Hiring slows as employers sift through poor matches: report

Sixty-nine percent of employers reject applications due to a skills gap.

In Singapore, 88% of job seekers feel that they are often ignored in their job search process, Robert Walters reported.

According to the report, 69% of employers shared that the shortage of talent with relevant experience is the most common reason for rejecting applications.

Almost a quarter (24%) of employers face overqualified candidates and 7% encounter incomplete applications.

In addition, 69% of employers are also seeing “a lot more job applications, but some miss the criteria,” slowing down their hiring processes noticeably (54%) or slightly (15%).

Meanwhile, 58% of job seekers send over 5 applications weekly, with 19% submitting more than 20. Of those, 88% feel their applications are “very often” ignored, whilst 13% say they “sometimes” go unanswered.

In terms of AI use, 59% of jobseekers use such tools to aid their applications, but 52% of employers can detect AI use from language, and 24% from formatting.

“Candidates are using AI to help them submit applications, which may make it difficult for them to stand out from the competition. They need to put themselves out there[.]. Hiring managers will also need to consider strategies, such as increasing transparency in terms of who will or will not get a reply,” Kirsty Poltock, country manager at Robert Walters Singapore said.