Following our Q2 update, here's a quick look at what we've been seeing across Q3 from the UK office.

Permanent hiring trends (UK & Europe)

• The traditional summer slowdown was evident this year, with UK hiring processes mirroring the more established European approach. Activity slowed throughout August but rebounded strongly in September as businesses began planning for year-end and January hires.
• Demand for Territory Sales Managers, Country Managers and Regional Sales Leaders increased across Europe, particularly within the Nordics, Baltics, Western and Eastern Europe, as organisations continued expanding into new markets.
• We also saw increased demand for Delegate Sales, Event Management and Commercial Events professionals, reflecting continued investment in conferences, exhibitions and networking activity.
• Executive support hiring remained strong, with growing demand for PAs, Executive Assistants and Office Managers across both London and international offices.
• Demand for finance and accounting professionals increased as organisations expanded internationally, managed larger global workforces and navigated multi-jurisdiction operations.
• Confidence in the Middle East continues to grow, with more regional headquarters opening and businesses investing in multilingual commercial and operational teams.

Employers securing the best talent remain those moving quickly. Lengthy interview processes continue to be a major obstacle, particularly for language-skilled professionals.

Temporary hiring trends

• Seasonal recruitment drove increased demand for multilingual customer support professionals, particularly within the retail and hospitality sectors across the UK regions.
• Greater reliance on AI translation tools has led to increased demand for proofreaders and language specialists to review and validate content.
• Flexible temporary solutions remain popular across administration, customer operations and project-based support functions.

Languages in Demand

German remains our most requested language, with particularly strong demand across German, French, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian speakers in sales, customer success, operations and business support roles.

Looking ahead to Q4

Hiring momentum has carried into Q4, with many organisations now competing for talent ahead of the traditional January recruitment surge. While some caution remains, multilingual professionals continue to play a crucial role in international growth plans.

If you'd like a deeper breakdown for your region or sector, we'd be happy to share more.

Enjoy the autumn!

Stacey Arnison, Country Director