Attention companies: Job seekers may have more power than you think

Today’s labor market may be stagnating, but it’s also uncertain. Candidates aren’t behaving as many leaders would expect. The dynamic is trending towards an employer’s market. As a result, employers expect that candidates will increase their job searches, accept lower pay increases, and accept new roles more eagerly. But in reality, job searching has actually declined, pay expectations remain high, and candidates are reluctant to move. And this has resulted in a critical talent supply shortage.

According to research from Gartner, 29% of candidates spent more than five hours per week on active job searches in the second quarter of 2025. That’s down from 49% in the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, in a 2025 Gartner survey of nearly 3,000 candidates, 53% identified higher compensation as their top reason for accepting a job offer. Acceptances are also significantly down with 51% of candidates reporting they accepted their most recent offer in the second quarter of 2025, down from 75% in the first quarter of 2025.

Candidates might expect more from jobs today, or they might be responding more to uncertainty than market stagnation. Whatever the reason may be, they’re willing to wait for jobs that meet their higher expectations. As a result, recruiters are feeling greater pressure to understand candidates’ wants and how to deliver on them.

To compete successfully for critical talent today, organizations need to adopt an approach that’s more consistent with a fluid labor market. Below are the things that leaders need to focus on if they want to hire the best and brightest.  

Engaging talent selectively

Many leaders expect candidates to put more effort into their job search today. The reality is that job searching has sharply declined.

To bridge the job search expectation gap, organizations need to focus on building deeper relationships with the right talent, just like they would in a more fluid market.

HR can guide business leaders to narrow their hiring focus to roles with the greatest business impact or complexity. This is especially important in today’s cost-constrained environment. HR should prioritize deploying recruiters who excel at building long-term candidate relationships.

Automating hiring processes for less critical roles can also help free up resources. This allows recruiters to concentrate on attracting talent for the capabilities that matter most.

Managing attribute mix

Labor market observers may expect candidates to settle for modest pay increases. But many are holding out for the full employment deal they want.

To close this expectation gap, it’s up to the organization to amplify the right mix of attributes for the talent they’re targeting.

HR can help business leaders pinpoint the critical skills and experience levels that they need, then identify current employees who match those profiles. Running focus groups with those employees can uncover the attributes that differentiate the organization from the perspective of those specific employees.

Enlisting current employees from target talent segments can also help craft powerful messaging. They can help shape the tone, emphasis, and content that will resonate most with the candidates that the organization wants to attract

Mitigating career risks

Seasoned HR leaders might expect candidates to be eager to accept offers in today’s climate. In reality, candidates are hesitant to accept. Gartner research finds that candidate willingness to accept job offers peaked in the last quarter of 2023, at 87%. This fell significantly by mid-2024. By the second quarter of 2025, only 51% of candidates reported they had accepted a new job offer.

To resolve this offer-acceptance expectation gap, organizations need to focus less on convincing candidates to move jobs and more on the risk of not moving in the first place.

HR needs to equip recruiters to help candidates think through their options, weigh risks, and make confident decisions. When candidates feel supported by the organization, they’re more likely to move forward. That’s why it’s important to train recruiters to be able to have these types of conversations, so that they’re in a better position to build relationships  

Following this path, HR is not simply reapplying the playbook from a fluid market. In today’s climate, if the primary hesitation among talent is a fear of being “Last In, First Out,” then recruiters need to shift the conversation from the risk of making the move to not making it.

HR leaders today can’t rely on traditional assumptions about candidate behavior in a stagnating market. Today’s market may be stagnant, but it’s also uncertain. Candidates are responding less to stagnation and more to that uncertainty. Until that changes, organizations should adopt a candidate playbook that reflects a more fluid market. And that’s a market that demands tighter positioning and greater assertiveness.

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