60% want a better interview experience

The ‘Great Resignation’ is far from a fad. The US has seen over four million workers quit every month since July 2021, and the situation is similar across the UK and Europe.

Research by recruitment tech platform Greenhouse found that 84% of workers are looking for a new job in the next 6 months. Only 16% said they were not open for a new job, according to a survey of 1,500 employees and job seekers in the US, UK, Germany and Ireland.

It is clear that job market is a candidate’s, not an employer’s, market – 64% of those surveyed had an optimistic view of the job market.

More people are job hunting than ever before – Greenhouse saw 46% more job listings in 2021 than 2020 and 42% said they are applying to more jobs now than pre-pandemic – job seekers are getting pickier.

Candidates are not only being choosy about the jobs they apply for – Greenhouse saw a 21% decline in the volume of applications – but they want a better and more seamless recruitment experience.

How to improve candidate experience

60% of respondents said that companies needed to improve the recruitment experience – the same proportion were unimpressed by how time-consuming the processes were. 70% told Greenhouse they wouldn’t submit a job application if it took longer than 15 minutes.

Candidates are also frustrated about how long it takes to hear back about their application. 41% wanted a timely response and 58% are expecting to hear back in a week or less.

Not only do they want to hear back quickly, but 70% told Greenhouse they wanted feedback. However, this isn’t common since, unfortunately, 75% had been ghosted by recruiters.

Credit: Greenhouse’s 2022 Candidate Experience report.

Feedback appears to play a positive role in employer brand; 61% said they were more likely to apply for a role at a company in the future if they received feedback on their application.

Other things candidates want from the recruitment experience is a welcoming and engaged interviewer (47%), and the interview to happen at the scheduled time (45%).

Adjusting a hiring process to be more timely and responsive is not hard to do, but it is key to recruitment to success.

Greenhouse co-founder and CEO Daniel Chait commented: “The results of our latest survey are a call to action for all companies.

“We’re in the midst of a real role reversal, and the talent pool has never been more selective and vocal about what they want from an employer.

“Whereas employers previously ruled out candidates for trivial issues like spelling errors on their resume, now it’s the candidates who are rejecting employers.

“Companies who are too slow in responding, are careless with how they treat candidates are losing out on talent.”