New market research, carried out by Sapio Research for recruitment software provider DaXtra Technologies, has revealed that candidates have changed their approach to job seeking and that their expectations of the recruitment process are not always being met. This is a US report but I still think it’s worth sharing and of interest to the UK market.
Although the US recruitment market has changed dramatically over the last few weeks, candidate expectations have been shifting for a while.
For their market research report, The Candidate Experience – Perception versus Reality, they surveyed 1,000 candidates in the US to find out what they expect from recruiters. These candidates gave their views before the current pandemic, but have many useful insights.
Key highlights include:
The death of job boards has definitely been predicted prematurely. 20% of candidates found their current role on a job board and 40% would make this their first place to look for a new job. Toby Conibear, Chief Commercial Officer at DaXtra Technologies, comments: “Knowing where to find candidates, or understanding where candidates are looking for jobs, is one area recruiters need to understand, but there is a disconnect developing. While much of the recruitment industry has been talking about the end of job boards for some time now, this research clearly shows that candidates still find them as important as ever.”
The rise of the recruitment robots? More than half of candidates would be happy to use live chat during the recruitment process. 58% expect live chat to answer questions quicker than a recruiter, while 23% say they simply don’t want to talk to a person during the initial stages of the recruitment process. Candidates also expect a lot from a chat function: 41% expect it to be able to prep them for an interview and 28% even expect the function to help them improve their resume before submitting it. Chris Wirt, Director of Sales – Eastern US and LATAM at DaXtra Technologies, comments: “Chatbots are clearly becoming more popular among candidates and this makes sense if you look at what chat functions are expected to do. Speed of response and getting basic information quickly is a key thing that candidates want, and this is what they see live chats as being able to offer them.”
Company loyalty hasn’t disappeared, but if people are unhappy they are very willing to change jobs. While half expect to have three or fewer jobs during their career, 41% think it is acceptable to stay in a job for less than a year and this rises to 59% for 18-24 year olds. Colleen Barraclough, VP of Operations – North America at DaXtra Technologies, comments: “It would be unfair to label young workers as disloyal because this research has shown that they do have a desire to stick with companies once they’ve been hired. But they are definitely quicker to move on if they don’t like the company they’re working for, and this is likely driven by the fact that they know they can get jobs more easily.”
More than a third of applicants expect to hear back from a recruiter within 24 hours of an application, while just 23% say they usually hear back in this time. Chris Wirt comments: “It’s surprising to see the number of candidates who are being made to wait weeks for a response when they do try and engage with a recruiter. Speed of response is definitely something some recruiters need to work on.”
This research identifies how perception of the candidate experience of recruitment can differ from reality. The report explores:
- How candidates search for new roles
- How candidates prefer to be contacted
- The importance of creating a personalized experience
- How technology is helping to create those experiences
- The consequences recruiters face in failing to meet candidate expectations
- Whether the idea of “company loyalty” is truly dead
To find out more, download the full research report: The Candidate Experience – Perception versus Reality.
If you want to discuss any of the findings in more detail, please contact Ruth Ritzema, Marketing Manager at DaXtra Technologies
