What happened
Most Canadians on both sides of the hiring table say networking has lost its personal side. That is the finding of an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, as reported by Talent Canada. Seventy per cent of Canadian hiring managers and 76 per cent of job seekers say networking now feels more like a business transaction than a genuine connection.
Online platforms get much of the blame. About 76 per cent of job seekers and 78 per cent of hiring managers say these platforms have made interactions more transactional. Still, 38 per cent of hiring managers think the platforms make authentic connections easier. Seventy per cent of hiring managers also say they judge networking contacts strictly on influence or usefulness.
Networking still matters. 86 per cent of hiring managers and 82 per cent of job seekers call it critical for getting a foot in the door. And 80 per cent of hiring managers agree that authentic relationships are hard to build when networking feels transactional. The survey covered 504 Canadian hiring decision-makers and 502 adults, and ran in November 2025.
Why it matters if you are hiring
If candidates feel like a commodity, the best ones pull back. Strong people with options will ignore cold, generic outreach, especially on the platforms where every recruiter sounds the same. That hurts most in roles where good candidates are already employed and not browsing: senior finance, skilled operations, technical and sales hires.
The numbers also show a problem on your side. If 70 per cent of hiring managers rate contacts by usefulness, candidates can tell. Referrals and warm introductions carry weight because they feel earned, and a hiring team that treats every contact as a transaction will see fewer of them.
There is a practical angle too. Job seekers say they find it hard to form real relationships when the goal is obvious from the first message. A short, specific, honest note about the role and why this person fits will stand out against a flood of templated messages.
One thing to do this week
Pull up the last five outreach messages your team sent to passive candidates. Cut any line that could go to anyone. Rewrite each to name the specific role, the reason you picked that person, and what you are offering, with no ask beyond a short conversation. Then track whether reply rates change.
Traverse has placed operations, finance, sales and technical people for Canadian employers since 1997, and our work rests on knowing candidates personally, not just finding their profiles.