In the strengthening economy, more people are employed and skilled candidates are even harder for employers to come by. This creates a new reality for employers competing to find and attract the same in-demand talent.

But how do talented people approach the job search today, and what influences their decisions to change jobs? The recruiting industry has traditionally believed that to attract skilled workers, employers must be prepared to go out and source “passive” candidates: people who are employed and not actively looking for jobs.

This distinction between active and passive candidates has informed how many companies approach their recruitment strategy, but new research reveals why very few are “passive” about their career in 2015 and why many employers agree.

The resulting report, Talent Attraction Study: What Matters to the Modern Candidate, will help talent acquisition organisations understand the vast opportunity to reach skilled candidates and the methods they can use to attract them. According to an Indeed survey conducted online by Harris Poll in July among over 8,000 adults within Germany, France, the Netherlands and United Kingdom, 91% of those who are employed and were hired within the past year said they actively looked for a job in the six months prior to being hired for their current job.

Here are three more key UK findings that emerged from the study:

Today’s workforce actively seeks opportunity

90% of employed adults hired within the past year took an action to find a job within six months prior to being hired. Among this group, 60% visited an online job site or job board and 39% looked at opportunities on company career sites.

The job search is always on

75% of adults in or looking to enter the labour force say they are actively looking or open to a new job, and 63% of these same adults look at jobs at least monthly. And according to our own worldwide analysis, 65% of employed people look at new jobs again within the first three months of starting a job.

The research also showed that those who actively look at job opportunities are more likely to be younger and more educated.

Candidates believe it’s important to direct their own job search

Employed candidates are more confident in the jobs they find themselves, rather than jobs presented by a recruiter. 64% of employed adults think they would be more successful in a job they found on their own versus one they got from a recruiter or company that contacted them. 70% of employed adults say they would feel more confident that a job is the right fit for them if they picked the company and applied versus if a recruiter contacted them.

To get more insight on how candidates make decisions and actions employed people take to find their next job, download your free copy of the report, Talent Attraction Study: What Matters to the Modern Candidate.

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Indeed from July 1-8, 2015, among 8,093 adults ages 18 and older within Germany (n=2,030), France (n=2,029), Netherlands (n=2,008) and United Kingdom (n=2,026). A global post-weight was applied to ensure all countries received an equal weight in the total global data. No estimates of error can be computed. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact pr@indeed.com.