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Greenhouse Survey Results

A Greenhouse survey of over 1,500 employees and job seekers discovered that 84 percent of respondents are looking for, or are open to, a new job in the next six months, while over 60 percent of job seekers are unimpressed by time-consuming recruitment processes and are demanding companies create a more modern recruiting experience, according to the 2022 Greenhouse survey Experience Report from hiring software company Greenhouse.

The survey found that a major point of contention among job seekers was how much time it takes to complete the initial application. The length of the initial application is a factor for 66 percent of candidates in determining whether they will complete and submit the application, and more than 70 percent of job seekers said they would not submit a job application if it took more than 15 minutes to complete.

The survey also revealed that job candidates also demanded faster responses from recruiters, as almost 58 percent of candidates expected to hear back from companies in one week or less regarding their initial application. Despite these expectations, many companies are still failing to keep up, and more than 75 percent of job seekers have been ghosted after an interview, never hearing from a company again.

Along with quick responses, the Greenhouse survey found that candidates are also looking for meaningful interactions and actionable feedback from recruiters. Over 70 percent of job seekers said they wanted feedback on an interview while more than 60 percent said that receiving feedback during the interview process would make them more inclined to apply to future jobs at that company even if they did not receive a job offer.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) remained critical for job seekers of all ages when applying for a role, with 86 percent of candidates considering a company’s investment in DE&I during the recruiting experience. However, the survey results found many companies were failing to create a positive and inclusive interview experience as almost 43 percent of candidates have had their name mispronounced in a job interview.

“The results of our latest survey are a call to action for all companies. We’re in the midst of a real role reversal, and the talent pool has never been more selective and vocal about what they want from an employer,” said Greenhouse CEO and Co-founder Daniel Chait. “Companies who are too slow in responding, are careless with how they treat candidates, or who don’t show their commitment to DE&I are losing out on talent.”

The results of the survey are clear: candidates have more choice – and more power – than ever. “Job seekers who face lengthy initial applications, slow recruiter response times and follow-ups, unprepared and late interviewers, inconsistent feedback, ghosting and poor recruiting experience,  will be quick to move on,” the Greenhouse survey warned.

To download a copy, please visit  www.greenhouse.io/blog/key-learnings-from-the-2022-greenhouse-candidate-experience-report

For additional information about how careerandtalenthub can help you get the recruiter’s attention, please visit https://careerandtalenthub.com/who-we-are/

Post written by Forbes Human Resources Council

The Forbes Human Resources Council suggest a few guidelines interviewers can use to ensure they choose the right candidate. As an interviewer, your role is like that of a gatekeeper. Your task is to ensure that any job candidate that makes it into the company deserves to be there. Unfortunately, no matter how many questions you ask potential employees during an interview, the image they present may be quite different from who they truly are.

So how can recruiters make sure that the person they bring into the company can handle their tasks and be a good fit with the rest of the team?

1. Trust Your Instincts

Follow your instincts and use the interview to get to know the person. Too much structure for interviews doesn’t allow for a personal connection and really getting to know someone. The way you do that is to make your interviews conversational and just talk with the candidate. Allow the conversation to unfold. – Diane Strohfus, Betterworks.com

2. Leverage Reference Checks

As with shopping for a new service, many people rely on reviews to inform their decision-making process. This method can offer value when shopping for new talent as well. References provide a unique perspective on the candidate’s performance from a customer’s point of view. This view is important because it focuses on the candidate’s past results, which is a good predictor for future performance. – Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, BMC Software

3. Look At Talent And Cultural Fit

Work experience is nice, but talent and cultural fit are critical. How will this candidate relate with their supervisor and their team? How will they manage the expected work schedule and responsibilities? How well do they understand your customer base? Hiring practices should assess employee fit and job competency, and companies need to use their intuition and data analysis to make job decisions. – Courtney Pace, Ph.D., FedEx Employees Credit Assoc.

4. Give Them A Relevant Task

You will not find a candidate who says, “I suck!” Nor will their references come out and say that. As a result, you have to be creative and dig deeper in your selection process. Our People and Culture team recommends a second interview where the prospective hire can showcase a requirement of the job they will perform. We had our People and Culture Extraordinare facilitate a presentation, and it paid off! – Tish McFadden, Maryland Oncology Hematology

5. Use Behavioral Assessments

Behavioral assessments are an easy and inexpensive way to give you greater certainty that the right candidate will be successful in the role. Resumes and reference checks may provide information on the skill sets the right candidate brings, but the softer side of the equation is often the reason people fail in new roles. – Sherrie Suski, Tricon American Homes

6. Look Past The Resume

Hiring teams get wrapped up in fancy resumes. Sometimes the best hire had the worst resume. Interviewers should ask questions and pay close attention to the answers. What has this candidate accomplished versus participated in? How do they approach work and collaboration with others? What role do they play on teams? Make offers to candidates that most closely fit the role and your organization. – Jennifer Marszalek, Working Credit NFP

7. Trust The Process 

Trust that the interview process, including panel interviews, reference checks and talent assessments, worked and provided enough data to triangulate and align on the “most right” candidate. Then, use those insights to create a plan to onboard the candidate and set her up for success from day one. A “good” candidate can become the right candidate through effective onboarding. – Jessica Delorenzo, Kimball Electronics Inc.

