Applying to jobs online can feel as though you’re applying into an endless abyss. Despite that common feeling, applying online is still the No. 1 way to land that job interview and offer, new Glassdoor data has found.
According to the data, online applications resulted in:
- 60% of all job offers reported on Glassdoor in 2025
- 2x as many interviews
- 5x as many offers as other sources, including referrals, being recruited, and other methods
Another important thing to note? Glassdoor found that the number of people being recruited into roles increased. It’s jumped 72% since 2023, accounting for nearly 15% of job offers last year. Interviews that came from a referral were also 35% more likely to end in a job offer than those interviews that just came from cold online applications.
“I think you’re going to just see a huge shift away from public job posting because it’s become so broken” HR and recruiting expert J.T. O’Donnell predicts. She notes that this year she expects “fewer people getting jobs from applying online, and a lot more being contacted proactively by recruiters, because we’re seeing a very big switch into quiet hiring this year.”
Source: CNBC
Getty Images