Pay-to-apply jobs arrive

+ Hours bounce back & M&A deals gone wrong

Author

Keith Weightman
October 06, 2025

Signal Summary: 1 in 5 employers may start charging candidates to apply because of AI spam. Meanwhile, hours hit a 2025 high and why M&A transactions fail by missing this one thing. Also, the market research that pissed off one manager.

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P.S. I draw all images with an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Procreate.

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK ↓

SIGNAL 1
Employers considering charging candidates to apply for jobs

The breaking point: AI-generated resumes are overwhelming hiring teams to the point where 1 in 5 employers are contemplating a pay-to-apply model. Yes, you read that right.

What's driving this:

  • AI resume builders have made it dead simple for candidate to mass-apply to hundreds of positions

  • Hiring teams are drowning in applications where 80% aren’t remotely qualified

  • Quality candidates getting lost in the noise like Waldo at a striped shirt convention

The disconnect: Companies spent years begging for more applicants. Now they want to charge people for the privilege of being ignored.

Signal → Strategy: Position your staffing firm as the AI filter employers desperately need. Offer pre-vetted candidate pools that save companies hours of wading through AI slop.

SIGNAL 2
Staffing hours hit year-to-date high (finally some good news)

The surprise: US staffing hours bounced back over 6% after Labor Day, reaching their highest level of 2025. We’re f*ing back baby! (We hope…)

What’s actually happening:

  • Commercial hours jumped 6.1% while professional hours climbed 7%

  • Hours matched pre-holiday levels, surpassing Feb. & March peaks

  • YoY still down 3%, but we’re seeing positive momentum

Signal → Strategy: Use this uptick as proof point in sales conversations. Clients claiming “nobody’s hiring” can’t argue with industry-wide hour increases. Help them capture growth without the commitment anxiety of permanent hires.

SIGNAL 3
M&A deals failing because nobody evaluates the recruiting team

The oversight: Companies spend millions on M&A due diligence examining financials, technology, and client lists, but most completely ignore the quality of the recruiting team they’re actually acquiring.

What gets missed:

  • Recruiter performance metrics and placement quality

  • Team skill gaps and training needs

  • Cultural fit between recruiting organization

The aftermath: Post-acquisition revenue often tanks because the recruiting team can’t deliver. Turns out those “amazing client relationships” were held together by one person who quit immediately after close.

Signal → Strategy: Document every process, playbook, and client relationship roadmap before acquiring or selling. Build enablement systems the survive recruiter turnover so revenue doesn’t walk out the door with talent.

RECRUITING CONFESSIONAL
When Hiring Managers Live in Fantasy Land

Recruiting Confessional A weekly series featuring anonymous stories from recruiting and staffing professionals. Submit yours here.

The Setup: Client needed an aerospace mechanical design engineer. Standard request, right?

The Disaster: They offered $16/hr…I conducted a salary survey showing local qualified candidates made $30-$40/hr and shared the data hoping to bring them back to reality.

The Aftermath: They got angry with me for doing market research. Then another hiring manager rejected every candidate who’d ever been laid off of or unemployed because “companies don’t get rid of good people.” Apparently recessions, restructurings, and cost-cutting don’t exist in their universe.

Have a story? Submit it here

SHARE THE SIGNALS
3 people you should share these signals with:

  1. Your sales reps who needs proof that quality beats quantity

  2. That M&A advisor who thinks financials are the only thing that matters

  3. The hiring manager that has champagne taste, but a beer budget