Top considerations for candidates when choosing a job

Numerous studies have demonstrated the wide-ranging benefits of an engaged workforce.

Yet a survey of 5,000 candidates carried out for Michael Page’s Talent Trends project discovered that only one-quarter of UK office workers feel “hugely passionate” about what they do, with half admitting they view their job as a means to an end.

That’s a big worry for employers. If your employees don’t feel engaged, they’ll work less hard, deliver poorer results, and are more likely to jump ship at the first opportunity. Fortunately, our research provides some potential solutions. Here, we’ll be digging into the top considerations for candidates when choosing a job.

In general, respondents were most likely to rate the following factors as “important” when considering their current position:

“Having enough free time outside of work to spend time with my family” (named by 55% of candidates in their top three considerations)
Stability (51%)
Maintaining a high standard of work (39%)
“Increasing my salary every year” (38%)

But those overarching trends hide some major differences in the responses we received from candidates in different age groups and working environments. These insights can help you write stronger job specifications and attract top talent in your sector.

Let’s take a closer look at some of our more niche learnings:

Free time is more important to older demographics (and less important to home workers)

No one wants to spend every waking moment in the office, so it was no surprise to see “free time” named as the biggest consideration for candidates.

However, its importance increased in line with the age of people we surveyed, with 44% of 18 to 34-year-olds citing it in their top three, compared to:

51% of 35 to 44-year-olds
62% of 45 to 54-year-olds
66% of people aged 55+

In short, it appears that having sufficient “bandwidth” to spend quality time with family becomes more important the older you get.

We also discovered that free time is a less pressing issue for home workers, cited by just 39% of those who work solely remotely, versus 57% of “hybrid” workers and 58% of candidates who work solely in the office.

This is in line with previous research from the Office for National Statistics, in which 78% of those who work from home in some capacity said the ability to work remotely gave them an improved work-life balance.

Want more insights like this? Read our guide to running team-building activities in a hybrid workplace.

Or, check out our video guide to what candidates want from a new job:

Demand for yearly salary growth increases with company size

Salary is important to everyone. However passionate we are about our job, we all have bills to pay and lives to live.

So it’s no surprise that there was little demographic variance in the proportion of employees who cited “increasing my salary every year” as an important consideration. Some 37% of men and 40% of women named it in their top three, while age-based variations ranged from 32% among 18 to 24-year-olds to 35% in those aged 55+.

However, we identified wider variations when factoring in the size of organisation at which they work.

Just 31% of employees at “micro businesses” (with one to nine employees) ranked annual salary increases in their three most important considerations, climbing to:

35% of employees at small businesses (10 – 49 employees)
38% at medium businesses (50 – 249 employees)
41% at large businesses (250+ employees)

This perhaps speaks to the fact that larger organisations are seen to be more financially secure, which means they’re better able to offer regular pay rises. For more insights into what you should be paying top talent, download our salary guides today.

View salary guides

Stability is most important to junior employees

Employees who are at the beginning of their career journeys, or who simply have fewer workplace responsibilities, are far more likely than their more senior peers to name “stability” as a key consideration.

Among “executive/clerical/other workers with no managerial responsibility”, 65% named “stability” as one of the three most important factors regarding their current job. That proportion drops to 55% among junior managers, team leaders, and supervisors. Climbing to middle management level, it falls to 48%, and for employees who are senior managers or directors below board-level, just 41% named stability in their top three considerations.

While constant upheaval is unlikely to be attractive to many (or any) candidates, it appears that stability is a far less important motivator for more experienced employees. They know their value and understand their skills are in demand and so may be less concerned by the prospect of ‘instability’.

Maintaining high working standards is more important to older employees

It stands to reason that the more time you’ve been in your role, the more bought in you are to your employer, and the more you’ll identify its success with your own. As such, you care more about the quality of your work.

This is reflected by our research, which found that 36% of 35 to 44-year-olds named “maintaining a high standard of work” among their three most important considerations regarding their current job, climbing to 43% of 45 to 54-year-olds, and 53% of respondents aged 55 or older.

In contrast, just 29% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 30% of 25 to 34-year-olds cited it as a top-three factor.