their own database, and heavily formatted PDFs or those containing multiple images can sometimes create problems. So to give&nbsp;your CV&nbsp;the best chance of finding its way on to a recruiter&rsquo;s database, save it as a simple Word file and keep any uses of tables or boxes etc to a minimum.
It should (hopefully) go without saying that&nbsp;your CV&nbsp;should have a professional tone with perfect grammar, spelling and spacing, as well as consistency in terms of style and format. And it may be a personal annoyance, but I&rsquo;m instantly put off by any CV that&rsquo;s written in the third person. It should be first person every time.
Order / structure / which roles to include
Your <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">CV</a> should start with your personal details i.e. name, address, email address, mobile phone number. This may sound obvious, but I&rsquo;m still amazed by how many people&rsquo;s CVs fail to include any contact information!
After this, provide a list of your experiences in reverse chronological date order beginning with your most recent&nbsp;job, with bullet points detailing your achievements and successes under each role. Even if your latest position isn&rsquo;t particularly relevant to the vacancy that you&rsquo;re applying for, you should still list it first because recruiters and employers need to know what you&rsquo;ve been doing.
How far back into your career you should go, really depends on how relevant the roles are. If you&rsquo;ve got a lot of experience then the last 10 to 15 years is the most important, but if you&rsquo;re relatively new to the industry then include all of it. If you&rsquo;ve spent a considerable number of years in one job, then break this down into the different roles that you had &ndash; and if you only had one role during that time, then split it into sub headings with separate tasks.
For every other job, list a few bullet points under each with a couple of examples of your successes &ndash; usually relating to targets, profitability and revenues. So if it&rsquo;s a marketing role, state which tasks you have been part of. If it is a sales role, detail which targets you had and illustrate how you reached them. If it&rsquo;s a customer service role, perhaps include some testimonials from clients that have been happy with your service.
Gaps
Whatever you do, don&rsquo;t leave gaps on <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/more-easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">your CV</a>. As a recruitment agency representing you, we need to know what you were doing so that we can explain it to the potential employer in the best way. However, if you sent your CV directly to the employer and it included big gaps, they&rsquo;re likely to think that you&rsquo;ve either been doing nothing, were unemployed or were maybe even in prison! The CV is your shop window and it needs to sell you in the best possible way, so don&rsquo;t make problems for yourself by leaving gaps and creating needless question marks.
Education
How much educational information you include on your CV depends on how much experience you have. Even if you&rsquo;ve been in the industry for a significant amount of time, then it is still important to put some education on your CV &ndash; especially if you are degree or A level educated. So list where you were educated and a top overview of what qualifications you&rsquo;ve gained, but you don&rsquo;t need to specify every individual subject and grade. Any additional qualifications or training should go above your education but below the employment history.
Hobbies
Something that people often overlook on their CVs are hobbies, but I think they can be really important &ndash; especially any sporting achievements. If you&rsquo;re going for a sales role, then someone with a competitive nature or a high achiever within the sporting field will always be attractive, so if you&rsquo;ve played any activity to a club, borough or country level, then this should certainly be included because it demonstrates drive and application, and potentially the ability to work as part of a team as well.
Also, what looks is good is if you&rsquo;ve coached any teams, such as children&rsquo;s football or something similar. Hobbies outside of work are quite important, especially if they are in some way relevant to the role that you&rsquo;re going for. Every recruiter is different, but I always look at hobbies on a CV.
Personal statement
All candidates should make sure they include a personal statement, which should be at the top of the CV below the personal details. In it should be everything that&rsquo;s not included in other categories, so it should include attributes, strengths, achievements that aren&rsquo;t already listed &ndash; such as if they have sat on any boards &ndash; and things that are related to the industry that aren&rsquo;t in their employment history. It should be a paragraph or perhaps two at the most, but no longer - and it absolutely shouldn&rsquo;t take up half a page.
Cover letter
Separate covering letters aren&rsquo;t really used anymore, but you should still include a version of it on the email when sending your CV in. It should be a short synopsis of the CV which needs to state what role you&rsquo;re going for, what your attributes are, why you could be good for the position, when you&rsquo;re available for interview and how close you&rsquo;re located to the vacancy. If you&rsquo;re applying to a recruitment agency then you should also say how far you would be willing to travel for the right role, what salary you&rsquo;re looking for, why you&rsquo;re leaving your current role, what notice period you&rsquo;re on and whether you&rsquo;re applying for any other roles. That should all be condensed down into about two paragraphs or, even better, use bullet points.
Photos
Don&rsquo;t do it! When applying for the average role, including a photo on your application is just ridiculous. Unless it&rsquo;s absolutely relevant (for example, if you&rsquo;re applying for a cabin crew role and the employer is interested in your appearance), please don&rsquo;t even consider it. Including a photo just opens up the risk that the employer might discount you purely for what you look like.
Also, it can potentially come across as arrogant because employers may think that you presume you have an advantage in getting the job because of your looks.
Need more help?
Hopefully that&rsquo;s covered a lot of questions, but C&amp;M Travel Recruitment have been helping candidates find great travel roles for the past two decades, so if you need any <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-build-up-your-cv/">extra help with your CV </a>or want to know how best to present yourself, just let us know.
Barbara Kolosinska is the Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Barbara Kolosinska shares her ultimate guide to creating the perfect CV

C&M's definitive guide to the perfect CV

<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Placements slip to 16-month low</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">New vacancies and candidates also down</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">May sees stronger start</li>
</ul>
Slow month for travel recruitment
The number of candidates being placed in <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> has fallen back to its lowest level in 16 months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
April's total was down by 41 per cent from March and was the lowest figure since December 2021. Compared to previous years, last month's number was down by 64 per cent from April 2022 and 47 per cent below April 2019.
After reaching a <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/new-travel-job-seekers-hit-5-year-high/">five-year high in March</a>, the number of new candidates also dipped in April. Last month's total was down by 38 per cent from the previous month, but remained up by ten per cent from April 2022. The number was up by 39 per cent from April 2021 and up by nine per cent from April 2019.
Vacancies dip
There was also a fall in new vacancies which decreased to their lowest level since December. April's total was down by 49 per cent from March and by 61 per cent from last April. The figure was up by 67 per cent from April 2021, but down by 47 per cent from April 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "April was the slowest month for travel recruitment that we have seen for some time. Much of this downturn can be attributed to Easter, which appeared to have a larger impact on activity than usual, with many decision makers taking time off during the month. However, May is already looking like a much more positive month &ndash; despite the multiple bank holidays.
"After a <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">historic year for travel recruitment</a>, 2023 has had a much more mixed start, with placements and vacancies both increasing in two of the first four months of the year and falling in the other two. With quality candidates still being in short supply, it is vitally important that we do all we can to entice talent to work in the industry by making our new job opportunities as exciting, well-paid and attractive as possible."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – April 2023 

Travel job activity falls back in April

<ul>
<li>Candidates reach highest point since 2018</li>
<li>Vacancies edge up</li>
<li>Placements rise from Feb, but down from 2022</li>
</ul>
Travel candidates rise again
The number of <a href="../../../../../../candidates/">new candidates</a> searching for <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">jobs in the travel industry </a>has risen to its highest level in five years, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
The volume of job seekers has now increased for three consecutive months and has reached a peak last seen in March 2018. Last month's total was up by 14 per cent from February and up by 39 per cent from one year ago.&nbsp;
There was also a monthly rise in <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies</a> which edged up by 10 per cent from February. Despite being down by 63 per cent from last March's all-time record figure, March 2023's total was comparable to previous years, and stands just 12 per cent below March 2019.
Mixed picture for travel placements
It was also a contrasting month for placements with the number of candidates being placed in travel jobs rising by 35 per cent from February, but falling by 47 per cent from the ten-year high recorded last March. Compared to previous years, last month's total was up by 81 per cent from March 2020, but down by 19 per cent from March 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "To see that candidate registrations have reached a five-year high is very, very welcome news. But we're in a strange position because despite there being a big increase in the number of new applicants, we're still in an extremely candidate-driven market. Ultimately, the sheer scale of the talent shortage that we've experienced over the past three years is still massively impacting travel recruitment and it will take many more months before the situation rectifies itself.
"Quality candidates still have all the power, with the best applicants receiving multiple offers from various companies and are often receiving counter offers from their current employer as well. Those travel companies looking to attract top talent right now need to act fast because the best candidates are being snapped up extremely quickly."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – March 2023 

New travel job seekers hit 5-year high

How can you compare one&nbsp;candidate against another? How can you be sure an applicant is right for your company? Which questions should you ask to find out the most about each potential employee? Conducting a great job interview can be a tricky business, so here's C&amp;M's guide to getting the very most from each meeting.
Research and prepare
You would expect all candidates to have done their research before attending an interview, so why should the interviewer go in unprepared? In advance of meeting the applicant, you should attempt to get an idea of who will be stepping into the room. So look at their social media profiles, re-read their CV and have a copy in front of you during the interview to refer back to.
If you're using a&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../about-us/">recruitment agency</a>, then take on board everything that they've told you and have this information with you throughout the meeting.
Also, have an appropriate amount of time booked free in your diary and make sure you have secured an appropriate room in advance. Private interviews should never be conducted in public.
Explain the process
Most candidates will have taken time off work to see you, so at the start of the interview it's important to let them know the expected duration, process and format that the meeting will take.
Many companies also like to introduce potential recruits to some of their existing employees to see how they may fit into the team. If this is the case, then let the candidate know this before you begin asking questions. Don't wait until the end of a 90-minute interview to let the candidate know they're required to be here for another hour while they meet their potential colleagues.
Make them feel at ease
It's entirely normal for candidates to feel nervous and on edge in the run-up to an important job interview, so try to put them at ease. Ask them how their journey was and whether they would like a glass of water.
A lot of candidates have an 'interview persona', but you should aim to get past that and find the real person, so make them feel comfortable and try to get them to talk naturally to you.
There's also no point in asking questions that are designed to provoke candidates or make them feel uneasy &ndash; you want to get to know them rather than annoy them.
Keep it consistent
Some interviewers tailor their questions to each applicant, but it's a good idea to have a list of questions that will be asked to all contenders for a particular role. This creates a level playing field and will let you compare candidates against each other far more easily.
"What do you know about this company?" "Why do you want this role?" "Have you ever had to deal with performance management issues?" "Tell me about a problem you encountered in the workplace and how you dealt with it?"
Also, make sure to ask them about any gaps in their CV and, if it's a customer facing role, then you may want them to do a presentation.
Let them know the next steps
At the end of the interview, ask them how they thought it went &ndash; "do you think you would like to work here?" It's then important to let the candidate know where they stand or, at the very least, what the next part of the process is and when they can expect to hear from you.
If the meeting didn't go well and you have the confidence to tell them this, then let them know immediately because although it may be tough to hear, they will appreciate your honesty.
Equally, there's nothing wrong with taking your time to make a decision. But if you're convinced that this is the candidate for you, then you may want to offer them the position straight away to demonstrate how keen you are to have them as part of your team.

