Savvy job seekers and informed hiring companies are constantly on the search for information about the recruiting process in 2018: What works/doesn’t work in 2018, what trends are emerging, how long should a candidate wait to receive an offer, how can we boost our acceptance ratio, how important is compensation to a candidate, and more. These are valid questions with sometimes elusive answers, but the good news is that you’re not likely the only person or company who’s asking the very same question.

data

Each candidate, position, and hiring process is unique of course, but there are enough similarities across situations that allow us to use available market data to help close the gap between “I wonder” and “that’s probably pretty close”. Solid, representative survey data can help everyone involved build a deeper understanding of trends, statistics, and what’s happening with other candidates/companies. We can then interpret that data and consider how it can help us achieve positive recruiting outcomes.

Some interesting and insightful information provided by our friends at LinkedIn include the following 5 statistics (#1 is awesome, read it twice!):

  1. 89% of talent: Being in contact with a recruiter can make them accept new job faster.
    That’s 89%, folks. Those who say that recruiters don’t matter have yet to work with a good one.
  2. 87% of professionals are either actively or passively open to new job opportunities.
    Yes, that includes YOUR employees, despite the cool coffee bar you just put in. The good news is that recruiting firms can connect with the same 87% of professionals working for your competitors who are also looking for work and bring them to you.
  3. The 3 most important factors cited by professionals in evaluating a new job: Compensation (49%), Professional Development (33%) and work/life balance (29%). Reread that, comp rules.
    There is way too much noise out there about the fluffy things that presumably have significant impact on job seekers and offer acceptance. Most of them are probably valid, but only when compensation is market-competitive and otherwise aligned. Try getting your team to ignore another firm’s offer of a 25% pay raise to market levels by talking about that cool, new, fuzzy dream-space area that you just put in or that Taco Tuesday thing. Good luck with that.Get some valid market comp data, interpret it strategically, and invest your cash directly into your most vital asset – your people– not some feel-good trend.

    Pay them well (and do everything else right, too!) if you want to boost employee engagement, employee retention, career development, job tenure, employee performance and outcomes. Then watch the positive impacts on organizational effectiveness, business performance and tactical & strategic objectives, all by making sure that you hire and retain the very best people.

  4. 94% of talent wants to receive interview feedback, but only 41% actually receive it.
    So, let’s get this straight: 59% of candidates do not receive meaningful feedback. Wow. There are many additional stats that support this point, but the 53% gap (94% seek, 41% receive) is truly striking. There’s clearly some significant room for improvement on this one.Perhaps even more compelling for the “let’s fix this” path forward is #5:
  5. Candidates are 4x more likely to consider a company in the future if they receive constructive feedback after an earlier interview with the firm.
    Want to build your employee brand and get new hire referrals? This may be a good place to start – build a reputation with job seekers as a company where “you always know where you stand in the process”.Yes, I know. We’re afraid to tell candidates anything, but it doesn’t have to be that way. HR and Legal can provide guidance on how to provide meaningful feedback without crossing into potentially troublesome areas. Standard phrases, structured email templates, whatever – but we need to develop a viable method to share feedback in order to build our employer brand.

 

So, let’s get back to #1 – working with a top-notch executive search firm has a significant impact on the successful execution of talent acquisition initiatives, according to 89% of professionals surveyed. In today’s labor market conditions, talent is in the driver’s seat…let’s listen to them.

We can source candidates directly from your competition (that 87% noted above), focus a team of superbly talented professionals entirely on your search if desired, based upon the nature of our engagement agreement. We deliver better-qualified candidates, coach them through the interview and offer evaluation process and get them on your team in significantly less time than required when using traditional recruiting methods. Supporting data is out there and may well be the subject of a future blog post.

Still having difficulty buying some of these statistics? Well, it’s all in the data – and there’s plenty more where that came from. So, the next time you’re facing a tough search assignment, know that you’re not alone! Let’s talk about how we can find that purple squirrel you’re hunting.