EBOOK
2022 Candidate Experience Report
About the 2022 Report
The talent landscape in 2022 is one of the most competitive in recent memory. With the Great Resignation in full force and inflation at record highs, organizations have experienced increased turnover and an even greater challenge of filling those empty seats.
At the heart of this story are the candidates. Job candidates are more than just job seekers. They are the people who become employees, who go on to hire others, and who make up the fabric of every organization. At one time or another, we are all job candidates.
This report dives into the thoughts, feelings, and desires of job candidates today. The results in the report are based on a survey of 1,967 job candidates from around the globe, representing a wide range of industries and backgrounds.
Every organization hiring today knows the importance of a positive candidate experience. The results from the report shed light on what candidates want, how they feel about the state of hiring today, and what leaders in HR, recruitment, and talent acquisition can do to win over top talent.
Key report insights and takeaways
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Flexibility is the #1 priority for job candidates. Candidates ranked work-life balance as more important than compensation, work culture, and benefits. 33% of candidates have turned down a job because it didn’t offer flexible or remote work options.
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54% of candidates have abandoned a recruitment process because the salary didn’t meet expectations. But that wasn’t the only reason. 53% abandoned a recruitment process because of poor communication, and 32% because the recruiting process took too long.
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67% of candidates are “very confident” that their next job will be satisfying. And 79% of candidates are confident that they will be paid enough in their next role.
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28% of candidates feel disadvantaged by the traditional hiring process. And 35% of candidates feel that their job experience holds them back.
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94% of candidates say assessments demonstrate their potential well. And 74% agree that assessments help them demonstrate their potential beyond their past experience. Asian and Black candidates were more likely to feel this way compared to White candidates.
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51% of candidates prefer game-based assessments. The Technology and Retail industries were the most likely to prefer them, and Asian and Black candidates were more likely to prefer them compared to White candidates.
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52% of candidates feel that AI-based hiring can represent them accurately. But the higher their education, the less confident a candidate was about AI.
Searching for a Job in 2022
How do candidates really feel about the job search process?
Key Takeaway
While there’s no single “right” way to build a positive candidate experience, organizations should stick to the fundamentals by ensuring that the process isn’t overly tedious, stressful, or time-consuming.
Candidates will abandon a sub-par recruitment process
In the wake of the Great Resignation, 2022 continues to be one of the most competitive talent markets in recent memory. With unemployment now lower than pre-pandemic levels, job candidates have more choice, which means they’re less willing to put up with a negative candidate experience. Over half (54%) of candidates say they’ve abandoned a recruitment process because the salary didn’t meet expectations, and 53% because of poor communication from the employer or recruiter. And more than a third of candidates have given up on a role because it lacked career advancement, the company culture got negative reviews, they received a better offer, or the job didn’t offer enough flexibility.
What are the reasons you’ve abandoned a recruitment process in the past?
Candidates prefer up-front salary information.
Salary transparency is one of the hottest topics of 2022. Candidates overwhelmingly agree that they’d rather see salary information front and center in a job description: 57% strongly agree and 25% somewhat agree.
Key Takeaway
With 54% of candidates saying that they’ve abandoned a recruiting process when the salary is misaligned, salary transparency in the job description can save a lot of time, effort, and heartache for both employers and candidates.
Candidates are confident in their ability to command pay.
Candidates may be hungrier for salary transparency because they’re confident in their ability to command pay. The majority of candidates feel confident that they will be paid enough in their next role: 48% strongly agree and 31% somewhat agree. Interestingly, the amount of confidence varies widely by the different groups surveyed.
For example, candidates in the Retail and Transportation & Logistics industries were especially confident, as were Asian and Black candidates. Confidence also seemed to decrease with age, with younger candidates exhibiting higher confidence than older candidates.
What Candidates Want
Candidates want better work-life balance.
Candidates may hold the balance of power in today’s job market, but employers can stand out in the crowd by offering candidates what they actually want in their next role. We asked candidates to rank seven major qualities that an organization can offer, in order of importance. Here’s where they ended up:
Key Takeaway
Standing out in one or more of these areas can make your organization more competitive in the talent market. And while pay is very important to candidates, it’s not the only way, or even the most compelling way, to catch their eye.
The ideal workplace is flexible, friendly, and fair.