8. Focus On The Future 

I know it sounds strange, but spend less time focusing on past accomplishments. Instead, concentrate the interview on reviewing with the right candidate what needs to be achieved in the first year and what in their background they believe gives them the skills and confidence to accomplish the first year goals of the job. – Dustin Finer, Covetrus

9. Look For Signs Of An Open Mind

If no one stands out at the end of the interview process, take another look at the candidates’ responses to questions that indicate how they would respond to changes and feedback. You always want to choose the right candidate who is open-minded and willing to accept feedback over someone who is experienced but unwilling to admit they can make mistakes or learn new, better ways to do things. – Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.

10. Use Constraints To Reflect The Real World

Most interviewers are effective at asking behavioral questions. One opportunity is to use progressively difficult questions to evaluate the candidate. Start with a real-world problem, then introduce constraints like scale, dates, resources, budget or risks. It increases the evidence of the candidate’s thought process and experience, hints at how your company works, and limits canned responses. – Karen Crone, Paycor, Inc.

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Your career search

If you are new to the job market and are not sure how to get a reference, CAREERANDTALENTHUB will work with you to easily interact with your references and obtain recommendations that will highlight your unique skills and value to a potential employer. How are you going to get the recruiter’s attention? Submit your references at the earliest stage of the hiring process to confirm the experiences included in your resume and move to the front of the line of candidates applying for the job you really want.

By Kathrine Vasal CNN Business

You’ve made it through the interviews and now a potential employer is asking for references. But if you’re a recent graduate who doesn’t have a lot of work experience, who do you ask?

First, consider what an employer is actually looking for. While your resume already shows your work history, a reference can confirm your skills and experience and reveal more about you.

“Typically when people are doing reference checks they’re not really digging for dirt,” saidHugo Malan, president of Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom, a division of workplace solutions firm Kelly. “There are two primary roles: one is simply to confirm the truth of what is represented on the resume. The other is to understand more about the person being hired: if their skills, their character, truly are a fit for the role.”

Think about who you’re going to ask

Companies often get a reference toward the end of the hiring process. But don’t wait until you’re asked to think of potential names. The good news is your list of potential references isn’t limited to relevant job history. “Young adults have many more potential references than they think, they just have to look beneath the surface a little bit,” said Kathy Robinson, founder and career coach at TurningPoint.

You want to consider people who can speak to your skills, work experience and ethic, and character.

“References typically have a lot more validity if the person was in some position of authority,” said Malan. “It doesn’t have to be a job that is necessarily related or even in the same field as what you are applying for.”

The job market is on fire, but new grads still need to network. Here’s how

To get a reference, Robinson suggested considering: any previous supervisors, including summer or part-time jobs or internship, professors, coaches, college advisers for an activity you’ve taken a leadership role in and people you did casual employment for, like babysitting.

“Think about it as a concentric circle,” said Robinson. “Inside the circle, the target is someone who has seen you in action from a work standpoint…someone who has seen your work output more directly.” That could be an internship boss, a professor you did research for, or a faculty adviser to a program you volunteered for. Once you have that core established, Robinson said then you can get a reference, like a neighbor you babysat for, a peer who was on a team with you or a high school or college coach.

Ask permission

Don’t pass along any names without checking in with people to make sure they are comfortable serving as a reference.

“Line up your references in advance and talk to them and make sure they can be a strong reference for you,” said Lesley Mitler, co-founder of Early Stage Careers. “If you hear someone hesitating or a little silence, maybe they feel like they couldn’t be the strongest reference then you don’t want to use them.”

When listing your references to an employer, prioritize them, Mitler recommended. “They may ask for three references, maybe they will check the first one or two and they’ll be fine after that. So list them in order of your preferences.”

Just remember agreeing to be a potential reference right now isn’t a blanket yes for all future job searches, noted Robinson. “You do need to ask them every time.”

Prep your references…to an extent

Once you get the okay to use someone as a reference, make sure you have all their current contact information and provide them with information about the role — but don’t go overboard. The right way to follow up at every stage in your job search

“There is a balance to strike, you don’t want to go so far that you are making your potential reference feel they are being guided to say certain things they may not feeling strong about,” said Malan.

But when it seems like a company might be doing the reference check, Robinson suggested sending an email that provides details about the company and position you applied for andquestions and areas of focus of the interview. She suggested saying something like: “When I think about what I would love you to speak to on my behalf, an example that comes to mind is the project I worked on for X because I talked about that on the interview.

