CV-Library’s Candidate Behaviour Barometer 2026 surveyed 1,043 candidates and 233 recruiters and employers in August. Its central finding is a trust gap: both sides look at the same hiring process and see something different, and several of those differences are costing businesses good hires.
Your application process
Some 96% of recruiters rate their application process as streamlined or fairly efficient, yet 71% of candidates have abandoned an application because it was too long or complicated. That figure reaches 81% among IT candidates.
Top tip: Go through your own application process on your mobile phone, start to finish, and time it. Remove anything that is slow, repeats what is on a CV, or needs a login.
Speed
Eight in ten candidates expect a decision within seven days of interview, but only a third of employers complete hiring within two weeks, and for direct employers the figure is 25%. Our own average time to fill, from taking the role to securing an offer, was 25.5 fays last quarter (the UK average is 40-42 days)
Top tip: Put interview slots in diaries before the advert goes live, so your shortlist is seen within days and not weeks.
Salary and reputation
Around 95% of candidates want salary information in the advert, and 41% say a missing salary could stop them applying. A poor company reputation is the biggest deal-breaker at 47%, and 35% are put off by negative online reviews.
Top tip: Publish a banded salary range, which gives you room to flex on experience and puts you ahead of pay transparency legislation, then reply to online reviews so candidates can see how you treat people.
Accepted offers
Over half of candidates (52%) would accept an offer and keep looking, up from 24% last year, and 48% do not trust an offer until the contract is signed and they have started work.
Top tip: Issue the contract within 48 hours of acceptance, stay in regular contact until the start date and introduce the new starter to their team beforehand.
AI applications
Some 69% of recruiters say AI-generated applications make strong candidates harder to identify. We screen every CV by hand, and we can tell when AI has written one, which takes longer but shows us who is genuinely suited to your role. We also respond to almost every applicant and pass on whatever interview feedback we receive.
Top tip: Add a short practical task or a structured, experience-based question early in your process, because these show what a candidate can do far better than a polished CV.
If any of this sounds familiar, give me a call. Most of these fixes cost nothing and can be in place quickly, and I am happy to look through your process with you and tell you honestly where candidates are likely to be dropping out