We asked candidates to share three words to describe their ideal workplace, and the most frequently used word by a landslide was “flexible.” But they also listed a few other happy “f-words,” including friendly, fair, and fun.
Key Takeaway
The pandemic has demonstrated that, for many industries, employees can be just as productive at home. Organizations that are mandating RTO (Return to Office) or enforcing strict work hours may struggle to compete with companies that offer more flexible options, especially when the nature of the work allows for it.
Candidates are confident they’ll be able to find what they want.
Job seekers are feeling optimistic that their next role will meet their needs. In fact, a full two-thirds of respondents were “Very confident” that their next job would be satisfying. Confidence levels differed amongst groups – for example, those in the Education industry were less likely to be very confident compared to other industries, and Black, Asian, and Hispanic candidates were more confident than their white counterparts.
Perceptions of Fairness in the Hiring Process
In general, candidates perceive hiring as fair.
A combined 71% of candidates feel that the hiring process, in general, is fair: 40% strongly agree and 31% somewhat agree. However, 28% of candidates feel that they are disadvantaged by the traditional hiring process: 10% strongly agree and 18% somewhat agree. Asian and Black candidates were more likely to feel that the hiring process was fair, but also more likely to feel disadvantaged by traditional hiring.
Candidates feel they can put their best foot forward.
A combined 84% of candidates feel that they are able to demonstrate their full potential to employers: 59% strongly agree and 25% somewhat agree. However, 35% of job candidates feel that their job experience holds them back from finding opportunities: 17% strongly agree and 18% somewhat agree. Men were more likely to feel disadvantaged than women, while Asian and Hispanic candidates were more likely to feel disadvantaged than White and Black candidates.
Candidates are keeping an eye on AI.
Candidates are largely trusting of AI, but many remain wary. Opinions on AI vary widely from group to group. One trend that emerged: the more educated someone is, the less trusting they are of AI. Candidates under the age of 35 were more confident in AI, and Black candidates were 87% more likely to strongly agree that AI-based hiring could represent them accurately compared with White candidates. Interestingly, the Technology industry also showed lower confidence in AI compared to other industries.
Candidates feel that AI-based hiring can represent them accurately
How Candidates Feel About Assessments
Candidates see the value in assessments.
Historically, job candidates haven’t been overly fond of taking tests. But with shorter, more engaging assessments increasingly hitting the market, candidate perceptions may be due for a change. In fact, the vast majority of respondents in this survey see the value in assessments, with 94% of candidates saying assessments demonstrate their potential “Very well” or “Somewhat well.”
Key Takeaway
It may well be an outdated myth that candidates don’t want to take assessments. Every candidate’s goal is to demonstrate their potential, and candidates view assessments as another way to do just that.
Assessments highlight potential beyond experience.
Previous job experience has always been a major part of the talent selection process, but it’s also been a catch-22 for candidates who have lacked opportunity and experience in the past. About three-quarters (74%) of candidates agree that assessments play a part in helping them demonstrate their potential beyond their past experience: 45% strongly agree and 29% somewhat agree. The effect seems to be even stronger for non-white candidates. Just 31% of White candidates strongly agree that assessments help them demonstrate their potential beyond their past experience, compared to 60% of Asian candidates, 47% of Black candidates, and 42% of Hispanic candidates. Younger candidates were more likely to feel the benefits as well.
Pre-employment assessment feedback is a major value-add.
Feedback is one of the cornerstones of a good candidate experience, so it’s no surprise that candidates overwhelmingly prefer to receive feedback on their prehire assessments. 91% of candidates agree (77% strongly agree, 14% somewhat agree) that they like receiving feedback on their assessment results.
Key Takeaway
Share feedback whenever you can. It improves the experience for candidates, and it gives them something in exchange for the time and effort they put into applying for the role.
On average, candidates prefer game-based assessments.
Game-based assessments represent a newer way to make the assessment experience more interactive and engaging. But do candidates actually prefer them to more traditional assessments? Most candidates do, with 26% strongly agreeing and 25% somewhat agreeing that they’d prefer game-based assessments over traditional assessments.
Preferences varied widely by group. Candidates in the Technology and Retail industries were more likely to prefer game-based assessments. Asian and Black candidates were more likely to prefer them over White candidates. And younger candidates favored games much more frequently than older candidates.
