One in three candidates have rejected a job offer because of a negative experience during the hiring process, according to new research*. This is a massive talent loss for businesses desperately trying to hire in the midst of the current skills shortage.
The group who said they’ve rejected a job offer due to a poor experience, two out of three said their experience was negative specifically due to poor communication.
Other reasons for deciding not to take the role included lack of transparency (41%), a hiring process that was too complicated (40%) or a hiring process that was too lengthy (40%). It’s evident that candidates are looking for a smooth hiring experience that takes up as little of their time as possible rather than jumping through complex hoops for potential employers.
Anthony Reynolds, CEO at HireVue, comments, “To weather the talent shortage, businesses need to create the best possible hiring experience for candidates if they’re to eliminate the chance of candidate drop-off. This means listening to candidates about their experiences, and understanding what they want from a potential employer. Technology enables easy communication between candidate and business, and it ultimately ensures any business can hire effectively during a talent shortage.”
The research found that businesses that had filled an open position in less than four weeks, 65% used hiring automation technologies, such as chatbots. These hiring technologies allow for quicker, clearer communication than manual emails, creating a more transparent and smoother hiring process, and improving the chances of a candidate taking on a role.
Commenting on how they use technology to streamline hiring processes, Simon Kißmer-Imping, HR Manager DACH & Poland at Hunkemoller, one of the largest lingerie specialists from Europe says, “we use HireVue’s solutions, such as the scheduling assistant and Workday integration, to provide a fast, consumer-grade experience where the candidate is not forced through multiple systems. This is so important in the Retail industry where competition is high, candidates are digitally-savvy, and where your candidates are also your customers. We were also able to improve our time to hire by weeks and return hundreds of hours back to our recruiters in efficiency gains.”
Dave Mills, HR Technology Portfolio Lead – People Development & Recruitment at Airbus, the leading European multinational aerospace corporation also comments, “the time saving and convenience brought about by HireVue, compared to traditional telephone screening, gives candidates, recruiters hiring and managers the opportunity to engage quickly and easily – which is very important when the talent marketplace is so competitive. For roles where there are a large number of applications, this provides a greater chance for the candidate to be hired. Hiring Managers are able to understand more about the candidate before interviewing them. We have seen many cases where on paper a candidate may have been declined but due to HireVue, many have been interviewed and successfully hired for a position.”
*HireVue’s 2022 ‘Global Trends’ survey,
