September 27, 2025
The report, based mostly on responses from greater than 2,000 individuals, together with 1,015 job seekers and 1,009 hiring managers throughout the US, captures the methods each side carry to the hiring course of.
In at the moment’s job market, pursuing the following step can really feel much less like discovering the precise match and rising your profession, and extra like rolling the cube or taking part in poker. Candidates bluff with polished resumes, employers check the market with jobs they might not fill and each side preserve playing cards near the vest. A brand new survey from Kelly reveals how a lot hiring performs out this fashion.
The report, based mostly on responses from greater than 2,000 individuals, together with 1,015 job seekers and 1,009 hiring managers throughout the US, captures the methods each side carry to the hiring course of.
Candidates apply for roles the place they fall in need of listed {qualifications}, whereas managers publish jobs they by no means intend to fill. Each side are utilizing new instruments, together with synthetic intelligence, to play the hiring recreation.
The result’s a course of that always feels much less about transparency and extra about unstated guidelines and hidden dynamics.
The place job seekers and managers agree — on AI and extra
Regardless of frequent miscommunication, the survey discovered job seekers and hiring managers agree on some elements of the method. A type of areas is timing. Simply over half of candidates and managers say three days is the correct amount of time to resolve on a job supply, lengthy sufficient to evaluate particulars, focus on with household or weigh different choices, however fast sufficient to point out real curiosity.
One other level of settlement is on synthetic intelligence. Sixty-three % of job seekers say it’s moral to make use of AI to enhance resumes or purposes, and 67 % of hiring managers agree. A lot of those self same managers additionally use AI detection instruments to display screen purposes.
Jobs the place candidates don’t meet each listed qualification, often called stretch purposes, are one other instance of shared understanding. Almost all job seekers, 96 %, say they apply for these jobs anyway, and three out of 4 hiring managers say that’s acceptable. Job necessities are seen much less as deal breakers and extra as want lists. Greater than a 3rd of candidates who apply this fashion say they will shortly be taught the lacking abilities as soon as employed.
What phantom jobs reveal
The survey additionally reveals why job seekers typically really feel misled.
Many candidates describe spending hours making use of for roles and shifting by means of interview rounds solely to be taught the place was by no means meant to be crammed. Survey knowledge confirms that is frequent.
Eighty-four % of job seekers say they imagine phantom postings are frequent. Amongst hiring managers, 81 % admit they’ve posted jobs, performed interviews after which determined to depart the place unfilled. Almost one in three say they use the tactic regularly. The highest causes corporations do that are constructing a pipeline for future roles and gathering business insights.
When pay ranges are lacking
The survey reveals wage disclosure continues to be a sticking level in hiring. Most job seekers, 68 %, say they need wage info posted in job descriptions. Lower than half of hiring managers, 48 %, say their corporations present this info within the job description from the beginning.
For candidates, lacking or unreliable info can imply wasted time if a suggestion finally ends up far beneath expectations. For employers, holding again particulars could appeal to extra candidates at first however dangers dropping them later within the course of.
Even when pay ranges are listed, skepticism stays. Solely 37 % of males say they absolutely imagine the numbers, in contrast with 27 % of ladies. Youthful employees usually tend to belief them, with 40 % of Gen Z saying they imagine the ranges, in contrast with 33 % of millennials and 30 % of Gen X
When distant work is oversold
Few points generate extra pressure than distant work. Greater than half of hiring managers, 54 %, admit they’ve made work-from-home insurance policies sound extra versatile than they’re.
Candidates discover the distinction. Seventy-six % say the fact didn’t match what was marketed. Some recall jobs labeled distant that also required workplace attendance. Others declare firm insurance policies have been unclear or modified.
Managers give a number of causes: 47 % of managers who admit to misrepresenting distant work availability say they wished to current the corporate favorably, 48 % imagine candidates will settle for stricter circumstances as soon as employed and 43 % are attempting to draw prime expertise.
For job seekers, the result’s confusion and disappointment. For employers, it’s a danger that staff will disengage or depart shortly as soon as the fact turns into clear.
When advantages and development get missed
Candidates say what a job pays and the place they work is just a part of the story. Advantages and development alternatives matter too, however these particulars are sometimes lacking from hiring conversations.
Job seekers level to fundamentals like well being protection, retirement plans and paid depart, together with newer perks like versatile schedules or wellness help. Many additionally need to know the way a job units them up for the longer term, whether or not by means of coaching, mentorship or a transparent path to promotion.
The survey reveals these questions typically go unanswered. Just one in three job seekers say they’re given upfront particulars on advantages, and hiring managers largely verify that. Profession development follows an analogous sample. Whereas 77 % of candidates say corporations clearly define development alternatives in interviews, simply 46 % of hiring managers say they at all times do.
Because of this, candidates typically depart interviews with out realizing what help or development alternatives are actually on the desk, and employers lose an opportunity to attach with individuals motivated by improvement and long-term development.
Why honesty issues
The analysis means that transparency could be the one technique that advantages each side. Candidates say they worth roles the place expectations match the posting, and managers say clear conversations about pay and suppleness make it simpler to safe dedicated hires. The survey signifies that when corporations present easy particulars about roles, compensation and work preparations upfront, they’re extra prone to appeal to candidates who’re each and ready to succeed.
This story was produced by Kelly and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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