Conducting a great job interview can be tricky, so here's C&M's guide to getting the very most from each meeting

Job interview tips for clients

JOB ADVERT - KEY DETAILS 
JOB TITLE&nbsp;&ndash; Despite the urge to grab attention in your job title, it makes far more sense to keep it simple and generic, so if you're recruiting for a Business Travel Consultant, then your job title should simply be 'Business Travel Consultant'. This is because when a candidate searches for a role, job board algorithms mean the roles which most closely resemble the search term will be featured first. Think about it from a candidate&rsquo;s perspective - most people will just search for a simple job title, so anything with extra detail (such as 'Business Travel Consultant &ndash; South West London' or 'Business Travel Consultant &ndash; excellent salary') will feature down the list of search results below adverts with simpler job titles
LOCATION&nbsp;&ndash; In complete contrast to your job title, you should be as specific as possible with your location. Candidates are much more likely to search by a postcode, town or city than by a region or county, so never advertise your role as being in the 'South West' or 'North East'. Ideally include the postcode, but if you don't want to specify the exact location, try using the postcode for a nearby train station or coffee shop instead
SALARY&nbsp;&ndash; Job adverts that feature a salary are far more likely to grab the attention of job seekers so always include pay levels if you can. If you don't want to include the exact figure then include a salary band, but if you can't mention numbers at all, then highlight another reason for someone to join your company - for instance 'excellent salary and uncapped OTE' or 'competitive salary plus great career growth potential'
JOB TYPE &ndash; Specify whether the role is a permanent, temporary or contract position
JOB ADVERT &ndash; MAIN BODY 
Job Title&nbsp;- this should be bold and in capitals. For SEO reasons, you will want to repeat the job title around four or five times in your advert. A great way of doing this is to use the headings in bold below.
Description &ndash; in lower case, use a couple of sentences to sell your company, briefly detail the role and tell candidates why they should work for you. For instance: 'A fantastic opportunity has arisen to join this established and expanding independent TMC based in wonderful modern offices in the heart of the City. Due to continual growth, we are looking for the best Business Travel Consultants around to join our friendly team and will pay up to &pound;40,000 plus an amazing bonus, benefits and opportunities for career progression.'
Job Title - Responsibilities&nbsp;&ndash; i.e. 'Business Travel Consultant - Responsibilities'
<ul>
<li>Using four or five brief bullet points, list the key responsibilities or duties of the role. For instance:</li>
<li>Look after a range of high-profile accounts booking their worldwide travel arrangements using Amadeus</li>
<li>Deal with enquiries including complex itineraries by phone or email from start to finish including flights, accommodation, car hire, rail etc.</li>
<li>Offer the best solution for each customer while optimising profit opportunities</li>
<li>Liaise with suppliers and offer a high level of service to clients</li>
</ul>
Job Title &ndash; Required Skills&nbsp;&ndash; i.e. 'Business Travel Consultant &ndash; Required Skills'
<ul>
<li>Using four or five brief bullet points, list the key skills that are needed in the role. For instance:</li>
<li>5 years' experience working as either a Business Travel Consultant or Senior Business Travel Consultant</li>
<li>Knowledge of Galileo or Amadeus is a must</li>
<li>Excellent Fares knowledge</li>
<li>Strong ticketing experience</li>
</ul>
Job Title &ndash; Additional Information&nbsp;&ndash; i.e. 'Business Travel Consultant &ndash; Additional Information'
<ul>
<li>Using four or five brief bullet points, list the benefits of working for the company including the salary, perks, bonuses, potential for travel, free car parking etc. For instance:</li>
<li>Earn up to &pound;40,000 plus an excellent bonus, benefits, pension and healthcare</li>
<li>Free on-site parking and free use of on-site gym</li>
<li>Educational trips to long-haul destinations, plus discounted holidays for family members</li>
<li>Excellent scope for progression &ndash; this is a brilliant time to join this company</li>
<li>Work Monday to Friday from 0900 to 1730</li>
</ul>
Finally, you need to let the reader know how they can apply for the role, so end the job advert with a short sentence stating that if a candidate is interested in the position, they should send their CV to ### or call ###.

Here's our indispensable guide to creating a great job advert

C&M's job advert guide

<ul>
<li>New travel job seekers reach highest point since July 2021</li>
<li>Vacancies see single-digit fall from 2022</li>
<li>Job placements fall back in Feb</li>
</ul>
Job seekers increase again
The number of candidates searching for <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs </a>has risen again to reach the second highest total since mid-2018, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Increasing by&nbsp;three per cent from January, the total volume of&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../candidates/">new job seekers</a>&nbsp;jumped to a 19-month high in February 2023. It was also the highest February figure for six years - up by 39 per cent from last February, up by 109 per cent from February 2021, up by 76 per cent from February 2020, up by 39 per cent from February 2019, up by 20 per cent from February 2018 and down by less than one per cent from February 2017.
Mixed month for new vacancies
It was a less encouraging month for&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies&nbsp;</a>which slipped by 33 per cent from January's highs. However, last month's total was very comparable to previous Februarys, with a fall of nine per cent from February 2022 and a rise of four per cent from February 2020.
It was also a slower month for placements, with the number of candidates being placed in&nbsp;new travel jobs&nbsp;falling back in February by 22 per cent from the previous month and by 29 per cent from February 2022. Excluding the pandemic-affected month of February 2021, this was the lowest February total since 2014.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "February was a very mixed month for travel recruitment, with a much-welcome rise in new candidates, but a fall in both vacancies and placements. However, March is already looking like a stronger month for activity.
"The industry is still crying out for talented travel candidates, so the increased number of job seekers that we have seen in both January and February are a great first step, but we need these strong figures to continue throughout the early months of 2023 and beyond."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – February 2023 

New travel job candidates reach 19-month high

Test your tech&hellip;and yourself
Firstly, make sure you know your way around the technology. Find out whether the call will be made through Zoom, Google Meet or any other software and practice in advance. Download the apps or software and have a practice call with a friend to ensure you feel comfortable connecting to the call and turning on your microphone and video. Also, if you live in an area with sporadic wi-fi, consider using an internet cable as these can often result in a more successful connection.
Next, think about where the call will take place. Try to find a room in your house with a plain wall or window &ndash; something that won&rsquo;t be too distracting for you or your interviewer. Try not to use a virtual background because these can create visual issues when you move around and can become very distracting, but if you really have to, then use a very simple and neutral backdrop.
Ensure that your screen is at the correct height so that you feel comfortable with the image displayed and are not looking down all the time. Then use the record function in Zoom to do a practice run, and watch it back to assess your body language &ndash; maybe even send it to a friend to get their thoughts.
Keep it professional
You may be preparing for a video conversation rather than an in-person meeting, but this is still a&nbsp;job interview, so <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">prepare in exactly the same way as you would normally do</a>&hellip;and yes, that does mean putting on trousers.
Do your hair and your make-up and make sure you&rsquo;re suited and booted. If you look the part, then you are going to exude confidence. You don&rsquo;t want to go into an interview looking unkempt because you will then come across as being scruffy and sloppy. It may seem shallow, but job interviews are your chance to let the interviewer see the best version of you - both aesthetically and verbally.
Dress the part, prepare,&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/the-secrets-of-job-interview-research/">do your research&nbsp;about the company,</a> and ensure you have some questions ready to ask at relevant intervals.
Take advantage of the situation &ndash; bring notes
Of course, one of the main differences in a Zoom job interview is that your interviewer won&rsquo;t be able to see what&rsquo;s on your desk - and there is nothing wrong in using this to your advantage.
You shouldn&rsquo;t simply read your answers off a script, but why not have various bullet points or key words to refer back to? So prepare thoroughly, and place your research below the screen so that you can subtly glimpse at it occasionally.
Let your personality shine
Most job interviews start with a handshake, but any physical interaction is of course impossible online. Instead, welcome them with a smile and try to begin with a succinct, upbeat and positive introduction.
Even though you will be meeting your interviewer over a screen, they won&rsquo;t necessarily be able to read your body language (and you won&rsquo;t necessarily be able to read theirs). Passion can easily be lost on video interviews, so it&rsquo;s even more important than normal to make sure that your personality comes across. Practice what you want to say and ensure that your ambition, experience, drive and determination all come across as you want them to in order to stand out.
Don&rsquo;t panic about unexpected visitors
We&rsquo;ve all seen the clips of children and dogs running wild in the background of video calls &ndash; and some things just can&rsquo;t be helped. If you are interrupted during your interview, then don&rsquo;t ignore it &ndash; if you can sense that something unexpected has happened, then there&rsquo;s a very good chance your interviewer can too! Instead, apologise, acknowledge what has happened and try to make light of it &ndash; you could use it to bring some humour to the interview and give you a chance to display some personality.
However, you should try to do all you can to minimise the chances of disturbance. So if you have children or animals in the house, then arrange for someone to look after them while the interview takes place &ndash; just as you would if you had to visit an office for the interview.
Try to ensure that no parcels are due to be delivered while you&rsquo;re on the call, and if you live in a shared house, put a note on your door saying that you can&rsquo;t be disturbed.
Ultimately, some things are inevitable, but if you&rsquo;ve done all you can to&nbsp;prepare for your interview&nbsp;and have minimised the chances of any interruptions, then you&rsquo;re more likely to be fully engaged and presenting the best side of yourself throughout the meeting. Best of luck!

