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A receptionist advert gets 45 applications. A nurse advert gets 2.
We analysed 1,657 live UK job adverts and the applications each had received. Competition varies more than twenty to one between occupations, and the "easy to get" jobs are the hardest. Where the queue is shortest in 2026.
Civil Service behaviour questions: how your answer is actually scored (2026)
Civil Service behaviour answers are marked against a published key: the Success Profiles markers for your grade. Most applicants have never read it. Here are the real markers, how the same behaviour changes between grades, why polished answers score badly, and the method that writes to the key instead of past it.
Making Effective Decisions example answer: a full EO walkthrough (2026)
The most-searched Civil Service behaviour, worked properly: the real Executive Officer markers, a realistic answer that fails against them, the follow-up questions that surface the missing evidence, and the 250-word rebuild from the same facts. No invented achievements, just the detail the writer forgot to include.
The most overused UK job advert phrases: we read 5,975 and the classic cliches have almost vanished
'Self-starter' appears in 0.2% of UK adverts. 'Go-getter' turned up once. 'Rockstar', 'ninja' and 'guru' not at all. We read 5,975 live UK job adverts across 29 occupations and ranked the cliches. The corporate buzzwords have gone, and what replaced them is a feeling that clusters on frontline jobs. Full leaderboard and role-by-role breakdown inside.
'Fast-paced' in UK job adverts: we read 5,982 and the busiest jobs barely use it
'Fast-paced' appears in 54% of UK retail adverts but only 4% of waitressing adverts, one of the busiest jobs there is. We read 5,982 live UK job adverts across 29 occupations. The phrase tracks habit, not workload. Here is the full per-occupation breakdown, what it really signals to candidates, and how to read past it.
We read 30 UK bus driver job adverts. Over half will train you from scratch, no bus licence needed.
We read the full text of 30 UK bus driver adverts from 30 different employers. 16 say they will train you and fund your PCV licence, including Arriva, First Bus and Go North East. Where a points limit is stated it is almost always 6. Pay is stated openly in 29 of 30. Here is what a trainee application should lead with.
See LinkedIn jobs posted in the last hour (3600 URL trick)
LinkedIn's date filter stops at 'past 24 hours'. Swap 86400 for 3600 in the search URL and it shows postings from the last hour instead, before the applicant queue builds.