According to research from independent job site CV-Library, 49.8% of UK jobseekers have admitted to accepting multiple job roles, and using them as a platform for negotiation with potential employers, in an attempt to secure the best job offer and salary.

Dubbed as 'Job Hoarding', CV-Library states that this latest trend puts both recruiters and businesses in a difficult position. The job site surveyed over 3,000 of its candidates to uncover the latest trends sweeping the country’s labour market. And in addition to 49.8% of job hunters confessing to ‘job hoarding’, 64% of the UK’s professionals stated that they would accept a job role that they were unsure of whilst continuing their job search, leaving businesses in an unstable situation.

The research also revealed that 80.8% of job hunters would accept more than one job offer for up to two weeks. Meanwhile, 77.2% of UK professionals believe it’s reasonable to accept more than one job offer at a time, in order to negotiate a better package and 54.8% would reveal what another company was offering when negotiating a job offer.

“While it’s understandable that job hunters in today’s economic climate are keeping their options open and applying to multiple roles and companies, accepting more than one job offer puts businesses in a very difficult position,” Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said.

“Organisations must be prepared for this behaviour, and ready to highlight broader job benefits, such as flexible hours, staff bonuses and other workplace perks,” Biggins said. “We know that salaries are important, but we also know from previous research that candidates value company culture and job satisfaction, meaning companies should be ready to promote the wider holistic package in order to steer any counter offers and secure the best talent.”