How do video job interviews differ from face-to-face meetings? How can we make the most of them? What replaces the handshake? And, most importantly, do you need to wear trousers? Here's the answers

Five keys to a great video job interview

<ul>
<li>Candidates jump 33% from last Jan</li>
<li>Best January for new vacancies since 2017</li>
<li>Travel placements also rise year-on-year</li>
</ul>
Busy start to 2023 for new candidates
The number of&nbsp;candidates searching for <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a>&nbsp;has reached its highest point in 18 months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
January 2023's total was up by 157 per cent from&nbsp;December&nbsp;and was the second highest figure in the past four years behind only July 2021.
It was also the busiest January for new jobseekers since the index began in 2012, with January 2023's figure up by 33 per cent from January 2022, up by 122 per cent from January 2021, up by 13 per cent from January 2020 and up by nine per cent from January 2019.
Travel vacancies and placements also rise in Jan
New&nbsp;vacancies in the travel industry&nbsp;also rose healthily at the start of 2023 with January's figure up by 391 per cent from December to hit its highest point since March 2022.
It was also the highest number of new vacancies for the month of January since 2017, with last month's total up by one per cent from both January 2022 and 2020, up by two per cent from January 2019 and up by four per cent from January 2018.
The month also saw an increase in the number of candidates being placed in&nbsp;new travel jobs, with January's figure up by 49 per cent from December. It was also up by 34 per cent from both January 2022 and 2020, but down by 34 per cent from January 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "2023 has got off to a very healthy start with vacancies and placements both rising and, most importantly, we also had a big increase in new jobseekers.
&ldquo;Last year was the busiest period for travel recruitment that any of us can remember, but the one thing that held it back was the lack of quality applicants. With new travel candidates reaching their highest January level in at least 12 years, 2023 has started exactly as we needed it to. The big challenge now is to continue this momentum and keep doing all we can to attract talent into the industry."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 /&nbsp;owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 /&nbsp;barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – January 2023 

New travel jobseekers hit highest point in 18 months

<div style="text-align: center;">Travel Salaries Jump 11.5% in 2022</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">C&amp;M Travel Recruitment and C&amp;M Executive Recruitment&rsquo;s</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">Travel Salary Index &ndash; 2022 Overview</div>
<ul>
<li>Standard travel wages up 17%</li>
<li>Pay for senior travel roles falls</li>
<li>Travel job placements and vacancies jump to near-record highs in 2022</li>
<li>Candidate numbers rise but at slower pace than vacancies</li>
</ul>
Record year for travel wages
Salaries for the average&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new job in travel</a>&nbsp;jumped by a huge 11.53 per cent in 2022 to stand at a record &pound;30,617, according to the 2022 Travel Salary Index from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the year.
The figure was&nbsp;up by 8.59 per cent from the last pre-pandemic year of 2019&nbsp;and was also up by 14.01 per cent from 2018 and by 17.62 per cent from 2017.
The rise was even larger for standard&nbsp;new travel jobs&nbsp;(those paying up to &pound;40,000) which increased annually by 17.36 per cent to stand at an average of &pound;28,496. Compared to previous years, 2022's total was up by 14.25 per cent from 2019, up by 14.95 per cent from 2018 and up by 23.52 per cent from 2017.
However, salaries for the average new senior travel role (those paying &pound;40,000 and above) dipped by 6.77 per cent in 2022. This was largely due to an increasing number of roles in the &pound;40,000 to &pound;45,000 range which pushed down the overall average salary for senior positions.
Huge increases in travel jobs and placements
The number of people placed in new travel jobs jumped by 181 per cent in 2022 to reach a near-record high. Trailing only 2017 by just three per cent, 2022 stood above every other year since the index began in 2012. Last year also set many monthly records including all-time highs for placements in the months of March, April, May, June, July and August.
Similarly, the number of new travel job vacancies was up by 96 per cent in 2022 from the previous year and reached the second highest level since the index began. Behind only 2017 by just three per cent, last year set monthly records for new vacancies in March, April and May.
It was a more mixed picture for&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../candidates/">new candidates&nbsp;</a>which rose year-on-year but could not keep pace with the increase in vacancies. The number of new candidates searching for travel jobs was up by 26 per cent from 2021 and up by eight per cent from 2019, but fell by nine per cent from 2018 and was down by 22 per cent from 2017.
It was also an impressive year for business travel recruitment, with the number of candidates placed in&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=business%20travel">business travel jobs</a>&nbsp;jumping by a huge 1,387 per cent from 2021 and by 174 per cent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. There was also a big increase in salaries for new business travel jobs, which stood at an average of &pound;30,241 in 2022 &ndash; up by 2.47 per cent from 2021 and up by 11.54 per cent from 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Whichever we look at it, 2022 was a historic year for travel recruitment. After suffering hugely as a result of the pandemic, we all needed 2022 to be a bumper year &ndash; and was it ever!
"Last year set numerous records for vacancies and job placements, with spring and summer 2022 being the busiest period for travel recruitment that we have ever seen in the past 25 years. Almost all companies in the travel industry searched for new employees last year and we're seeing very few signs of this changing as we begin 2023.
"The last 12 months have also seen travel salaries rise to a record high with a huge 11.5 per cent year-on-year jump. The shortage of talented candidates continues to be the biggest challenge, but with wages increasing and great new roles being created every day, the next year will hopefully be another extremely healthy one for travel recruitment."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the salaries of the new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

The 2022 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment

Travel salary index – 2022 overview

<ul>
<li>New travel job vacancies fall to 22-month low</li>
<li>Slowest month of 2022 for job placements</li>
<li>Candidate numbers rise to highest December since 2018&hellip;</li>
<li>&hellip;but also drop to annual-low</li>
</ul>
Winter holidays hit travel job market
Festive distractions have caused the number of&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../jobs/">new travel job vacancies&nbsp;</a>to fall to its lowest level for 22 months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
While traditionally the quietest month of the year for travel recruitment, December 2022's total still dropped by 39 per cent from December 2021 to hit the lowest figure since February 2021. The number was also down by 58 per cent from the pre-pandemic month of December 2019.
Candidates and job placements also fall in December
Despite also falling to its lowest level this year, it was a somewhat more impressive month in terms of&nbsp;new <a href="../../../../../../candidates/">candidates</a>, which posted the highest December total since 2018. December 2022's figure was up by six per cent from the same month in 2021, up by seven per cent from 2019 and down by just two per cent from December 2018.
Similarly, the number of candidates being placed in new travel jobs also fell to an annual low in December, with volumes falling by 40 per cent from&nbsp;November,&nbsp;but was still up from December 2021 by a considerable 95 per cent. Compared to previous Decembers, 2022&rsquo;s figure was down by 10 per cent from 2019 and down by 30 per cent from December 2018.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "As expected, December was the slowest month of the year for travel recruitment. The holiday distractions and the fact that many people simply take a well-earned break from work for a considerable amount of time at the end of the year always results in a big dip in activity.
"However, this shouldn't diminish the fact that 2022 has marked a huge recovery for travel recruitment from both 2021 and the depths of 2020. And, thankfully, January is already looking like a much stronger month, with&nbsp;many excellent new roles being made available across the industry."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 /&nbsp;owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 /&nbsp;barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – December 2022

Candidate-driven market
Experienced travel candidates have all the power right now &ndash; they can pick and choose their next role, so if you're not offering a distinct reason why they should work for you, you're likely to be left behind.
Flexible working used to be a real selling point for a vacancy, but now it's expected. However, while the majority of travel roles are now hybrid positions, there's still a lack of pure homeworking positions &ndash; and these roles are highly sought after by candidates.
Travel wages MUST increase
Salaries have always been an issue for our industry. We commonly say that people work in travel because they love it, and while that's still true, it's not enough anymore.&nbsp;Wages simply have to increase&nbsp;across the whole industry. It's unacceptable to just offer minimum wage &ndash; especially when there's such a fight for talent going on. Many, many people have left travel, so how do we expect to tempt them back if we continually offer such derogatory pay?
Why should talent choose your company?
The pandemic has made many people question what they want from life and where they want to spend their working day, so travel companies really need to spend time thinking about their <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">brand </a>and what they stand for. What does your company represent? What are your values? Why would someone want to work there? What's your reputation? And, if necessary, how can you turn it around?
Candidates &ndash; particularly younger ones &ndash; are now focusing much more on these aspects. Any company that can offer a positive and engaging working environment, attractive salaries and benefits, as well as mentoring or career development opportunities will find they have a much bigger talent pool to choose from.
Identifying your key players
With the entire industry experiencing recruitment challenges, it is crucial to do all we can to keep our current talent content and happy &ndash; and, in particular, our key players.
Whether it's to do with their fantastic sales skills, morale-boosting positivity or guidance for other colleagues, we all have these star performers, and it is vital to assess what would happen if they leave.
How would team morale be affected? What would it mean if they joined a competitor? Would our company reputation be impacted? Could we replace them - and if so, how long would it take and how much would it cost?
With demand for talent far outstripping current supply, this is achallenging time for travel recruitment. But the opportunities are clear for us all to see. And by adjusting a few aspects of our <a href="../../../../../../clients/">recruitment</a> and retention policies, we can give ourselves the best chance of making the next year a hugely positive one. By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

So how do you stand out from your competitors when recruiting? What are candidates looking for? How can you keep hold of your current employees? And have you got a plan in place if your key players leave?

