Recruiters are getting more applications, but quality candidates are few and far between

It’s an employer’s job market, and recruiters are trying to make the most of it.

Talent acquisition teams have reported an influx of applications as job seekers have a harder time finding new gigs. This trend is captured in a new report from recruitment tech platform Employ, which found that two-thirds of recruiters are netting more applicants per role, with 65% reporting netting between four and 50 applicants an opening.

However, despite the higher volume of applications, Employ’s report suggests recruiters are dissatisfied with the quality of their talent pools.

Quality vs. quantity. Recruiters cited a lack of qualified candidates as their top job stressor, followed by competition and anticipating more open roles. So, then, perhaps it’s not surprising that getting more candidates (52%) and improving candidate quality (47%) are their top two priorities for 2025.

As many companies have scaled back hiring in recent years, job searches have taken longer, making candidates increasingly desperate to land an opportunity. More are relying on technology to help get their foot in the door, including using AI to write their résumés or mass-apply to dozens—if not hundreds—of job openings (often embellishing qualifications to make job seekers look better to ATSs). The consequence is recruiters spending more time sifting through applications, looking for candidates who are actually qualified. Employ’s survey found that 43% of recruiters said they interview more than half of the applicants they receive for a role.

“Recruiters are getting more applicants, but the increase often, especially nowadays, is spam or bots or unqualified submissions, because people are spraying out applications,” Stephanie Manzelli, Employ’s CHRO, told HR Brew.

While it may seem odd that recruiters, inundated with applicants, want more applicants, Manzelli said TA pros are taking a more strategic approach to sourcing candidates, such as targeting specific talent pipelines, instead of casting a wider net.

“I think they’re focusing on filling the funnel to improve the odds of finding stronger candidates. And I think that’s what our findings really dictated to us,” she said. “And I think the emphasis on quantity is really in an effort to solve the persistent problem of quality, which is what we’ve seen for the last two years.”

Eyeing the tech stack. TA pros can improve their sourcing of quality candidates by revamping their tech stack, Employ’s report argues. The majority (76%) of respondents plan to “replace their primary recruitment system” in the next one to two years.

Two-thirds of respondents expect to increase spending over the next six to 12 months, and 52% plan to invest in new recruitment technology and processes specifically, namely AI recruiting tools, CRM systems, and ATS platforms.

Respondents said several critical aspects of the recruitment process—including time to hire, candidate experience, and recruiter productivity—were hindered because of their current tech stack.

They’re not alone: 65% of the more than 900 recruiters surveyed by recruitment platforms Findem and Recruiter.com blamed their shortcomings on technology or related recruitment data. And when asked why they thought qualified candidates voluntarily withdrew their application, 42% hypothesized it was because the hiring process was too long or convoluted, while 32% pointed to poor candidate experience.

Granted, dissatisfaction with clunky recruitment tech systems isn’t new. But, as more solutions come online, particularly generative AI tools, recruiters have a good reason to scrutinize their tech stack.

“Hiring strategies have evolved, and I don’t think that today’s TA tech has really kept up with that, and so now we’re seeing that there’s larger investment in that,” Manzelli said.

However, instead of rushing to buy the buzzy new tech offering du jour, TA leaders should take the time to ensure that whatever new solutions they invest in will actually create value, Manzelli said. That includes documenting your recruitment process and identifying pain points and roadblocks.

“There is so much coming at us in HR and TA right now about what will improve efficiency and what will solve this problem and that problem,” Manzelli said. “But I think what every HR leader and every TA leader needs to do is just take a minute to pause and diagnose the challenges that your system, your team, your organization has.”