Recently, Tom Tarrant, a candidate who we placed at WL Gore, asked me a big question. And a timely one.
“What advantages or problems does it create when candidates and clients use multiple agencies, or use LinkedIn Easy Apply – especially when a role is also open for direct applications via career pages?”
It’s something I see every day. And the short answer is:
Confusion and clutter.
When a role is open on LinkedIn, through agencies, and directly via the client’s site, it splits the message. It dilutes focus. And candidates don’t know who to trust or where to apply.
Add Easy Apply into that mess, and suddenly everyone’s overwhelmed. Especially the client.
And the result…
Great candidates get lost in the noise. Agents chase the same people. And hiring managers miss out on the strategic advantage of a focused, well-managed search.
So, that creates another problem:
No one’s moving.
Instead, strong candidates are sitting tight, waiting for the right moment. But that moment never comes.
And when you also factor in…
- Many treasury professionals just had their first meaningful bonus in years.
After COVID, after restructuring, and after being told “you should be grateful just to have a job”… people are finally just seeing bonuses again.
- Treasury isn’t boom-or-bust.
You don’t hire six treasurers overnight. It’s one hire here, one there. And that makes timing crucial. Without exits, there’s no backfill. And without backfill, there’s no momentum.
- The domino effect is real.
Unless someone retires, gets poached, or moves abroad, the roles don’t shift. And within corporate treasury right now, that chain reaction isn’t happening.
Although treasurers aren’t necessarily risk-averse, they’re risk-aware…
The relatively static state of economies globally is also affecting confidence in job seekers who are nervous about making the next move, even if they want to…
But I hear you. You’re saying:
“Mike, I’ve seen a great role advertised on LinkedIn, and they’ve received 300+ applications. Surely they have found the right person from that pool of people?”
…NOPE!
Because the candidates who apply for those roles are applying for every single treasury job, whether they are qualified or not!
The One-Click Apply button is the scourge of LinkedIn.
While it’s convenient, quick and easy for candidates, it’s killing relevance and costing our clients money.
Only one person wins – can you guess who?
It’s LinkedIn, of course.
They charge employers for job applications.
I’ll break it down…
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Model for Jobs
Most jobs on LinkedIn operate on a pay-per-click basis. Employers set a daily or total budget. LinkedIn charges each time someone clicks “Apply”, whether that candidate is qualified or not.
The average cost-per-click can range from £1 to £5+, depending on role, location, and competition.
- Easy Apply = More Clicks
“Easy Apply” encourages high-volume, low-intent applications.
Even if a candidate doesn’t read the job properly, their click still costs the employer.
- Premium Job Slots & Visibility Boosts
Employers can pay more for premium job placements, boosting visibility in search results or email alerts.
Again, the more views and clicks, the more LinkedIn earns.
So LinkedIn wins. Always.
They’re incentivised by volume, not relevance.
The more people click, the more they earn. Even if it clogs your inbox with off-target CVs.
It’s a big problem for clients:
- Budgets get burned on low-fit candidates.
- Hiring managers waste time filtering out noise.
- It creates a false sense of traction: “We had 300 applicants!” But how many were actually worth interviewing?
One client came to me. They’d had 330 applications and none were right. So we took over the brief, found the right person, and placed them…
Because we spoke to the people who weren’t applying but were ready for the move.
Here’s what smart clients are doing:
- Starting searches before the market gets hot
- Being clearer about trajectory, not just tasks
- Targeting the “not looking, but would move for the right role” crowd…
(That’s 90% of our candidate pool, by the way. They’re not on job boards.)
So, it’s not that treasury hiring is dead.
It’s just that, if you wait for a flood of obvious candidates, you’ll be waiting a long, long time.
Best regards,
Mike
P.S. If your inbox is full of “easy apply” CVs that don’t match your role, send me a message.