How to recruit top travel talent and retain your key players

<ul>
<li>Placements fall from Oct, but still rise from 2021</li>
<li>Travel vacancies see large monthly dip</li>
<li>Candidates also fall marginally</li>
</ul>
Market eases in run-up to Christmas
Recruitment activity in the travel industry slowed in November, with vacancies, candidates and placements all seeing month-on-month falls, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
There was a 20 per cent monthly fall in the number of candidates being placed in&nbsp;new travel jobs, although the figure was still up by 17 per cent from November 2021. Compared to the same month in previous years, November 2022's total was level with November 2019 and up by seven per cent from November 2018, but down by 27 per cent from November 2017.
Similarly,&nbsp;new <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">job opportunities in the travel industry</a>&nbsp;slipped back in November, with a 28 per cent fall from&nbsp;October&nbsp;and an eight per cent dip from November 2021. Last month's total was the second lowest of the year behind only August, and was also down by five per cent from November 2019, down by 25 per cent from November 2018 and down by nine per cent from November 2017.
Candidate numbers rise from 2019
It was a slightly more positive month for new&nbsp;jobseekers, with the number of candidates starting their <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">search for a new travel job</a>&nbsp;dipping by three per cent in November,&nbsp;but jumping by 65 per cent from the same month in 2021. The figure is also up by 33 per cent from November 2019, but down by six per cent from November 2018 and down by 15 per cent from November 2017.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Whichever way you look at it, November was one of the slowest months of the year for travel recruitment activity. We saw monthly falls in the number of new jobs, placements and candidates, but it's worth remembering how far we have come in 2022.
"Compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, placements have increased in seven of the 11 months of the year so far and have been even in another two, while new vacancies have also risen in seven of the 11 months.
"The one concern of course is candidate numbers, which have increased in six months of 2022 so far, but have fallen in five. For the travel industry to fully recover in the long-term, we all need to do whatever we can to attract new talent into our sectors and entice those who have left to come back &ndash; and this should be a real goal for us all in 2023."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – November 2022

Travel recruitment activity slows in November

<ul>
<li>Candidate numbers reach highest point since summer 2021</li>
<li>Job placements rise monthly and annually</li>
<li>New travel vacancies see small dip from Sept</li>
</ul>
Busy month for travel candidates
The number of&nbsp;new candidates&nbsp;searching for&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../jobs/">travel jobs</a>&nbsp;has jumped to its highest level since July 2021, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
With a&nbsp;29 per cent increase from September 2022, last month's figure was up 34 per cent from last October and was the highest number recorded since July 2021.
However, the figure was marginally below previous Octobers, with a dip of two per cent from October 2019, five per cent from October 2018 and eight per cent from October 2017.
Travel job placements see monthly rise
It was also a busy month for&nbsp;new travel job&nbsp;placements which rose by 18 per cent from the previous month and by 56 per cent compared to October 2021. Compared to previous years, October 2022 was up by 24 per cent from October 2019, up by one per cent from October 2018 and down by five per cent from October 2017.
Last month also recorded the second highest number of new travel job vacancies in the past five months, despite a small four per cent fall from September.
Compared to the same month in previous years, October 2022's total was down by six per cent from October 2021, up by nine per cent from October 2019, down by five per cent from October 2018 and down by four per cent from October 2017.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "With a shortage of quality candidates affecting all industries at the moment, it's very encouraging to see a big increase in jobseekers in the travel industry last month.
"This was the highest monthly total since July 2021 and the second highest since autumn 2019, so this increase in candidates should come as welcome news to us all as we try to encourage and incentivise new talent to work in travel."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – October 2022

New travel job candidates jump to 15-month high

Research the company
Do you enjoy awkward silences? If not, it's probably a good idea to research the company and find out as much information as you can before the job interview. It's commonplace these days for employers to ask what you know about their company, as this shows attention to detail and gives an indication that you want this particular job rather than any old role.
There's plenty of ways to find this information out, but a good place to start is on their website. Scour the "About Us" page and take notes on what the company does, when it was founded and where it's based.
Find out who its competitors are, whose in charge, what the individual market is currently like and if there have been any recent notable developments that could affect the sector. Even try searching for its most recent financial records - not only will this give you an idea of how well the business is doing, but also whether your <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">job</a> is likely to be secure if they offer you a role.
Finally, it's a great idea to get as comprehensive an understanding as you can of what the company is actually like. Is it a fun place to work? What are their customers like? What kind of consumer does the business attract? Does it have a smart or casual dress code? Is it modern or old fashioned?
As mentioned before, start by looking on the company's website for clues, but also search on Google for any mentions of the business in news articles or on forums. This can sometimes provide a more honest insight into the business - but obviously don't believe everything you read on the internet...
Research your answers
This is unlikely to come as a shock to you, but you'll be asked many questions in your <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">job interview</a>, so it's obviously worth taking the time to prepare your answers. You can't guess everything that they'll ask, but the same types of questions pop up in most interviews, so you can certainly revise these.
Essentially, recruiters and employers want to find out three things about their candidates, so answer these questions positively and you'll have a far better shot at landing the job:
<ul>
<li>How much do you want the job?</li>
<li>Do you have the skills to do the job?</li>
<li>Are you a fit for the company?</li>
</ul>
And don't feel cautious about showing some personality. As the last of those three questions demonstrates, employers like to gauge whether you'll fit into their company and work well alongside their existing staff, so be relaxed but take your lead from the interviewer and the office environment.
Either way, you're almost guaranteed to be asked one or more of the following questions, so think hard about your answers, practice them and revise.
<ul>
<li>Why did you leave your last job? / Why do you want to leave your current job?</li>
<li>What can you bring to this company?</li>
<li>Why do you want to work for us?</li>
<li>How long would it take for you to make a difference to this company?</li>
<li>What are you most proud of in your career?</li>
<li>What have you enjoyed in your previous jobs? What have you found challenging?</li>
<li>What is the biggest regret of your career?</li>
<li>What is your major weakness?</li>
<li>How would you describe yourself?</li>
<li>What do other people say about you?</li>
<li>What did you do during the gap in&nbsp;your CV?</li>
<li>Where do you see yourself in five/ten years' time?</li>
</ul>
Research your questions
Once you've been grilled it will be your turn to be in charge, so think of a few questions to ask back. Some of your potential queries will inevitably already have been answered during the job interview, so make sure you have lots ready. After all, having nothing suitable to ask (and resorting to, "Um...what's the salary?") is just plain embarrassing and makes it look like you're not prepared.
Remember a few of the following questions and you can't go wrong.
<ul>
<li>Will I mainly be working on my own or as part of a team?</li>
<li>Why is this role available?</li>
<li>How long do people generally spend at the company / in this role?</li>
<li>What is the company's working culture like?</li>
<li>What are the company's short-term plans?</li>
<li>Will there be a training programme provided with the role?&nbsp;</li>
<li>Will I have the opportunity to attend courses during my employment?</li>
<li>What would be the next stage of the interview process?</li>
<li>If I were to be offered the role, when would I be required to start?</li>
</ul>

So you've prepared for your job interview, but have you done your research? By reading up on the company, practicing your answers and preparing a few questions of your own, you can make yourself feel more comfortable and confident, and give yourself a far better chance of being a successful candidate

The secrets of job interview research

Keep your mouth shut!
It may be obvious advice, but it's also good advice; the fewer people you tell about your job hunt, the smaller the chance that your boss will find out. Confiding in a friend or two is understandable, but speaking to anyone at work is risky - we all know how fast gossip spreads around the office...
Update your LinkedIn profile subtly
If you're searching for a new job, then you'll want to&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../news/job-tips/five-simple-ways-to-boost-your-linkedin-profile/">update your LinkedIn profile</a>, but remember that your current manager will be able to see (and possibly even be notified) whenever you make any updates.
There are a few ways around this though - firstly, make sure that your activity broadcasts are turned off, and secondly, be subtle with your wording. Don't say your &lsquo;seeking a new challenge'; just detail your roles and the skills that you've brought to them. Keep it professional rather than eager.
In the same way, be careful when you're networking. This is now a massively important method of finding new jobs, but be careful about who you talk to and how honest you are. Who's to say the person you're networking with isn't about to do the same with your manager?
Consider your references
While most people put their current boss down as one of their references, this isn't always the most sensible thing to do. If they get a call from someone asking to provide a reference for you, then your secret's out in the open, so consider choosing a former boss and a colleague that you can trust instead.
If you go for a job and they insist on speaking to your current manager, then explain that you'll happily hand over their details when they make you a firm offer. If that happens, politely speak to your boss explaining what's happened and try to keep it all on good terms - don't annoy them minutes before they write your reference...
Don't call in sick for an interview
If you need to go to an interview, then you haven't got the job yet, so don't risk your current position by calling in sick. It might seem tempting, but it really isn't worth the risk and, if you're boss finds out, it will make your working arrangements slightly more tense, to say the least.
If you've got holiday time left then book a day off work, if not, then it looks like some &lsquo;personal issues' might affect you coming in that day...
Speak to your boss 
Ok, this goes against everything you've just read, but if you've had no luck finding a new job, why not look for a better role at your current place of work? Be careful about how you word it when speaking to your manager, but most bosses will be pleased to know that their employees are determined and eager to increase their workload. At the very least, this might result in you learning a few more skills to add to your CV.
But if you're still having no luck in your job hunt, try&nbsp;<a title="Submit your CV" href="../../../../../candidates/">uploading your CV to C&amp;M Travel Recruitment</a>&nbsp;and let one of the consultants do the hard work.

