Miira Leinonen
CMO
Passionate about creating compelling stories and enhancing the world of recruitment. Helping companies to improve their Employer Brand with modern recruitment methods and superior Candidate Experience.
Candidate Experience
Candidate Experience Statistics You Should Know
Today, I will share some of the most important candidate experience statistics* that you should know before you decide how much emphasis and investment should be placed on the candidate experience.
Candidate experience is more important than ever now that candidates know that they deserve to be respected and treated well. Nowadays, candidates often choose companies based on their candidate experience. It is going to make or break your company depending on how much emphasis you place on it.
Read more: How to improve your candidate experience: a short guide
So what does your candidate experience say about you? How can a good or bad candidate experience affect your company directly? Today, I will share some of the most important candidate experience statistics* that you should know before you decide how much emphasis and investment should be placed on the candidate experience.
Not familiar with Candidate Experience? Download our Definitive Guide to Candidate Experience.
1) Nearly 4 in 5 candidates (78%) say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people (Career Builder).
2) 80–90% of talent say a positive or negative candidate experience can change their minds about a role or company (Recruiting Brief).
Candidate experience can change minds for better or for worse. You have the power to win or lose out on great talent. This statistic is extremely important because it shows how the candidate experience will directly impact your company.
3) Nearly 60% of job seekers have had a poor candidate experience, and 72% haves shared their experience on online employer review sites such as Glassdoor.com (LinkedIn).
With technology, word spreads faster than ever. Companies must realise that online reviews are a big part of the candidate journey. Past candidates might share their experience with the company online and are more likely to do so when they had a bad experience. Future candidates are then bound to find out what people say about your company through online sites. These bad reviews will affect your company’s recruiting ability.
4) 60% of job seekers report they have quit an application due to its length or complexity (Recruiting Brief).
A lengthy application process will result in candidates feeling annoyed with applying. Allow the application form to be as fuss-free as possible for candidates. More often than not, candidates have more than one option, and they will certainly opt for the one with an easier application process.
5) 80% of job seekers say they would not reapply to a company that didn’t notify them of their application status (Lever).
6) 65% of job seekers say they never or rarely receive notice of their application status (Lever).
It is of the utmost importance to end the recruitment process properly with candidates, even those whom you are rejecting. Even though a candidate might not be a good fit for your company right now, he or she might be suitable for an opening that you have in the future. If you ruin the first candidate experience they have with you, you are hurting your future chances with them. Make sure you are well-positioned to re-open candidate conversations with communication that shows your respect for them whether you hire them or not.
7) 51% of those who receive notification say that it takes at least one month or more (CareerArc).
One month is an extremely long time for a job seeker. If you do happen to want to recruit someone, they would probably be unavailable by then. I can guarantee that the job seeker would have moved on within a month.
8) 78% of job seekers report never having been asked for feedback on their candidate experience (Lever).
9) Talent is four times more likely to consider your company in the future if you offer constructive feedback (Lever).
Candidates value your feedback, and they appreciate the time you spend to provide constructive feedback. When you provide insight into your decision, it allows both the candidate and the recruiter to come to a mutual understanding.
10) Only 46% of employers report making regular improvements to the recruitment processes (at least every six months) that affect the candidate experience (CareerArc).
Every interaction matters. Recruiters know that, but it is not easy to get everyone to agree on this. The simplest way of improving the candidate experience is to invest in a recruiting system that allows you to provide feedback to candidates and update them frequently.
*All statistics in this article are based on research conducted in 2017.
I hope that these statistics allowed you to see the importance of the candidate experience or where your company is lacking regarding this topic. After understanding the weakest links in your candidate experience, you will be able to further improve it by investing a little. Start by learning how technology or HR systems can help improve your candidate experience.
Modern HR Tech to Improve Candidate Experience
Your ATS plays a huge role in shaping your candidate experience. TalentAdore has the solution to all of the problems mentioned above! Our modern recruitment software, TalentAdore Hire, is an amazing tool that touches people’s hearts. It integrates an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Artificial Intelligence (AI) based communication technologies, and advanced automation.
The solution empowers you to give 100 % personalized status updates and feedback messages to each job candidate individually and with no extra time. You can handle the entire recruitment process from job postings to hiring decisions to measure your employer brand in real-time. You can also build your talent community.
