Not all candidates are experiencing immediately’s job market the identical means—and that has massive implications for a way you rent.
Make use of’s 2025 Job Seeker Nation Report—their annual survey of 1,500+ job seekers—reveals a rising divide in how completely different candidate teams are navigating the hiring course of. For instance, in desk-based industries like tech and finance, utility quantity is surging. In the meantime, employers hiring for frontline and hourly roles are nonetheless struggling to draw candidates.
These contrasting realities make one factor clear: a one-size-fits-all strategy to hiring gained’t lower it anymore. Employers must tailor their methods primarily based on the roles they’re hiring for, the channels their candidates use, and the challenges these job seekers face.
On this weblog, we’re breaking down how frontline and desk-based candidates are experiencing immediately’s labor market, what meaning for expertise acquisition groups, and tips on how to adapt your hiring technique to raised help each.
Demand is Headed in Completely different Instructions
The divide between desk-based and frontline hiring begins with demand—and it’s headed in reverse instructions.
In industries like tech, finance, {and professional} providers, job postings are down however utility quantity is up. Desk-based job seekers are dealing with elevated competitors, longer timelines, and extra interviews.
This 12 months’s survey knowledge backs this up: 64% of respondents mentioned that they had greater than two interviews up to now 12 months—however that quantity dropped to only 55% amongst absolutely on-site employees. In the meantime, candidates who labored remotely at the very least a part of the time had been more likely to report frequent interviews—77% of those that labored remotely 1–2 days per week and 75% of these with a 50/50 break up had greater than two interviews up to now 12 months.
This pattern could mirror each elevated urgency amongst desk-based candidates and the logistics of taking interviews whereas on-site. Distant and hybrid employees have extra flexibility and privateness, whereas on-site and hourly employees might have to make use of PTO or rearrange shifts simply to attend.
On the identical time, employers hiring for frontline roles are nonetheless struggling to draw expertise within the first place. Software numbers are decrease, and recruiting strategies are sometimes extra conventional—like in-person purposes, job gala’s, or referrals.
These contrasting realities require completely different methods. Whereas desk-based hiring groups are managing quantity and attempting to scale back candidate fatigue, frontline recruiters are centered on widening the funnel and reaching certified expertise extra successfully.
TA Takeaway: Tailor your strategy primarily based on demand. For desk-based roles, the place utility quantity is excessive, use AI-powered tech to assist filter out misaligned candidates early. Then apply skills-based assessments and structured interviews to validate match and preserve certified expertise transferring ahead. For frontline and hourly hiring, spend money on recruitment advertising, group partnerships, and mobile-friendly purposes to increase your pipeline and attain the correct candidates.
Burnout Is In every single place—However It Seems Completely different for Everybody
Burnout is shaping the candidate expertise—and it’s displaying up throughout each nook of the job market.
Sixty-six p.c of respondents say they’re feeling the results of job search fatigue. However what’s behind that exhaustion varies extensively relying on the kind of position.
For desk-based candidates, burnout usually stems from excessive competitors and a drawn-out course of. With fewer openings and extra candidates, job seekers are juggling a number of interviews, assessments, and lengthy timelines—steadily with little suggestions or follow-up. It’s not simply in regards to the effort—it’s the emotional toll of uncertainty.
Frontline and hourly employees face their very own model of fatigue. Job search burnout runs particularly excessive in industries like meals service, hospitality, and healthcare—reaching as excessive as 80%. These candidates usually encounter outdated programs, clunky purposes, and unclear communication—all of which contribute to frustration or burnout.
The job search is already irritating. When the method provides friction—whether or not via delays, poor communication, or pointless steps—it solely deepens burnout.
TA Takeaway: Decreasing candidate burnout begins with eradicating boundaries. Shorter purposes, clearer timelines, and smarter automation can go a great distance. Once you make the method really feel smoother and extra respectful of a candidate’s time and vitality, you not solely lower stress but additionally enhance engagement and cut back the chance of drop-off.
Tech Adoption is Splitting the Market
Candidates are utilizing completely different instruments to navigate the job search—and AI is without doubt one of the largest dividing strains.
This 12 months, 31% of job seekers mentioned they’re utilizing AI to help their search. That quantity jumps considerably amongst desk-based candidates—particularly in industries like tech (50%) and finance (47%)—the place candidates are utilizing AI to match with jobs, refine resumes, and draft cowl letters.
In distinction, frontline and hourly candidates are a lot much less prone to lean on AI. Many nonetheless depend on conventional strategies like job gala’s, referrals, or in-person purposes—and should not have the identical entry to or familiarity with digital instruments.
This 12 months’s survey additionally discovered that AI chatbots have gotten extra frequent, with 28% of respondents saying they’ve interacted with one in the course of the hiring course of. However consolation and expertise are usually greater amongst youthful, tech-savvy candidates.
The underside line? Not each candidate is approaching the method with the identical instruments or expectations. Understanding these variations is vital to making a hiring expertise that resonates.
TA Takeaway: Know your candidates’ degree of consolation with tech—and design your course of accordingly. Desk-based candidates could anticipate AI-powered instruments like automated scheduling or chat help. For frontline roles, preserve issues easy and accessible. Keep away from pointless steps, make all the pieces mobile-friendly, and prioritize readability at each stage.
Fashionable Hiring Isn’t One-Dimension-Suits-All
We’re seeing two very completely different job markets emerge—one overwhelmed with purposes, and one other starved for expertise.
This 12 months’s knowledge makes that clear. Desk-based candidates are navigating lengthy timelines, excessive competitors, and AI-driven searches. In the meantime, frontline and hourly employees are dealing with fully completely different challenges—restricted entry to tech, outdated processes, and slower communication. The lesson for TA groups? You possibly can’t use the identical playbook for each.
To rent successfully in immediately’s market, employers must reassess and refine their methods—by position kind, by viewers, and by expertise. Which means assembly candidates the place they’re, eradicating pointless boundaries, and staying responsive in a fast-changing panorama.
The complete 2025 Job Seeker Nation Report dives even deeper, with knowledge on layoffs, inside mobility, belief in employers, and the way candidates actually really feel about AI. Obtain the complete report back to construct a hiring technique that displays how folks truly search, apply, and select the place to work immediately.