Everyone loves gossip, but some things are best kept secret - such as when you're searching for a new job. You don't want your hunt to jeopardise your current role, so here's how to keep it quiet

Five ways to keep your job search secret

Put some decent clothes on
Getting changed just to answer the phone may feel silly, but the way you&rsquo;re dressed really does affect your telephone manner. You don&rsquo;t necessarily have to go all out and wear a suit and tie, but at least dress smartly so that you feel more professional and are more likely to think you actually deserve this&nbsp;job. Let&rsquo;s face it; if you&rsquo;re sitting around in your pyjamas then you&rsquo;re unlikely to be at your most alert.
Similarly, smiling while your answering the phone can give the impression that you&rsquo;re friendly and approachable. This obviously isn&rsquo;t always appropriate, so judge it based on the role that you&rsquo;re going for, but having a warm, welcoming and professional voice rarely does anyone any harm.
Charge your phone
This is a common error. You really don't want to be scrambling around trying to find your charger mid-interview, so make sure your phone&rsquo;s fully charged and working in advance. If you&rsquo;ve got any doubts at all about whether your mobile is picking up all of your calls, then just give out a landline number and make sure you&rsquo;re waiting by the phone a few minutes early.
Keep your CV and notes nearby
One great advantage of a telephone&nbsp;job interview&nbsp;is that you can refer to notes throughout and the employer will be none the wiser. Before the interview, think of answers to the questions that you&rsquo;re likely to be asked and then keep them in front of you &ndash; this will let you present a pre-prepared answer as a new one.
Also make sure you&rsquo;ve got a copy of <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">your&nbsp;CV&nbsp;and&nbsp;covering letter</a>&nbsp;nearby, so that you can refer back to any claims you&rsquo;ve made.
Distance yourself from distractions
Turn the TV off, unplug the phone (not the one you&rsquo;ll be using, obviously) and generally make sure you&rsquo;re not going to be distracted by anything for the next few minutes. Try to find a quiet place in the house where you can hide away and make sure that your children / housemates are far away or at least unlikely to come knocking. Also, try to make sure that your telephone interview has been scheduled for a very specific time (say, 10am-10.30am) so that you&rsquo;re not only prepared, but are also likely to have minimal distractions.
Practice and stay calm
Like any <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">job interview</a>, try to&nbsp;practice your answers&nbsp;in advance so that you&rsquo;re not only less likely to be caught by surprise, but will also feel more confident in your responses.
It&rsquo;s also worth remembering a few other basic tips about how telephone job interviews differ from face-to-face conversation. Slow your speech down slightly and speak more clearly to ensure that there are no miscommunications on the phone, and remember that your interviewer will not be able to see any of your body language, so think carefully before making any light-hearted comments that could potentially be misinterpreted.
Finally, attempt to take notes while on the phone or immediately after the interview ends. Write down any information that you picked up and answers that you gave, as this will all come in handy should you progress to the next stage of your <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">job hunt</a>.

You’ve got a telephone interview! That means you can sit in your pants with a whisky, right? If your answer to that question was in any way ‘yes’, then you might want to pay attention to the following tips

Five secrets to a successful telephone job interview

<div>Slam your old boss</div>
<div>
Whatever disputes you had with your former manager or workmates, a job&nbsp;<a title="How To Prepare For A Job Interview" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">interview</a>&nbsp;is definitely not the place to air them. Apart from the possibility that your interviewer also hates your ex-boss (which, let's be honest, is slim), your grievances are only like to result in "trouble" being written on your notes. Instead, attempt to put a positive spin on your disagreements or at least present them in a constructive manner.
Claim to be faultless
Don't go into a job interview and immediately launch into all of your faults, but equally make sure you've got a good answer in place when you're asked what your biggest weakness is. This question pops up frequently in interviews, so prepare an answer that makes you seem honest, but still highly employable. If you're really stuck then try mentioning something that would have little impact on how you perform your role, or point to a previous work challenge that you successfully overcame.
Leave your phone on
Even if you don't answer your phone during the interview, the slightest hint of a ringtone will instantly affect your job chances. It comes down to attention to detail - if you can't remember to even put your phone on silent during a job interview, then what else might you forget? Having said this, it's always worth bringing your mobile to an interview in case you run into any problems on your way in. Which brings us to...
Be late
Turning up late to a job interview is a guaranteed way to annoy your future boss. But if you're running late, then make sure you phone ahead and let them know with as much notice as you can. You're still going to need a very good excuse though, so take all precautions to make sure you can arrive on time.
Come unprepared
Perhaps the most important part of a successful interview is to do your&nbsp;<a title="The Secrets Of Job Interview Research" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/the-secrets-of-job-interview-research/">research</a>&nbsp;beforehand. Find out as much about the company as you can - what do they do? Who are their customers / competitors? Etc. Employers often ask interviewers what they know about their company, so make sure you've got more to offer than an awkward silence.
Show that you're tired
It's understandable to have trouble sleeping on the night before a job interview due to nerves, but don't let it show. You've only got to be alert for a few minutes, so focus and maybe get some caffeine. One of the main attributes that many employers look for is enthusiasm, so make sure you don't come across as unfocused or uninterested.
Dress down
The only time it's ever justifiable to wear causal clothes to an interview, is if you've been explicitly told to do so. For any other occasion, it's always far more sensible to dress smartly. Even if companies have a casual dress code for current staff members, that doesn't mean that they want potential employees to turn up in t-shirts and jeans. Iron your suit, have a shave and make the effort - you'll be annoyed if you've lost the job because of what you picked out of the wardrobe.
</div>

Unless you've got some real masochistic streak, it's unlikely that you'll deliberately want to scupper your job interview. But with so many easy ways to get your application ignored, it's best to make a note of what to avoid

How to ruin a job interview in 7 easy steps

Plan your journey
Unless you're one hell of a persuading talker, you're unlikely to get the job if you turn up looking like a big sweaty mess, so it's absolutely integral to plan your journey beforehand. If you're going by car, try driving past the location in advance so that you know the route and (if you really want to be prepared for any possible scenario) seek out an alternative route there.
Similarly, if you're going by train or bus, then check the departure and arrival times in advance and keep an eye on any maintenance work on the lines or anything else that could cause a delay.
Finally, if you're lucky enough to be able to walk to your job interview, ensure that you know exactly where the office is and that you can gain access to the building - you don't want to be stuck outside while your potential new boss thinks you just haven't turned up.
Sleep
It's not always easy to sleep the night before a<a href="../../../../../../news/the-secrets-of-job-interview-research/"> job interview</a>, and that's why it's important to give yourself the best chance of getting a good night's sleep, so go to bed relatively early and set your alarm. If you really can't sleep though, just have a coffee or two in the morning - after all, you've only got to be alert for the short duration of an interview.
Read the news
It may not seem like the most obvious part of preparation, but it's always worth reading the news on the morning of a job interview. Many employers like to see that potential recruits are aware of the goings on both in their industry and in the wider economy, so don't be surprised if they throw in a question about what impact you think X will have on their business.
Dress smartly
If you're unsure of the dress code then always dress smartly. Turning up in just trousers and a shirt can give the impression that your attention to detail might be lacking, so get your suit ready and ironed the night before. There's no need to buy anything new (unless your wardrobes consists entirely of band t-shirts or football tops), but try to wear something that will make you look smart but also feel comfortable.
Men should remember to shave, and women should refrain from wearing any strong fragrances or too much make-up and jewellery, while smokers should attempt to resist the urge to light up immediately before the job interview.
Come prepared 
Finally, it's a good idea to bring with you <a href="../../../../../../news/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">your&nbsp;CV&nbsp;and a portfolio</a> of your previous work, if appropriate. The employer will almost certainly have your CV and application form to hand, but taking a copy with you shows that you have considered all possibilities. Likewise, the interviewer may not have asked to see any of your past work, but bringing along a fewer relevant examples is unlikely to hurt your chances.
Also, take along your notes so that you can do some last minute revision, as well as a bottle of water and some cash for a last-minute taxi.

Job interviews can be incredibly stressful things, so it is important to take away at least some of the tension by making sure you're completely prepared. By planning certain things in advance, you'll be free to concentrate solely on your answers and, let's face it, that's what's going to secure you the job

How to prepare for a job interview

<ul>
<li>New travel job vacancies reach highest point since May</li>
<li>Candidate number also increase&hellip;</li>
<li>&hellip;but placements fall to seven-month low</li>
</ul>
Travel vacancies jump in September
The number of new job opportunities in the travel industry has jumped to its highest level in four months, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
There was a strong rebound in&nbsp;new travel job vacancies&nbsp;following the end of the summer holidays, with September's total&nbsp;increasing by 65 per cent from August. The figure was the highest since May 2022 and was also up by 45 per cent from September 2021, up by 18 per cent from September 2019 and up by 16 per cent from September 2018, but down by 16 per cent from September 2017.
There was also a rise in the number of&nbsp;new candidates searching for jobs&nbsp;in travel last month, with a 12 per cent increase from August and an 18 per cent jump from last September. Compared to pre-pandemic years, last month's total was down seven per cent from September 2019 but up by six per cent from September 2018.
Slower month for job placements
However, the number of applicants being placed in new jobs in the travel industry dipped by 11 per cent in September and fell back to its lowest level since February. Despite this, last month's figure was up by 32 per cent from the same month last year, was level with September 2019 and up by 16 per cent from September 2018.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "It was another very positive month for travel recruitment, with new candidates, vacancies and job placements all above their historical averages.
"In particular, recent months have seen a huge increase in both vacancies and placements in the business travel sector, and we expect experienced&nbsp;Business Travel Consultants&nbsp;to continue to be in extremely high demand in the months ahead."
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All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – September 2022

