When companies engage with job candidates, a new survey reveals the importance of following up—even if they opt not to hire them.
The Conference Board survey found that 18 percent of candidates who didn’t hear back from a company after an interview took a negative action against the company. That includes declining to recommend it to others or leaving a negative review. And only 7 percent applied for another job at the same company in the future. Indeed, businesses that don’t respond to job seekers risk taking a reputational hit, losing out on future talent who read a negative review, heard an unfavorable opinion about the company, or who felt mistreated during a previous experience with them.
Additionally, the survey revealed that the number of interviews a candidate must endure to get a job could be dialed back. There is a disconnect between the number of interviews both candidates and hiring managers think are necessary versus the number that actually occur. Both candidates and hiring managers believe only two rounds of interviews are necessary, but nearly a quarter of candidates had four or more rounds of interviews.
Both candidates and hiring managers also agreed that formal education is not as important as work experience, yet many companies still include formal education as a hard requirement for hiring.
The latest workforce survey from The Conference Board polled more than 1,100 individuals—predominantly office workers. Respondents weighed in on job-hunting preferences, hiring practices, and interview processes.