At the beginning of the week, just arrived at the office: how and who is looking for a job

"The job search, especially among younger people, does not end the moment one finds a job. The beginning of the week, particularly between Tuesday and Wednesday, can be a moment in which more immediate reflections on one's professional condition are triggered". This was stated by Umana's president, Maria Raffaella Caprioglio, reasoning on the data of a research carried out by the Study Centre of the employment services company, which monitored one million applications to job advertisements published in 2025, sent by 350,000 users. Each person sent around 2.5 applications and to send their CV, more than a third of the candidates, 38%, chose Tuesday or Wednesday, pressing send between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m., with a peak around 9 a.m. Only 16.5% chose the weekend instead, a trend that shows the desire to keep the professional sphere separate from private life, even if one needs to change jobs or is still looking.

Those looking for new jobs are predominantly those with little experience: in fact, 90% of the applications come for ads requiring little experience, between one and three years. "A growing attention to the quality of work is strongly emerging," Caprioglio continues, "The new generations are looking for contexts that are consistent with their own values, opportunities for growth, and environments capable of engaging them over time. For companies, this means knowing how to intercept these signals and respond in an authentic and structured way to succeed in retaining and attracting talent'.

Analysing the applications, the Umana Study Centre found that a quarter (24%) focus on opportunities in the mechanical engineering, machinery and metalworking industries, followed by commerce and large-scale distribution (14%) and fashion and luxury goods (7%). Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna are the regions from which most applications come.

By cross-referencing the timing of searches and the profiles of candidates, a clear indication arrives, also for companies, that the job search is driven by people at the beginning of their career path, with a high degree of mobility. For those who already have a job, the very beginning of the week can become a time to question one's job position and consistency with one's aspirations. Effective matching between candidates and companies can only happen 'thanks to the knowledge of the companies, of the productive fabric on which they insist, and thanks to our recruiters' competent listening to the candidates,' says Caprioglio.

It then becomes strategic to align corporate organisations with the new expectations of the younger generations, through corporate welfare policies, valuable training courses, attention to work-life balance, correct placement in roles and alignment between skills, employer branding strategies, and organisational culture. "For companies, equipping themselves with tools to read and manage internal dynamics is fundamental," Caprioglio continues. "Monitoring the organisational climate, assessing skills, analysing growth paths and workloads makes it possible to intercept in advance signs of misalignment and possible critical issues, such as the risk of turnover. In this regard, says Caprioglio, "Itinere, a division of Umana, to meet this need provides companies with specific tools such as the Competence Balance, the Career Check and the Climate Analysis, accompanying them in the effective use of these levers within organisational processes and in development and improvement paths".