More applications should make recruitment easier. More choice, a bigger candidate pool and a better chance of finding the right person.

Except that is not necessarily what employers are experiencing.

The CIPD's 2026 Resourcing and Talent Planning research found that 58% of employers had seen an increase in applications from unsuitable candidates over the previous year, compared with just 33% seeing an increase from suitable candidates.

Our own Motor Trade recruitment data shows another important part of the picture: application volume varies enormously depending on the role. In September 2026, selected sales, service and administration vacancies handled by Perfect Placement received almost seven times as many applications per vacancy as selected technical roles.

So the challenge facing Motor Trade employers is not simply finding more candidates. Depending on the vacancy, it can be filtering a large applicant pool to find the genuinely suitable people within it, or reaching skilled candidates who may never apply in the first place.

Why More Applications Don't Always Mean More Suitable Candidates

More applications do not necessarily create a stronger shortlist because application volume and candidate suitability are two different things. An employer can have plenty of CVs to review while still struggling to find people who genuinely meet the requirements of the vacancy.

The CIPD's findings demonstrate the difference. While 58% of employers reported an increase in applications from unsuitable candidates, only 33% saw an increase from suitable candidates. More than half of organisations that attempted to recruit also reported difficulties attracting candidates.

Those are UK-wide findings rather than Motor Trade-specific figures. Within automotive recruitment, our own data adds another layer: application volumes can look completely different depending on the role.

Application Volume Doesn't Affect Every Motor Trade Role Equally

Sales, service and administration vacancies can generate significantly more applications than specialist technical roles. Perfect Placement's September 2026 data gives us a useful snapshot of just how large that difference can be.

From 1 to 24 September 2026, our applicant report recorded 14,378 applications. Across seven common Motor Trade job titles, selected sales, service and administration vacancies averaged 20.9 applications per vacancy, compared with 3.1 across selected technical positions.

The contrast is particularly clear when comparing Service Advisor and Vehicle Technician recruitment.

110 Service Advisor vacancies generated 2,282 applications, an average of 20.7 per vacancy. Meanwhile, 631 Vehicle Technician vacancies generated 2,036 applications, averaging just 3.2 per vacancy.

We therefore worked nearly six times as many Vehicle Technician vacancies, yet received more applications for Service Advisor positions.

That does not mean those Service Advisor applicants were unsuitable. The figures represent applications rather than unique candidates, include duplicate applications and do not show how long each vacancy was advertised. Application volume alone cannot establish candidate suitability.

What they do show is why one recruitment approach does not work for every Motor Trade vacancy. A Service Advisor, Sales Executive or Administrator role may require employers to identify the strongest matches from a substantial applicant pool. For a Vehicle Technician, MOT Tester or Master Technician vacancy, there may simply be far fewer appropriately skilled people applying.

Employers also need to consider whether their own criteria are affecting that pool. We recently looked at whether job requirements could be putting good Motor Trade candidates off applying.

How AI Is Changing Job Applications

AI can make applications more polished without giving employers any more certainty about whether the person behind them is right for the vacancy. That does not make AI use inherently negative, but it makes qualification beyond the written application increasingly important.

Generative AI can help jobseekers structure a CV, improve their wording or communicate genuine experience more effectively. Using it does not automatically make somebody a poor candidate, nor does a polished application mean the information within it is inaccurate.

The CIPD found that 27% of organisations that attempted to recruit reported candidates making what they considered to be "excessive" use of generative AI in applications. More than a third of employers were also attempting to monitor its use.

For employers, the more useful question is not simply whether AI has been used. It is whether the recruitment process establishes the person behind the application.

Why Human Candidate Qualification Still Matters

A strong CV cannot confirm all the practical factors that determine whether a candidate and vacancy genuinely match. Employment history, qualifications and stated experience are only part of the picture.

Why do they want to leave their current employer? Does the salary work for them? Is the commute realistic? What working patterns can they accommodate? What do they actually want from their next move?

Those details become particularly important when application volumes are high. If dozens of applications are well presented and closely aligned with the advert, the CV is only the beginning of the assessment.

Human qualification does not mean trying to catch candidates out for using AI. It means not confusing a good application with a confirmed match.

Getting those expectations aligned early also matters later in the process. We explore this further in our guide to why good automotive candidates drop out of recruitment processes.

Finding the Right Candidates, Not Simply More Candidates

The right candidate may never appear in an employer's application inbox. Automotive professionals who are already employed and not actively checking job boards can still have exactly the skills and experience a business needs.

