As is the way with most things, there’s a good-sized disconnect between how well employers think they do at considering candidates, and how well the candidates think employers do in shaping the experience.

The CareerBuilder 2017 Candidate Experience study finds employers are dropping the ball in a number of areas and making the whole process of finding a job tougher than it needs to be, but they don’t realize how their efforts are perceived by candidates — or how much easier they could make it for the people who want to work for them.

However, there’s one clue which could highlight the difference between hirer and hired: A full quarter of employers say the amount of time it took to fill their last opening was too long. And if that’s not enough of a hint, jobseekers’ attitudes reflect how the experience affects them, too, with 73 percent of candidates saying the job search process is one of the most stressful things in life.

While study results indicate 78 percent of employers say they feel they do a good job setting expectations in terms of communication at the beginning of a potential hiring interaction, only 47 percent of candidates say employers actually do (as made pretty obvious by that 73 percent of job applicants).

Unprepared hiring managers, a failure to build a relationship with a candidate in case future opportunities arise, not having an effective career site, and not staying connected with candidates once they’ve accepted the job are just some of the ways employers are failing to provide candidates with an experience which supports their decision to apply for, and accept, a job at the company.

And failing to treat candidates with the same level of respect it treats its employees is another failing too many companies have. Less than half of job seekers (49 percent) say employers treat candidates with the same level of respect and accountability as current employees — although 86 percent believe employers should treat candidates with the same respect as current employees. Nearly 4 in 5 jobseekers say the overall candidate experience is an indicator of how a company values its people.

Not letting candidates know where they stand after an interview, and not having an efficient process to check prospective hires’ backgrounds, are a couple of other ways employers could do better — not just from the candidates’ viewpoints but for the employers’ sake as well.

Maybe the key would be for employers to try it themselves. Although, even there, only 1 out of 3 employers have applied to one of their companies’ jobs to see what the process is like, the report says. Of those, nearly half (46 percent ) say the process was “very good,” but that’s considerably more than the 32 percent of candidates who agree with them that their most recent application experience was “very good.”

Instant Insights /

Gulf looms between employers, job candidates in job-hunting experience

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