Everyone seems tired.
From the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with jobseekers, hiring managers and internal talent teams this year, there’s one word to sum up 2025: frustration.
For jobseekers, the current landscape is frankly brutal. The number of job vacancies in the UK between August and October was 723,000, down from the 1,300,000 recorded between March and May in 20221. That’s a 44% decrease. It’s a similar story for much of mainland Europe. It’s not uncommon to see 250+ applications for any job posting. It’s hardly surprising then that confidence is declining, anxiety is on the up and many jobseekers are turning to AI to fire out more applications – a significant contributor to the rise in applicant numbers.
We now have an arms race of personal AI vs company AIs that lack transparency. The result of this is that 46% of people trust hiring processes less than they did just a year ago.
Jobseekers are wary of AI filters, so use AI-generated prompts to bypass the AI/ATS screening that will meet their application. Jobseekers are also wary of increased competition, so use AI to apply for more roles, to personalise those applications and to rewrite CVs/cover letters. One in three UK jobseekers believe algorithms carry bias; trust is broken.
Internal Talent teams, possessing fewer resources to work with than before, are leaning heavily on AI to share the load. In a US survey, 53% of recruiters have handed most screening to AI but 25% of them admit to having very little confidence in it.
For internal talent teams, it’s messy. Talent Acquisition functions have been trimmed, they’re now having to deliver more with less. They’re having to review more applications – many of which are ‘spray and pray’ – which leads to strong candidates being missed and less personal feedback being provided.
It’s less personal, less accurate and leads to burnout on both sides of the hiring equation.
We are in a time where all procurement teams are under pressure to deliver results. Hiring managers are seeking unicorns – that perfect profile – as they look to remove as much risk from their hiring decision as possible. In short, procurement leaders are afraid of making a mistake, rather than thinking of potential upside. That’s understandable but it’s accompanied by unforeseen consequences. Hiring briefs are narrowing, there’s a reduced willingness to explore professionals from other industries and categories. It chips away at the potential talent pool. We’re also witnessing the number of interview stages creeping upward as businesses seek the comfort blanket of additional touchpoints.
Those consequences? For hiring managers, it’s costly. With recruitment budgets slashed and talent teams drowning, the time to hire is ballooning. For procurement roles, an 8-week process is now seen as acceptable. 3 months is common, 6 months is far from unheard-of. The short-term financial costs of these long processes are obvious; savings can’t be unlocked by an empty seat. There is also a mental cost, absorbed by the rest of the team of covering extra work, that leads to dissatisfaction and a drop in team productivity. Finally, you have the longer-term cost, which is that burnt-out staff tend to look elsewhere. In an environment where people can’t be replaced quickly, increased staff turnover can result in a tailspin.
My hope for 2026 is that we can reconnect and re-personalise the hiring process, so that we may rebuild trust and create positive outcomes for both applicants and businesses. AI is going to play a significant role in the hiring process moving forwards (you can’t put the toothpaste back in the bottle) but it has to play an appropriate role. Depersonalisation and inaccuracy help no one; the human touch remains essential to attract and ultimately secure the best talent. A game of ‘my AI vs your AI’ leads to no winners.
I remain hopeful that the issues we’ve seen this year are temporary. Teething problems for AI & short-term economic conditions coalescing into a broken-looking hiring ecosystem. But it must not be allowed to worsen, for the sake of jobseekers, talent teams and hiring managers alike.