New travel job openings rise to four-month high

Be professional&hellip;
The last thing most of us want is to jeopardise our job, so work out exactly what you want to say in advance and, perhaps most importantly, how you want to say it. You could essentially treat it as a mini job interview &ndash; dress well, do your research and have stats lined up to back up what you say.
&hellip;and confident
Timidly asking your boss if there&rsquo;s any slight chance that you could maybe, perhaps have a few more pounds, please, is unlikely to get you anywhere. If you don&rsquo;t sound like you&rsquo;re worth a pay rise, then your manager will find it too easy to deny you one, so it&rsquo;s absolutely crucial to be confident and sound like you deserve every penny that you&rsquo;re asking for.
It&rsquo;s worth remembering that you shouldn&rsquo;t be afraid to ask for a pay rise. If you&rsquo;ve earned it and your employer can afford to give you a wage hike, then why shouldn&rsquo;t you get it?
Explain why you&rsquo;re worth it&hellip;
If you don&rsquo;t know why you deserve a pay rise, then neither will your boss, so work out your strategy in advance. Don&rsquo;t rely on sympathy. It&rsquo;s not enough to walk in there asking for some extra cash because your rent&rsquo;s going up next month; your boss will need some iron-clad examples to back up your demands - if only so they can justify it to&nbsp;their&nbsp;boss.
As we mentioned in&nbsp;<a title="How To Prepare For A Job Interview" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">our job interview guide</a>, employers love examples of a candidate&rsquo;s work, so prepare a list of accomplishments and show them exactly what you&rsquo;re worth to the company. Have you saved the business money? Do you successfully carry out tasks beyond your basic job description? Have you received praise from other clients? Make notes of all of these things and build up a case for why you deserve a better salary.
One of the best ways to demonstrate your worth is to show why the company needs you and why you would be a loss if you had to potentially walk away in the future. Think about how having you on the team would benefit the company going forward and try to come up with a plan of what you will bring to the business over the next few years. But remember to be realistic &ndash; don&rsquo;t promise to put in extra hours every week if you don&rsquo;t intend to.
&hellip;but don&rsquo;t threaten to quit
Speak confidently about why you deserve an increase in salary but don&rsquo;t threaten to go to a competitor if your boss doesn&rsquo;t agree. Any kind of ultimatum runs the risk of annoying your manager and, even if they agree to your demands, you may still have ended up harming your working relationship in the long-term.
Keeping all discussions amicable is the best approach. This way, if you don&rsquo;t manage to immediately persuade your manager, you can at least agree a date for a future salary review with some potential targets to work towards. If your boss truly wants to keep you at the company, they will know that they can only say &lsquo;no&rsquo; to you so many times.
Get your timing right
While what you say is vital, knowing when to say it is equally important &ndash; and we&rsquo;re not just talking about the time of day. If your company has been downsizing or struggling in other ways recently, then they&rsquo;re unlikely to want (or be able) to fork out more cash to keep their employees happy, so consider delaying or at least reducing your demands.
On the other hand, if you&rsquo;ve recently completed a major project or received praise for your work, then now might be the ideal time to try your luck. Also, take into consideration your manager&rsquo;s workload &ndash; if you know they never even have time to buy a sandwich on Mondays, maybe think about booking a meeting with them for a Tuesday afternoon.
Put a figure on it
It&rsquo;s estimated that the total cost of replacing a staff member can run into the many thousands, so if you truly are an invaluable part of the team, it&rsquo;s likely that your company will do what they can to keep you.
However, you need to be realistic. If you already earn a good wage and your work rarely stands out from that of the rest of the office, it&rsquo;s unreasonable to expect a big pay rise. So do your research, look at what rival companies are paying for similar roles and work out a figure that you think is achievable. But don&rsquo;t be greedy &ndash; as mentioned above, if your company has recently made redundancies or has had a weak year, then you might have to rethink your expectations.
If you&rsquo;re successful&hellip;
Congratulations&hellip;but don&rsquo;t celebrate quite yet! If you&rsquo;re working at a large company then many people will be involved in any change to your basic salary, so keep an eye on the progress. If things seem to go quiet, just remind your boss by asking them if there&rsquo;s anything that you need to sign.
If you&rsquo;re unsuccessful&hellip;&nbsp; 
Try, try again? That&rsquo;s up to you, but you now have three clear options &ndash; accept the decision and continue with your current salary, work hard and attempt to change your manager&rsquo;s mind, or start the hunt for a new job.
The decision is yours, but if your morale and work ethic is suffering, then it could at least be worth considering your options and looking at&nbsp;<a title="Travel Job Search" href="../../../../../jobs/">which other travel jobs are currently out there</a>. If you&rsquo;re right about how much you&rsquo;re worth, then surely someone will be willing to pay you it&hellip;

More travel jobs are available and lots of companies are increasing their salaries, so now’s the perfect time to ask for a pay rise, right? Possibly. But before you walk into your manager’s office demanding a 20 per cent salary hike, make sure you’re fully prepared, have chosen the ideal time and can prove that you’re completely worth the extra cash

How to get a pay rise

Even if you're happy in a secure job, it's always important to <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">refresh your CV</a> - no-one knows what's going to happen in the future, so why not keep your options open?
<div>
By following a few easy steps, you can make sure your CV will not only stand out to employers, but will also reflect well on you as a candidate.
Sell yourself
Sum yourself up in a few words at the top of your CV stating the type of work that you want and what you can offer in that position. Sell yourself and make your summary section stand out - and don't be embarrassed about it.
Make it clean and clear
A CV is an employer's first impression of you, so don't blow it - make your CV neat and presentable, so that it represents you in the best possible way.
In terms of general layout, pick one of the common typefaces (Arial, Times New Roman, Courier or Verdana) at size 10 or 12 and stick to it. Simple steps like these will make your CV look professional and, hopefully, increase your chances of finding&nbsp;work.
General CV points
<ul>
<li>Use left-justified text - it's easiest to read</li>
<li>Only use bold for headings (employment history, education etc)</li>
<li>Use bullet points</li>
<li>Dates of employment should include the month and the year, for example: Mar 2010 - Feb 2011</li>
<li>Save your CV in a word format</li>
<li>Include personal information, such as your name, full address, telephone numbers (day/evening/mobile) and email address</li>
<li>Place the important information at the start: Put experience and education achievements in reverse chronological order</li>
<li>Use positive language when describing your achievements - say, &lsquo;launched' or &lsquo;achieved' rather than just, &lsquo;had to' or &lsquo;tried to'</li>
</ul>
Adapt your CV to each application
CVs don't need to contain your life story - they should be tailored to each position that you apply for, so there's no need to mention part-time bar work if you're now applying to be an office manager.
Your main focus at this point should just be for your CV to not end up in the bin, so think about what the employer is looking for and make the appropriate changes.
Justify your claims
As mentioned, it really is important to sell yourself in your CV, but it's equally important to back up your claims. Examine the skills that each employer needs and explain how you have demonstrated these attributes in previous roles.
Examples of the benefits that you have made in former positions are far more appealing to employers than qualifications that you gained in the old days.
Candidates who can show that they are efficient, proactive and profit-orientated are always likely to appeal to employers.
Check, check and check once more
Once you've made all these changes, proofread your <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/more-easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">CV</a> a couple of times and try to get some fresh eyes to scan it. CVs containing spelling mistakes often get thrown straight in the bin, so make sure that yours doesn't suffer the same fate.
</div>

Maybe you're fresh out of university and your struggling to get your first job, or maybe you just need a change, but haven't updated your CV in a while. Well then this is for you.

Easy ways to improve your CV

Be confident
First impressions really are all-important, so make sure that you give yourself enough time before the job interview to go to the bathroom and freshen yourself up.
Use a relatively firm handshake at the start and end, and maintain eye contact wherever possible. Sit up straight, look interested and focused and try to come across as being confident - if you look like you can do the job, then you're a lot more likely to get it.
Sometimes it can come down to the small details, so if it's between you and someone who fidgeted for the full 20 minutes, then you might just have the edge...
Be positive
When trying to make a positive first impression, it stands to reason that you should try to project a positive personality, so stress the benefits that you can bring to this role and why you think you could be a success in it.
If you have any grievances about your old job or employer, then now's definitely not the time to air them. It's great to show personality (as we'll explain in a second), but not when it shows your negative side. Employers aren't going to want to hear about how bad your former boss was - it will just make them imagine what you could be saying about their company in future years.
So if you've got negative reasons for leaving your old job, then make them sound constructive or, at least, try to remain upbeat and professional.
Be yourself
As mentioned above, it's important to show your personality and attempt to strike up some kind of rapport with your interviewer. Companies will often speak to several&nbsp;candidates&nbsp;back-to-back, so any positive impression that you make could give you an advantage.
This doesn't mean that you should take on a different persona though. Try to relax and feel free to laugh, but judge the tone of the <a href="../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">interview</a> before you make it too light-hearted.
If you're lucky enough to discover that you both grew up in the same area or share the same interests, then make the most of it. Interviewers love to see an indication that they could actually work with candidates if they give them the job.
Take your time
If you're unsure about how to answer anything then it's ok to take your time, have a sip of water or even ask for a few seconds to consider your response. It's far better to give a strong answer after a slightly awkward silence than sprout gibberish because you were caught off guard. Equally, if you're unsure of the meaning of any&nbsp;<a title="Secrets Of Job Interview Research" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/the-secrets-of-job-interview-research/">questions</a>, then ask for clarification.
End it politely
While it may not be as crucial as the first impression, it's still important to end the job interview in the right manner. Shake their hand, thank them for their time and let them know that you look forward to hearing from them soon.

Just a few minutes stand between you and your new job, so it's probably a good idea to try and make the right impression. It's easy (and natural) to get nervous at this point, but don't worry; you've done your interview research, so all that's left is to concentrate on your demeanour and then everything else should fall into place

How to make the right impression at a job interview

If you still need a few more CV tips even after following&nbsp;<a title="Easy ways to improve your CV" href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">these steps</a>, then you're in luck, because that's exactly what you'll find here.
Keep it short
Unlike this epic two-edition blog post, try to keep your CV relatively short - ideally keep it under two pages. For any&nbsp;attractive job, employers are likely to see many applications, so it's unlikely that the fourth page of your CV clinches it for you.
There are many ways to free up space on your CV, such as leaving out the details of your references - simply state that they are available on request. Also, you could create a "Previous Employment" section for any roles that you had more than a decade ago (just list your job title, the company name and the dates).
Finally, it's not necessary to create a long list of schools that you attended (just highlight the important stuff) and you don't need to write paragraphs about your hobbies either.
Leave out the disappointments...
It may sound obvious, but it bears repeating; your CV is not the time to own up to any failures that you've had in your career. You might be asked about these things at the interview stage, but you can worry about that later. Basically, don't weaken your successes by also mentioning the failures.
Don't give the employer any reason to discard you at this point, so also leave out any poor exam results or disappointing past business ventures.
While you should never lie on your CV, you don't have to mention anything that could possibly lead to you being discriminated against. Therefore, it is not essential to include information such as your race, date of birth, marital status or any disabilities.
...but don't leave gaps
Big gaps in your CV can be a warning sign to any potential employers, so don't give them a reason to presume the worst about you.
Also, don't be tempted to exaggerate (or flat-out lie) about previous job titles, salary or dates of&nbsp;employment&nbsp;because employers may check your CV's accuracy. And if it turns out that you bent the truth too far, then they may have the right to fire you.
Think about keywords
Although it may not initially strike you as being an important part of your CV, it's certainly worth thinking about which keywords you use. More and more recruiters now use online systems or job boards to search through CVs, so if you haven't got the appropriate keywords in your CV, then you won't show up. To give yourself the best chance of being detected, research the words used in similar roles to yours and work these into your CV's summary section.
And you're done
So that's it. And <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">when you're happy that your CV is as polished as it can be</a>, make sure you&nbsp;upload it&nbsp;to the good folks here at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment. Best of luck!

