Poor applicant experience can negatively impact recruitment
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of job applicants in the United States said they never heard back from the employer, according to a CareerBuilder survey of 3,900 American workers.
Eighty-two per cent of workers expect to hear back from a company when they apply for a job regardless of whether the employer is interested. Nearly one-third (32 per cent) of workers said they would be less inclined to purchase products or services from a company that didn't respond to their application, found the survey.
Twenty-six per cent of workers said they have had a bad experience as a job applicant. Reasons for this include:
• the employer never bothered letting me know the decision after the interview (60 per cent)
• found out during the interview that the job didn't match what was written in the job ad (43 per cent)
• company representative didn't present a positive work experience (34 per cent)
• company representative didn't seem to be knowledgeable (30 per cent)
• employer never acknowledged receiving my application (29 per cent).
The effects of one candidate's negative experience can lead to a broader impact on the employer's ability to recruit or sell products. Workers said if they are dissatisfied with the way their application is handled by an employer, they would:
• never seek employment at the company again (42 per cent)
• tell others not to work there (22 per cent)
• tell others not to purchase products or services from the company (nine per cent).
The study found that a good applicant experience can have positive long-term effects for organizations regardless if the candidate was actually hired. Workers said if they are happy with the way they are treated by an employer when applying for a job, they would:
• consider seeking employment with the company again in the future (56 per cent)
• tell others to seek employment there (37 per cent)
• be more likely to purchase products or services from the company (23 per cent).
