Nearly half of British jobseekers who have been turned down for a role are now aiming lower, according to The Confidence Collapse Report from recruitment software company Tribepad.
The research, carried out by OnePoll, found that 47 per cent of rejected applicants had cut their salary expectations, stopped applying for more senior roles or applied for work beneath their skill level.
Among people currently between jobs and looking for work, the figure rises to 62 per cent, Tribepad said. In that group, 45 per cent had applied for roles below their skill level, against 29 per cent of all jobseekers surveyed. Some 37 per cent had stopped applying for more advanced roles, against 23 per cent overall, and 28 per cent had lowered their salary expectations, against 20 per cent.
OnePoll surveyed 2,000 UK adults who had looked for a job in the past three years, online between 8 and 24 July 2026. Results exclude those hired on their first application, leaving 1,736 respondents; the between-jobs group numbered 108.
The report sets out what Tribepad calls the “Failure Factor”: the number of rejections it takes before a candidate starts doubting their ability to get the kind of job they want. Of the 1,072 respondents who could identify a turning point, half reached it within three unsuccessful applications and 74 per cent within seven.
In Tribepad’s data, seniority shortened the threshold. Graduates and entry-level candidates took an average of 11.4 rejections before self-doubt set in, junior staff 6.8, experienced and mid-level staff 5.7, and directors and heads of department 3.7. The report notes directors had made around 15 unsuccessful applications in their latest search, against 26 among graduates.
More than half of rejected 18 to 24 year olds and 25 to 34 year olds, 54 per cent, had downgraded their plans. Half of women said rejection had left them anxious about future applications, against 32 per cent of men.
Overall, 83 per cent reported at least one psychological consequence of rejection, and 32 per cent said it made them consider giving up their search.
Asked what had the single biggest impact on their confidence, 40 per cent named not knowing why they were unsuccessful or receiving no feedback, compared with 22 per cent who cited repeated rejection itself and 3 per cent who blamed AI or automated decision-making.
Yet 42 per cent believed AI had been involved in rejecting one of their applications and a further 30 per cent did not know, meaning 72 per cent could not say for certain whether a human had read their CV.
Asked to complete the sentence “After unsuccessful job applications and/or rejections, I…” unprompted, 0.9 per cent mentioned AI, algorithms or automated screening. Requests for feedback or an explanation came up five times more often. In those answers, 21 per cent described carrying on and 8 per cent only giving up.
The founder of recruitment software firm Oleeo has defended AI screening, citing the volume of applications employers face.
The latest Office for National Statistics labour market figures, published on 20 October, put vacancies at 691,000 in July to September, down 37,000 on the year. Excluding the pandemic, the ONS said the last time vacancies were at or below that level was July to September 2014. The unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent and the ONS put the number of unemployed people per vacancy at 2.4. KPMG and REC data show employers have been leaning on part-time hiring while holding back permanent roles.
Neil Armstrong, chief executive of Tribepad, said: “What we found is people are aiming lower. They stop going for career progression and knock a few thousand off what they ask for. They apply for the job below the one they’re qualified for. Nobody records that. They’re still employed, or still applying, so as far as the official numbers go nothing has happened. But the country is getting less out of people who could be doing more.
“Employers can’t take rejection out of hiring. They can be far clearer about why someone hasn’t progressed. Communicated properly, a no is a decision about a single role. Told badly, or not at all, it feels like a verdict on what somebody is worth.”