Even more tips to help you create the perfect CV and land a new job

More easy ways to improve your CV

&nbsp;
Do some work experience
Yep, it's an old classic, but work experience is always a good addition to the CV. If you can, try to gain experience in the same or similar profession to the one that you wish to be employed in, but don't just ignore opportunities in other sectors. After all, everyone loves a good "transferable skill".
Take advantage of your part-time work
If you're working part-time in a&nbsp;job&nbsp;unrelated to the one that you want, then why not make the most of it by asking to take on a few more responsibilities? Any organisational or financial tasks will look great on the CV, so get asking.
It may seem like you'll be doing more work for no more money (chances are, you will be), but it could well be worthwhile in the long run. If you have to work in a part-time job that you don't enjoy, then why not learn as much as you can while you're there?
Become a volunteer
Volunteering's a massive plus on any CV. It shows that candidates are active, willing to work and eager to help good causes - all great traits that employers love to see. And the opportunities are vast.
Typically, we may think of people volunteering on relief efforts in Africa or helping to build schools in Asia, but there are numerous chances to lend a hand closer to home. The Conservation Volunteers even offer 90-minute slots, so there's really no excuse not to <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">add this to your CV</a>.
Take a gap year
If you really want to fully experience being a volunteer, then get yourself abroad and take part in one of the previously mentioned activities. Employers love that kind of stuff. But if that doesn't sound like a fit for you, then there's loads of other ways to make a year abroad look good on your CV.
Spending months on the beach in Thailand probably won't excite too many employers, but travelling to new places and demonstrating that you've grown from seeing new cultures could lend a boost to your employment prospects.
Travelling can demonstrate that you're open to new ideas and experiences and that, after a year of moving around, you're ready to focus on your career. And obviously take advantage of any opportunities to gain experience of new working practices or environments when you're away.
Start a blog
Following on from the last idea, why not write your own blog while you're away? Not only is it a perfect way to keep a record of all the little details that you'll want to look back on in a few years' time, it will also be a great addition to your CV.
And it's also worth starting a blog even if you're not venturing much further than the kitchen. Detailed or brief, as long as you show some kind of writing/ designing/ time-keeping ability, then it's worthwhile.
At the very least, compiling a regularly updated blog will give you far more satisfaction than wasting the afternoon on daytime TV.
Pass your driving test
Finally, why not spend your spare time passing your driving test? It may not be the most obvious route to a new job, but you might be surprised at how many positions require candidates to have a clean driving license (so don't pass your test and promptly crash into a hedge).
Passing your driving test might not be the cheapest way of finding a&nbsp;new job, but it could be one of the most useful.
Once all that's been completed,&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../candidates/">sumbit your CV</a>&nbsp;to the C&amp;M Travel Recruitment site and wait for the (fingers crossed) good news.

It's the smaller things that make the difference. While you may not be able to add a new position to your CV, you can certainly boost your employability

How to build up your CV

Update your details
Before you start applying for every role that you can find, your very first step should be to&nbsp;<a title="C&amp;M's guide to the perfect CV" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">update your CV</a>. Highlight what you&rsquo;ve done in each of your roles and give clear examples of how your work has made a difference. Statistics are always a good way of grabbing attention so if you&rsquo;ve generated x amount of revenue, then say so. If you&rsquo;ve been with the same company for a significant number of years, then try to break down your time there into separate sections &ndash; i.e. have you had different job titles or responsibilities?
Next you need to&nbsp;<a title="Five Simple Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/five-simple-ways-to-boost-your-linkedin-profile/">update your LinkedIn profile</a>. Much of the information can be duplicated from your new CV, and don&rsquo;t feel embarrassed to change your LinkedIn headline to something like &lsquo;an experienced Travel Consultant currently seeking a new role&rsquo; &ndash; you&rsquo;re looking for a new position so be brazen about it.
Stay positive
It&rsquo;s vital to stay upbeat &ndash; remember that you lost your job through no fault of your own and that many other companies are recruiting for staff at the moment. The travel industry has had a skills shortage for the past few years, so there are many roles available for experienced travel professionals like you.
Get your name out there
There&rsquo;s only so much you can do on your own, so submit your CV to the job boards and&nbsp;register&nbsp;with a specialist recruitment company that knows the industry and can match your experiences to a relevant role. Recruiters can also offer you advice about improving your CV and&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../news/job-tips/what-to-wear-to-a-travel-job-interview/">interview</a>&nbsp;technique, advise you about exclusive roles that aren&rsquo;t advertised elsewhere and let you know how much you should realistically be earning.
Be active
Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s likely that many other people will be in the same situation as you, so it&rsquo;s important to act quickly and stay ahead of the competition. It may be a clich&eacute;, but to really give yourself the best chance of finding a great new role as soon as possible, you need to treat your search as a job in itself. Dedicate your time to it and be fast but be thorough. Tailor each application for each individual role and don&rsquo;t rush your wording because it&rsquo;s far more important to sell yourself properly than to send in an application that&rsquo;s riddled with mistakes.
Use your contacts
This is the ideal time to reconnect with your old contacts and suppliers. Be proactive and ask around to see if anyone knows of any&nbsp;<a title="Travel vacancies" href="../../../../../jobs/">vacancies</a>&nbsp;or has any leads for you. And don&rsquo;t be ashamed about it &ndash; many companies are searching for quality candidates at the moment, so why wouldn&rsquo;t they want to know that someone of your experience is currently available? LinkedIn is perfect for this &ndash; send out some messages and see what comes back.
Attending industry events can also be a very useful way to connect or reconnect with people that may have influence. It&rsquo;s also worth remembering that some companies have even been known to create an opportunity specifically for a candidate if their skillset or product knowledge is particularly niche or specific, so do ensure you remind people about what you can do. Finally, a glowing referral from a well-known industry name can really grab the attention of recruiters and employers, so ask around and see who&rsquo;s willing to vouch for you.
Clean up your social media profile
It&rsquo;s now common practice for employers to search a candidate&rsquo;s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages before they invite them for interview, so this is the perfect time to go back through your profiles and make sure they&rsquo;re all appropriate.
Is there anything on there that you&rsquo;re now embarrassed by? If so, it&rsquo;s a good idea to delete it. Our personalities are reflected in our social media profiles so no-one&rsquo;s expecting them to be 100 per cent professional, but if you want to find a new role quickly then it&rsquo;s wise to ensure your online presence isn&rsquo;t likely to seriously offend.
Read the press
Another key source is to read the trade press and stay abreast of the&nbsp;<a title="Travel industry news" href="https://www.candm.co.uk/cm/news">news.</a>&nbsp;Our industry can move quickly and it&rsquo;s sometimes impossible to predict which direction it will go in, so stay on top of events and seek out the latest industry columns to see if there&rsquo;s anything you can capitalise on. You may even find out about a new role that hasn&rsquo;t even been advertised yet. Who&rsquo;s recruiting? Who&rsquo;s retiring? How much am I worth? Who&rsquo;s opening a new office? Who&rsquo;s launching a homeworking division?
For even more advice about finding a new travel job, just&nbsp;<a title="Contact C&amp;M" href="../../../../../contact-us/">contact the recruitment team at C&amp;M</a>.

For many of us, it’s our worst fear – arriving at work at 9am as normal only to be told that the company is going into administration and we’ve instantly been made redundant. But unfortunately, that nightmare can be a reality for many people, so here’s how to go about finding a new travel job with very little notice

How to quickly find a new travel job after redundancy

Can you do it?
A big question to start with - do you actually have the skills and knowledge to do the job? It's very tempting to jump up to a role that pays well and sounds great on your <a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/more-easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">CV</a>, but if you haven't got the expertise needed, then you could find yourself registering with recruitment agencies again in six months' time.
If you're not a fast learner, then you could just end up giving your confidence a massive knock.
Is it what you want to do?
So does it fit in with your career plans? If it's only intended to be a short-term fix, then move straight ahead to the next question, otherwise it's definitely worth considering whether you can see yourself at the company in a few years' time.
There's usually three main reasons for taking a new job: more money; a shorter commute; or a better chance of progressing your career. The final point isn't solely about having the chance to move your way up at the company (although that's obviously a big plus), but it could just mean being given good training opportunities to make yourself more employable in future. Try to make sure at least one of these points can be ticked off before <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">switching jobs</a>.
Can you afford it?
For the right role most have us would get up at a daft hour and commute for miles. But as well as eating up hours of your day, it will also take a big chunk of the money out of your pocket, so it's hugely important to work out the door-to-door length of your journey and how much it will cost you.
Secondly, we all like to think we'll be a hit in our new role and a pay rise will soon follow, but don't rely on it happening. If you're not happy with your basic salary, holiday entitlement, bonuses and pension now, are you likely to be in the future?
Will you fit in?
Everyone thinks about the location and salary when considering a job offer, but one thing that's often overlooked is the actual company - if you take the job, you'll be spending a fair amount of your time in their office, so make sure it's right for you.
Obviously, unless you were interviewed by your future boss, it's hard to know whether you'll get on with your colleagues, but you should have been able to gain at least a vague idea of the firm's working culture and whether you're likely to feel at home.
Is it stable?
Not the most obvious question to ask yourself perhaps, but possibly the most important - is the job secure? Do your research on the company, find out why the job's available and see if the business is in a good financial position. There's no point switching jobs to further your career if the company's going to be downsizing before the end of the year.
Of course, every role needs to be assessed on an individual basis, so don't automatically turn it down just because you answered &lsquo;no' to most of these questions.
At C&amp;M, the only thing we love more than finding someone a new job is finding them their perfect job! So, take time to think about it and make sure the role's the right one for you.