You can also be a little more general. You can make the link for them, but even if you just say: ‘Here are the kinds of questions they asked and here are the competencies they seem to be looking for.’ That helps the person be able to weave those into their answer.

By

Kathryn Vasel, CNN Business 

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References can impress a recruiter, make you a front runner for a position, and advance your career.

The most important step in a successful job search begins with your current employment. Building a base of experience, successfully providing value to the employer and exceeding expectations are achievements that can be used to build your career by confirming your value to your next employer. The ability to obtain recommendations from supervisors and coworkers at a current employment is a valuable asset that can be used to confirm the experience and skill set you listed on your resume.

How  or why would a current employer provide a reference? Employers are well aware that your manager or supervisor may not be there when you need a reference. 

How to choose which reference to use?

Several factors come into play. You want to provide a reference that has the most senior position at the company with whom you worked. The second most important step includes staying in touch with references even if it’s just a casual remark on LinkedIn, social media or just an email. Nothing is worse than providing a reference that a recruiter calls and they cannot recall who you are.

Always contact anyone you plan to list as a reference to notify them that you are seeking employment and permission to use them as a reference. Always discuss your role and remind the reference of the positive attributes you wish them to discuss with the recruiter. Do not expect your reference to receive a cold call during a busy work day and remember all the details about your employment that you want to highlight for your potential employer.

Peers with whom you interacted at other companies during the normal course of business and customers are great source that can describe your work performance, particularly if you are currently employed. These individuals can provide recommendations about you regarding your work at your current employment as well as previous employment.

Another source for references that can highlight your soft skills is your experience relating to volunteer or civic organizations, particularly if you held a leadership role. References with these organizations can describe your attributes and skills that will be valuable to a potential employer.

The majority of feedback from references is generally positive. But even a positive reference can provide insight relating to the value of the employee and minor defects in their employment such as coming in late to work, unwilling to change when circumstances arise or even work extra when needed. These are issues that future candidates for employment should be aware of that could possibly come back to haunt them when they attempt to obtain new employment.

Is the most qualified candidate offered the position, or is that the individual with the best resume? Everyone has seen the statistics relating to the false information provided on a resume. But not every candidate provides false information. The only way to rectify the situation is reference checking. It is a question of either using a hunch or your instincts about an individual or actually obtaining hard evidence of the candidate’s ability to complete the tasks required for the position. It can mean the difference between a successful hire and a drain on resources. According to a SHRM survey, 86% of employers conduct a form of reference checking prior to extending an offer of employment.

The first step to confirm a resume is to include instructions during the application process for the candidate to provide relevant references from a working relationship. ATS applications often come through with either no information about supervisors, or references that have no real relevant connection relevant to the candidate’s performance at their employment. If the candidate is moving on to the next level in the hiring process, discussions should encourage the candidate to provide appropriate references.

The key to a successful reference check begins with a plan that includes what questions will be asked to determine the candidate’s qualifications and how those questions will be asked. Asking questions that prompt the reference to only answer yes or no will not develop as much information and insight as open ended questions. Responses to open-ended questions often develop new avenues to pursue to discuss the candidate’s qualifications.

From our experience in the background investigation industry, we have found that a majority of the references are cooperative and willing to discuss the candidate’s abilities. It is most important to judge the tone of the references responsiveness and willingness to participate in the interview. Often what is not said, or how a reference frames their responses is most important. Contrary to popular belief that references will not provide negative information, we can categorically confirm that this is not the case.

During reference interviews, it is important to establish the position and relationship of the candidate in the work environment to the reference. The most ideal interview with a reference begins with a call into the main number of the employer and then a transfer to the reference’s extension. This step confirms the reference is at the employer indicated by the candidate. Be particularly wary if you if calling a reference on their cell phone. The interview process should always evaluate the reference almost as much as the candidate to confirm that the reference has the knowledge and understanding appropriate for the level required for their position. It is not beyond the candidate that falsifies a resume to take the next step and provide their friends as references. An added layer of protection and confirmation can include a quick Internet search by the reference’s name and LinkedIn to confirm the reference’s status at an employer.

A properly conducted reference interview will confirm experience listed on the resume. Primary areas that should be discussed with a reference in addition to the candidate’s work performance include punctuality, interaction with team members, willingness to be flexible and take on additional responsibilities when needed, and level of dedication to the position.  Open ended questions that ask what stands out most in your mind about the candidate and a discussion regarding their strengths and weaknesses will develop insight. The final question should determine if the candidate is eligible to return if a position is available and does the reference recommend the candidate to a potential employer. Everyone is aware of the consequences of a bad hire. Wasted time, money, and training plus the loss of coworker morale, and the necessity to start the recruiting process to fill the position all over again. The best practices Human Resources can follow to ensure a good hire is the establishment of a reference checking process that includes a plan of action for each reference interview.