4 Reasons Why Job Candidates Hate Your Hiring Process

By Andre Lavoie

Your company’s hiring process says a lot to potential employees. But is it saying the right thing?

A 2015 LinkedIn survey found that for 83 percent of job seekers, a bad interview experience can cause them to rethink a job they were initially excited about. That means your hiring process could be scaring off top talent without you knowing it.

By measuring quality of hire, organizations can identify where their recruiting and interview process is failing both the company and job seekers. That way, you’ll know how and why candidates are falling in--or out--of love with your company.

Here are four things that turn job seekers off to the hiring process and how you can improve them with quality of hire metrics:

1. It’s not mobile-friendly.

A 2014 Glassdoor survey revealed that 45 percent of job seekers use their mobile devices to look for employment at least once a day. Whether it’s receiving alerts about new openings, networking with professional connections, or submitting applications, job seekers want to be able to do it all from their smartphones.

The survey also found that one in four job seekers steer clear of companies and positions that aren’t mobile-optimized. So if your career site—or even the job boards you post on—isn’t mobile-friendly, talent won’t give your company much consideration.

When analyzing your hiring process, ask candidates what they found difficult to complete or wish they could do from a mobile device. You might find that it’s not necessary to change every step, but you’ll know which changes are the most important to make your hiring process more mobile--and job seeker--friendly.

2. It takes too long.

According to a 2015 survey from Glassdoor, the average interview process from start to finish is 22.9 days in the U.S.--that’s up from 12.6 days in 2010.

It’s becoming more common for candidates to face multiple interviews, skills tests, and other hiring hurdles. From an organization’s point of view, these additional screens are supposed to do a better job of determining which candidate is the best for the position. But you have to ask yourself: is something really more efficient if it takes almost twice as long?

Instead of lengthening the hiring process with more steps, make sure the ones you include are more thorough and effective. For instance, say you hired Dan because you were impressed with some of his interview answers. But if Dan turns out to be a less-than-stellar employee, it’s time to rethink what questions you’re asking candidates.

3. It doesn’t incorporate company culture.

A major factor in new hire success is their cultural fit. It determines if they’ll get along with co-workers and reflect the values of the company. However, if candidates are never exposed to the company culture during the hiring process, they have no way of knowing if they’ll fit in.

Immersing job seekers in the company culture let’s them know what they’d be getting into by choosing to work there. It also lets hiring managers be more confident about whether or not a new hire will work out in the long run.

Check in with new employees, after they’ve settled in, and find out what parts of the workplace culture were different than they expected. If there were good surprises, you can feature those parts of the company more in the recruiting or hiring process. If there were disappointments, you’ll know how to better represent the company and improve the culture.

4. It doesn’t provide job seekers with feedback.

The mentioned 2015 LinkedIn survey found that while 94 percent of job seekers wanted feedback after the interview, only 41 percent received it. Even if you decide not to offer a candidate the job, giving them feedback on how they did during the hiring process goes a long way in improving your reputation with job seekers.

Take the time to give talent feedback the day after each step. This will not only give them the information they need to improve, but also will allow you to review their performance for a second time. Both you and the candidate will understand why things didn’t work out, without there being any hard feelings.

Not to mention, it’s only fair to provide job seekers with feedback when you need feedback from them to improve your hiring process.

The hiring process is your chance to give potential employees a good first impression of the company. However, if you’re not measuring quality of hire, there’s no way of knowing if your company is putting its best foot forward.