You found the right candidate. Why is the role still vacant?

The CV matches the requirements, and the interview goes well. The company wants to hire. But the candidate hesitates, chooses another offer or stops responding. Recruitment can stall even after suitable people have been found. What determines whether a candidate you approach becomes your next colleague? This was one of the questions we explored at SYNERGIE’s HR breakfast in Prague.

When a role remains vacant, the natural response is to widen the search. Advertise on another job board, approach more people or increase the advertising budget. Sometimes that is the right step. At other times, however, the company brings more candidates into a process that repeatedly loses their interest.

At our event, What is changing in the Czech labour market today?, held on 21 October, we therefore looked beyond workforce availability to how employers engage with the people they have already approached.

Joining the discussion were JUDr. Jiří Vaňásek, Director General of the Employment Section at the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; Michal Macko, Managing Director of the French-Czech Chamber of Commerce; and Jakub Málek, Managing Partner at PEYTON legal. Participants could put their questions to people with first-hand knowledge of employment policymaking, international investors’ decisions and the employment law challenges businesses face. SYNERGIE’s specialists added recruitment data and practical experience to these perspectives.

More jobseekers do not always mean the skills you need are available

Jakub Sedláček, Sales Director CZ&SK, presented a trend that may initially surprise employers. In Prague and the Central Bohemian Region, the number of registered jobseekers rose from approximately 63,000 in January 2025 to more than 82,000 in September 2026. At the end of September, there were approximately 39,000 registered vacancies.

Why, then, do companies continue to struggle to fill roles?

The register does not show how many of these people can operate a particular technology, lead a sales team or work shifts at a specific site. A jobseeker may be available, but their experience, location or working arrangements may not match the company’s needs.

A rise in jobseeker numbers does not necessarily widen the field for your vacancy. Planning requires an understanding of the particular occupation and region. Looking ahead, employers must also account for experienced employees retiring. Someone who holds years of accumulated knowledge usually cannot be replaced overnight.

Pay conditions are changing too. The comparison presented at the breakfast showed wage growth of approximately 18–22% across the occupational groups covered between 2022 and 2025. A company may therefore offer the same terms that attracted employees three years ago and receive a very different response today.

Before interpreting limited interest as a shortage of candidates, employers need to check whether their offer reflects the market they are recruiting in.

Another ten CVs may not address the reason candidates decline

Data helps explain the options available in the labour market. For each candidate, however, there is also a personal decision: is it worth leaving a familiar job and accepting the uncertainty that comes with a change?

Alan Herian, HR Consultant, focused on this decision. He highlighted the difference between a company that cannot find suitable people and one that cannot persuade them to join.

The candidate feedback featured in his presentation included slow recruitment processes, managers who failed to inspire confidence and a lack of future prospects. Candidates also reported uncertainty about what success in the role would actually mean.

These are insights that CV numbers alone cannot reveal. If a company only tracks applications and interviews, it may miss the point at which recruitment stalls.

What matters is understanding why a suitable person did not continue. Did they turn down the terms? Did they learn enough about the job? Or, while waiting, did they accept an offer from an employer who made a decision sooner?

What will this person do and what should they achieve?

Some uncertainty can begin with the job advertisement itself. A job title and a list of duties may still leave candidates struggling to picture the work.

Alan illustrated the difference with examples. For a sales role, the brief could explain that the new colleague is expected to enter additional client segments during their first year and build a systematic approach to winning business. For an HR specialist, the goal might be to simplify onboarding, establish reporting and support managers with people-related questions.

This kind of brief helps candidates understand why the company needs them, where they will use their experience and how their work will be assessed.

HR, the future line manager and senior management must share that understanding too. If candidates hear different expectations at each interview, they are left making a decision based on an unclear picture.

For a role that has been open for several months, a simple question from Alan’s presentation can help: Which two skills will actually determine the person’s success during their first six months?

The answer often clarifies priorities. Knowledge of a particular software package may be less important than the ability to establish a process. Experience in the same industry can be an advantage, but a suitable person from a related field may be able to get up to speed. This gives the company more scope to choose without compromising on what it truly needs.

Candidates can withdraw even after a good interview

A successful conversation does not necessarily mean both sides leave with the same understanding.

The company may feel it has explained the job thoroughly. The candidate may still have questions they did not raise during the meeting. They may be unsure about the scope of responsibility, the management style or what happens next.

A brief follow-up after the interview helps establish what interested them and what caused concern. When making an offer, it is worth checking that the written terms reflect earlier conversations. Before the start date, contact with the future manager and information about the first few days can help.

Each step addresses a different candidate question. Do I understand the opportunity? Can I picture myself working with these people? Can I rely on what we agreed?

Trust develops throughout the selection process. It also needs to be maintained during the weeks between accepting an offer and starting work.

When the people you need are not available locally

There are also situations where adjusting the offer and selection process is not enough. The company needs to expand its recruitment sources.

Dominika Kopčáková, Delivery Director CZ, explained what this involves. In a search for 20 welders for a company in Třebíč, the selection process covered 142 profiles, 94 online interviews and practical skills testing for 32 candidates in the Philippines.

The example illustrates how much assessment can take place before the required team is selected. International recruitment therefore needs to be planned well in advance, including preparations for employees’ arrival and training.

Before starting another search, take a step back

When a role has been vacant for a long time, pressure grows to find a quick solution. Yet this may be precisely the moment to examine what has happened repeatedly during recruitment so far.

Have you been unable to reach people with the necessary skills? Or have you met them, but still failed to make a hire? The answers lead to different actions: widening the search, adjusting requirements, reviewing terms or changing communication.

Our Prague HR breakfast highlighted why this distinction matters. If you find a suitable candidate and then lose them, another CV will not tell you why. You will only understand that when you look at recruitment through their eyes too.