You've been offered a new job! Fantastic news - you should accept immediately, right? Well, probably, yes, but it's worth taking a couple of minutes to ask yourself some questions before you do. After all, you could be spending the next few years of your life in this role, so there's no point rushing in

Five questions to answer before accepting a new job

<ul>
<li>Travel job placements hit highest August figure since at least 2011</li>
<li>Vacancies dip to lowest level in 2022</li>
<li>Candidate numbers fall to four-month low</li>
</ul>
Travel recruitment remains strong in summer
Last month was the busiest August for travel job placements in more than decade, according to the latest figures from C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
Despite a&nbsp;10 per cent dip from July, August 2022 was an unusually busy month for the end of summer, with more candidates being placed in new travel jobs than in any other August since the index began in 2012.
Last month saw a&nbsp;68 per cent increase from the same month last year, and was up by 17 per cent from August 2019, up by 12 per cent from August 2018, up by three per cent from August 2017 and up by 23 per cent from August 2016.
Activity dips
However, the number of new candidates searching for&nbsp;travel jobs&nbsp;dipped to its lowest level since April &ndash; largely as a result of the summer holidays. Traditionally the second quietest month of the year for travel recruitment behind only December, last month&rsquo;s figure was down by 11 per cent from August 2021, down by five per cent from August 2019 but up by 12 per cent from August 2018.
It was also a slower month for new travel vacancies, which slipped back to their lowest point since last December. Despite this, August 2022's figure was up by 27 per cent from the same month last year.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, said: "Although not quite matching the highs seen earlier in 2022, last month was the busiest August that we&rsquo;ve seen in at least a decade for travel job placements. Overall vacancies in the travel industry also remain at historic highs, and we are having to actively consult with many of our clients to be creative in terms of attracting the right talent for their company.
"Despite this, August was also the slowest month for new travel vacancies in some time, and with the rising cost of living on everyone's minds, it would be easy to conclude that we are witnessing early signs of a change to some companies' hiring plans. However, August is always one of the slowest months of the year for recruitment, so it remains to be seen how much of an impact financial concerns are having.
"Thankfully, we've already seen a significant bounce back in activity so far in September, but we'll certainly be keeping a close eye on events over the coming weeks and months."
&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;
All figures are drawn from the month&rsquo;s new vacancies advertised with C&amp;M Travel Recruitment.
C&amp;M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).

C&M Travel Recruitment’s Activity Index – August 2022

Busiest August for travel job placements in a decade

What do you look for in a good candidate?
When we&rsquo;re recruiting, we look for candidates with good and varied experience, a great attitude, flexibility, a can-do attitude, ambition, a willingness to attend industry events if applicable and a good, solid work experience. We also like them to be well-presented, have a warm and friendly disposition, have good contacts, great references and an understanding of the industry.
It&rsquo;s also become increasingly important to have a&nbsp;good LinkedIn profile&nbsp;and have a professional presence on social media. When I recruit for my own business, I always, always check a candidate&rsquo;s social media profiles. I always look on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Many roles in travel are all about relationships and contacts and nurturing them. Therefore it&rsquo;s about doing all you can to make those relationships even better and grow your network.
What would immediately put you off a CV?
From our perspective, it&rsquo;s continuity of service, so no job hopping. If you&rsquo;ve worked for three companies in three years, then that will raise questions, but if you've been in the industry for ten years and split that time relatively evenly between three companies, then that will instantly be more appealing. People do frown at candidates who have been at a company for less than a year or so. However, there could be very good reasons for that and that is why coming to a recruitment agency will help because we will fill in those gaps and ascertain why they have moved on quickly. If a&nbsp;<a title="C&amp;M's ultimate CV guide" href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/c-m-s-definitive-guide-to-the-perfect-cv/">CV</a>&nbsp;like this is just sent directly to an employer then it could potentially be frowned upon.
A CV should contain a candidate&rsquo;s successes and achievements and it needs to be presented well, so it should have bullet points, be spell checked and contain the correct grammar and punctuation. If it is lacking in any of these departments, then that would be a negative.
Are qualifications needed to get into the travel industry? What professional training is out there?
When you first start in travel, you have options such as IATA fares and ticketing courses, GNVQs in travel, CRS and GDS training or even a degree in travel and tourism. I have a travel and tourism degree and it has probably helped me in my career, but the most important thing is experience. Get the experience under your belt.
Moving forward, at a more senior level, the best professional training would be to get a Masters. Degrees are quite common place these days, so if anyone has gone to the effort and invested their own time to gain a Masters, then it shows a lot about that individual. I am impressed when I see that on a CV.
Are travel companies struggling to find good candidates or is the industry awash with them?
It&rsquo;s the former - absolutely. It&rsquo;s a candidate-driven market and has been for a long time because there are a lot of jobs out there and unemployment is historically low. The gap between the number of travel vacancies and the number of quality candidates is only going to get bigger because there are more and more<a title="Travel jobs" href="../../../../../../jobs/">&nbsp;travel jobs</a>&nbsp;being made available. Of course, there are going to be more candidates registering, but it is about convincing companies in the travel industry to broaden their requirements and look at a wider selection of candidates, which a lot of companies are now beginning to do.
What is the recruiter&rsquo;s role in the process? What exactly do you do?
The recruiter&rsquo;s role is significant. From a candidate&rsquo;s perspective, we are a one stop shop. We have maximum exposure to the majority of travel companies, in terms of contacts as well as vacancies. We are also there to help candidates with their&nbsp;<a href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">CV writing</a>&nbsp;and to support and assist them with the&nbsp;<a title="How to prepare for a travel job interview" href="../../../../../../news/job-tips/how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview/">interview process</a>.
From an employer&rsquo;s perspective, some candidates will only come to us to help them find a new role and, likewise, some employers out there will only come to us with their vacancies. We are also there to help clients with salary benchmarking and to guide them through the interview process and assessment days.
Also, recruitment companies can have access to travel businesses that aren&rsquo;t necessarily currently recruiting &ndash; we have the contacts and we know who is happy to receive speculative CVs and who isn&rsquo;t.
We are all experts at what we do here at C&amp;M - we have 300 years of travel industry experience and have been recruiting in the sector for 20 years. We have the knowledge, the extensive database, the legacy, the industry-wide exposure, a visible networking presence at industry events and a significant advertising reach for both candidates and clients.
By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

We're frequently asked all sorts of questions about finding a new job in travel – such as what works on a CV and what doesn’t, how competitive the market is, and what exactly it is that a recruiter does! So without further ado, here’s the five questions I’m most commonly asked about travel recruitment:

Five questions everyone asks about getting a new travel job

Motivation
Or lack of. Did you begin your current role with excitement and enthusiasm but now find yourself doing the bare minimum to get by? That's a clear sign that you've outgrown your job. We're not all lucky enough to be in a role that we'll jump out of bed each morning for, but we shouldn't feel utter apathy about work either.
When did you last feel excited about your job? When did you last enjoy it? When were you last given a new task that you actually looked forward to tackling? When did you last go home and say you enjoyed your day? If you're struggling to answer any (or all) of those questions, then it could be time for action.
Stress
Some people thrive on stress and deadlines, but too much stress isn't healthy for anyone. We all need to be able to switch off for a while, so we shouldn't be checking our inbox every two minutes outside of the office. Work anxiety can manifest itself in various other forms such as a lack of energy, general irritability, or even having no appetite, so think about whether you recognise any of these traits in yourself.
Our career can have a huge impact on how happy we are in our spare time and how we interact with family and friends, and it can be far too easy to let the unhappiness we feel at work seep into our relationships.
If you're worrying about work so much you struggle to sleep at night or are finding you can't enjoy Sundays because your dreading the next morning so much, then it simply may not be healthy to carry on as things are.
Boredom
Watching the clock on a slow Friday afternoon at work is one thing, but being in a perpetual state of wishing you were elsewhere is another. It may be a clich&eacute;, but most of us spend more time at work than we do with our loved ones, so it's perfectly reasonable to want a job that at the very least passes the time quickly.
If you've felt bored at work for the last few months, it could be worth speaking to your manager about it. They wouldn't want one of their employees to feel unchallenged or unmotivated &ndash; after all, bored people are less likely to be fully engaged in their job and are therefore more prone to making mistakes - so consider asking for more responsibility or a different focus in your role. But if nothing really changes after this conversation, maybe finding a completely new position at a different company could be best for all parties.
No progression
Here's an interesting one &ndash; think about your last week at work and how it compares to your first. Has it changed? Have you progressed? Has it stayed pretty much the same?
We should always be developing and&nbsp;<a title="Candidate career advice" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/">learning new skills</a>&nbsp;no matter how old we are or how long we've been in a job, so what have you learned in the past six months? What have you done in the past year to&nbsp;<a title="How to build up your CV" href="../../../../../news/job-tips/easy-ways-to-improve-your-cv/">add to your CV</a>?
It's fine to feel comfortable at work, but feeling like your career's stuck with no hint of progression is entirely different.
Even worse, if you're putting in long hours and working to the best of your ability, but see no reward or development opportunities, then this can be hugely demotivating and can result in frustration, anger and resentment.
Employees who feel undervalued and unchallenged can stagnate, so it could be time to assess your options and consider working for a different company which offers greater opportunities for you to grow.
You're already job hunting
A clear sign that you need to move on is if you're already checking out what else is available. If you've looked at a few&nbsp;<a title="Travel jobs" href="../../../../../jobs/">travel job adverts</a>&nbsp;(or even if you clicked on this post!) then deep down, you probably already know that it's time for you to take on a new challenge.
If you're still unsure, then it essentially comes down to three options; continue in your current role and try to find the positives in it, talk to your manager about your concerns and how you would like things to change, or&nbsp;<a title="Contact C&amp;M" href="../../../../../contact-us/">speak to a recruiter</a>&nbsp;about which other opportunities are available.

Do you really hate your job, or do you just hate it today? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. But if the bad days are outnumbering the good, and you find yourself nodding along to several of the following points, then it may be time to begin your next travel job hunt

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