This is particularly relevant for technical and specialist vacancies, where our September data shows considerably lower application volumes than the selected sales, service and administration roles.

Reaching Automotive Professionals Who Aren't Actively Applying

Proactive sourcing expands the search beyond candidates who happen to see and apply for an advert. It allows relevant people to be identified and approached even when they are not actively searching job boards.

That figure shows why recruitment cannot always begin and end with incoming applications.

Advertising remains an important part of recruitment and, as our September figures demonstrate, can generate considerable interest in some Motor Trade roles. But applications only show the people who have chosen to apply. Proactive sourcing reaches beyond that group, which becomes particularly valuable when the available candidate pool is limited.

Perfect Placement has specialised in automotive recruitment since 2003, building relationships with Motor Trade professionals across the UK. Alongside advertising vacancies, our consultants search for and approach relevant candidates who may not otherwise enter the recruitment process.

Qualification and Motor Trade Knowledge

Finding more candidates only helps when employers can establish which of them genuinely fit the vacancy. Salary expectations, location, notice period, relevant experience and reasons for moving can all affect whether someone who looks suitable on paper remains suitable once the conversation begins.

Market knowledge provides context too. Twenty applications can be encouraging for one vacancy and disappointing for another. The same applies to the experience employers can realistically expect to find, the salary required to attract it and how widely they may need to search.

There is a balance. Screening criteria that are unnecessarily rigid can remove potentially strong candidates before that conversation happens. Our article on whether Motor Trade employers are missing good candidates at the CV stage looks at that problem in more detail.

What Motor Trade Employers Can Do Differently

Motor Trade employers should adapt their recruitment strategy to the vacancy rather than assuming more applications will automatically produce a better shortlist. A Service Advisor role attracting around 20 applications per vacancy presents a very different challenge from a Master Technician vacancy attracting fewer than two.

1. Separate essential requirements from preferences.
Be clear about the experience, qualifications or automotive knowledge genuinely required. Overly restrictive criteria can shrink an already limited candidate pool, while vague requirements can attract applicants with little connection to the vacancy.

2. Adapt the sourcing strategy to the role.
A Sales Executive or Service Advisor vacancy generating significant inbound interest may need efficient qualification and screening. A specialist technical vacancy with very few applications may require proactive sourcing from the beginning.

3. Qualify before interview.
Confirm experience, salary expectations, location, availability and reasons for moving early. Identifying a mismatch before interview saves time for both employer and candidate.

4. Look beyond incoming applications.
If the right people are not applying, repeatedly advertising the same vacancy is unlikely to solve the underlying problem. Proactive sourcing opens the search to relevant Motor Trade professionals who are not currently active applicants.

5. Keep the process moving when good candidates appear.
Once a genuinely suitable candidate is identified, a clear interview process and timely feedback can reduce the risk of losing them elsewhere.

If you are considering external recruitment support, our guide to what to ask before working with a Motor Trade recruitment agency covers the questions worth asking about sourcing, candidate qualification and sector experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are we receiving so many applications but struggling to hire in the Motor Trade?
A high number of applications does not necessarily mean a high number of suitable candidates. Sales Executive, Service Advisor and Administrator roles may attract applicants with broadly transferable experience but fewer who meet the specific vacancy requirements. Technical roles can present a different challenge, with fewer appropriately skilled candidates available in the first place.

How do AI-assisted applications affect candidate quality?
AI can help candidates improve the wording and presentation of applications, but a well-written CV does not necessarily demonstrate the experience, salary expectations, location or genuine interest required for a vacancy. Speaking directly with candidates helps establish whether there is a genuine match.

Are some Motor Trade roles harder to recruit for than others?
Yes, but the challenge varies. Technical and specialist roles can have a limited pool of appropriately skilled candidates, while sales, service and administrative vacancies may generate considerably more applications that employers then need to assess and qualify.

How does Perfect Placement assess candidate suitability for automotive roles?
Perfect Placement looks beyond the CV. Our recruiters speak directly with candidates about their experience, reasons for moving, salary expectations, location and travel requirements, availability and what they want from their next role. Combined with proactive sourcing and Motor Trade knowledge, this helps identify genuine matches rather than simply forwarding applications.

About the Author

Ashley Camies
As Marketing & Automation Manager at Perfect Placement, Ashley Camies has 14 years of automotive recruitment experience. Since 2011, she has supported motor trade employers and candidates across the UK, using first-hand recruitment data and experience to produce practical guidance on automotive careers, salaries and hiring trends.