Dive Brief:

• Forty-five percent of job seekers in an Addison Group survey said the shortest time they've experienced between submitting an application and landing a job was less than a week. But at least 54% of recruiters surveyed in each industry said they believe applicants should expect hiring to take place within a month or less on average, according to the report.
• In other survey results, 4 in 10 recruiters said candidates should expect to receive a response within 48 hours after an interview. At the same time, 40% of job seekers will wait for a response for a week after an interview before they lose interest in the job. Slightly less than half of candidates said they will wait one week to contact an employer if they haven't received any feedback following an interview.
• The report offered tips on cutting time-to-hire, including sharing timelines with recruiters on how much time was spent to hire a candidate for a particular position; fast-tracking exceptional candidates through the process; and cutting a step out of the hiring process, such as skipping a phone interview or getting other stakeholders involved earlier in the process.

Dive Insight:

Just as recruiters want to reduce time-to-hire, job seekers want speedy feedback on their applications and expect to be hired in even less time than recruiters anticipate. Shortening time-to-hire is a priority for more employers, largely because it saves money. But employers must keep in mind that job seekers and candidates want respect and that establishing a good candidate experience is worth the effort.

Employers are beginning to recognize the need to pay applicants and candidates nearly the same attention and respect as their employees. Timely feedback for job seekers submitting applications and for candidates sitting for interviews has long been a source of contention. A Talent Board report released in February found that more than half of candidates who received feedback on the same day as an interview were more likely to have an enhanced relationship with an employer. A poor candidate experience can frustrate and disengage potential hires.

Also, cultivating a positive relationship throughout the recruiting process and beyond reflects on an employer's brand and reputation, which recent research indicates candidates pay more attention to. In fact, reports have shown that job seekers use online employer rating sites to see how employers score and will pass over those organizations with low ratings.