Recruitment consultants should build ‘hotlists’ of qualified candidates who are ready to work, rather than trawling huge databases to no avail.

Research by TheSkillsMarket, producer of the iProfile online CV, revealed that over half of all résumés simply aren’t worth reading. This means consultants are wasting their time scouring databases full of unqualified candidates.

Creating a hotlist of candidates who have the right skills and are ready to work is a far more efficient way of working, said TheSkillsMarket chief executive Daniel Elkins.

He said: “How can recruitment companies deliver a high quality service at the right price when they are having to review all these CVs in order to make a placement?

“The best recruitment companies are those that manage their hotlists and keep them up to date.”

The research found that 67% of consultants’ time is spent reviewing CVs and producing shortlists.

On average, each consultant will review 769 CVs for every placement.