Jobseekers make more applications as confidence falls

Keegan Adams has released research showing that professional jobseekers are applying for more roles while feeling less confident about finding a suitable job. The survey points to a hiring market with high application volumes but limited alignment between candidates and vacancies.

The recruitment firm's mid-year workplace update found that candidates expect a job search to take 5.7 months on average, up 18% from their previous search. Only a quarter said they were very confident or certain they could find a suitable role, while more than a third were unsure they could find one at all.

Application activity has risen sharply, with candidates now submitting more than 32 applications a month, 36% more than before, the research found.

Claire Tate, Managing Director at Keegan Adams Recruitment, said the figures reflected a market where candidate effort was increasing without a matching rise in confidence.

"Candidates are working harder than ever and believing in the market less. They're sending 36% more applications and still expect a six-month search.

"The market isn't short of candidates. It's short of fit. A hundred applications can produce one interview.

"Meanwhile, hiring processes are screening out suitable candidates through both AI and human bias. Age is being treated as a risk, even as parameters are narrowed to like-for-like experience," Tate said.

Fit over volume

The findings suggest employers are still hiring selectively, even as demand starts to return in parts of the market. Many are looking for candidates who can step into a role immediately, extending recruitment processes and leaving vacancies open for longer.

This has created a mismatch between application numbers and hiring outcomes. Large candidate pools are putting pressure on internal hiring teams, while employers using narrow criteria can end up with only one candidate to consider rather than a broader shortlist.

The survey also points to a divide between junior and senior workers. Junior candidates, particularly those with technology skills, are seeing more opportunities, while senior professionals face assumptions about their technical knowledge, adaptability and ambition.

One respondent, a 57-year-old Marketing Manager, described the issue directly: "Ageism isn't theoretical - it's happening to real people who still have decades of skill, loyalty, and capability to offer."

Flexibility leads

Pay was not the main driver for many workers in the study. Flexibility ranked as the leading reason both to stay in a role and to move to a new one, cited by 52% of respondents as a reason to stay and by 60% as a reason to move.

Workload and work-life balance also ranked highly, especially among those weighing whether to remain with their current employer. Candidates already content in their role said they would need a rise of 15% or more to consider moving, while only 15% said they would move for a 5% increase.

Workers actively seeking a job placed workplace culture and new challenges ahead of salary. The research also found that two in five candidates were less ambitious than before, with 23% saying other parts of life now mattered more than career progression and 18% saying they were happy to remain at their current level. A quarter said they were more ambitious, while a third reported no change.

Tate said employers had other levers to attract staff when budgets were tight.

"With today's budgets, employers can't always tempt with salary. But this data shows what candidates really value: time, flexibility and workload.

"Flexibility is the cheapest raise an employer can give and will move more candidates than a 15% pay increase," she said.

AI divide

The report found mixed views on artificial intelligence in hiring and career development. Job advertisements that mention AI skills are rising, particularly around agentic skills, and some level of AI fluency is increasingly expected even where it is not central to the role.

Workers were split on how far that should go. More than a quarter said they would change employers to build stronger AI skills, while more than one in 10 said they would move to an employer taking a more cautious approach.

Views on screening were also mixed. More than a quarter of respondents believed AI adds bias to CV screening, while 18% thought it reduces bias. Most believed both human-led and AI-led processes contain bias.

Sector trends

Conditions also varied across sectors. In financial services, hiring has tightened overall, though private credit, distribution and non-bank lending were identified as active areas. Referral hiring is also increasing in that market.

In corporate services, the firm found no shortage of applicants but limited matches. Junior and generalist roles, including Receptionists, Administration Assistants, Office Coordinators, Accounts Payable Officers and HR Coordinators, remained under pressure, while marketing and sales roles were still drawing demand.

Tech and transformation roles were described as a specialist-led market, with contractors benefiting because headcount controls make contract hiring easier to approve than permanent recruitment.

"This is a split market. Hiring slowly feels safe, but it can be a business risk: the best candidates don't wait around.

"Employers who widen their criteria and move quickly will win the talent. Candidates who know their dealbreakers and stay flexible on the rest will find the opportunities," Tate said.