Supply is half the story. A pool of thousands is worthless if every rival is hunting the same people. Demand turns a raw count into the number that actually predicts whether you'll win.
Four signals, read together, tell you how hot a profile is right now and who you're fighting for it.
How many open reqs target this profile in your geography. The raw heat reading — rising volume means intensifying competition.
How long these roles sit open. Long fills signal scarcity — the market is struggling, not just you.
The named companies posting for this profile. Who you're up against — and whether they outgun you on comp or brand.
The direction over 6 to 12 months. Acceleration is the real tell — a profile heating up fast will be brutal by next quarter.
This is the number the whole snapshot turns on. One figure that says how contested the talent is.
Read it simply: a high ratio means plenty of talent per opening — you have room to be selective. A low ratio means every qualified person has multiple suitors — you're in a fight, and comp, speed, and brand decide it.
Talent abundant relative to demand. You can hold standards and move at a normal pace.
Competitive but workable. Speed and a clear pitch matter; you'll win a fair share.
Scarcity. Expect bidding wars. Comp, brand, and a flawless process decide who lands the hire.
Treat the bands as directional, not absolute — they shift by function and seniority. A senior analog or RF pool runs tight even at higher ratios because the addressable, movable slice is small.
Job postings are the rawest demand signal there is. These are where you read them.
AI compiles the competitor set, reads the velocity trend, and translates a ratio into a plain-English verdict you can hand a hiring manager.
Find the companies actively hiring for [role] in [geo] right now. For each, tell me: 1. Roughly how many open reqs for this profile 2. Whether their posting volume is rising or flat over recent months 3. Their likely comp tier and employer-brand strength for this talent Rank them by how much of a threat they are to me winning this hire, and name the 3 I should worry about most.
For [role] in [geo]: - Qualified pool: [n] (from my sizing) - Active reqs targeting the profile: [n] Calculate the supply-to-demand ratio, place it on a loose / balanced / tight scale, and write a 2-3 sentence verdict a hiring manager can read. Note any reason the headline ratio overstates how winnable this is (e.g. how little of the pool is actually movable).
Here is monthly posting volume for [role] in [geo] over the last 12 months: [paste the numbers]. Tell me: 1. The trend — accelerating, flat, or cooling 2. Whether this looks structural or a short-term spike 3. What it means for timing — should we move now or will it ease?