The recruitment industry is far from perfect, as per the recent survey by Greenhouse about candidate experience. Ghosting, a negative trait often seen in dating apps, has unfortunately become a common practice in hiring processes too. Regulatory practices in hiring are not up to the mark, with companies struggling to hire suitable candidates due to basic but expensive mistakes in their recruitment strategies. This is a revelation by the CEO of Greenhouse, Daniel Chait. He also commented on how an employer’s inability to address primary hiring requirements is surprising.
Chait explains that lack of communication remains the paramount concern and half of the job seekers are still facing this issue. The facts from the Greenhouse survey show that at least 41% of the workforce in Ireland is eager for a job change in the next six months. Breda Dooley, regional recruitment manager for Matrix recruitment, says, with potential pay increases, now is an opportune time for a job change.
Dooley also highlights an increasing demand for salary transparency in job applications, which she believes can work to a company’s advantage. Businesses can gain a competitive edge by stating salary offers upfront and thus make their job listings more appealing.
However, people are wary about switching jobs due to disappointing past experiences with recruitment processes. Top concerns from a candidate’s perspective include lapses in communication, extended timelines and the requirement for excessive interviews. It is generally acceptable to have two or three interviews, but six or more is seen as excessive.
Unprofessional behaviours like ghosting even after extending a job offer, love-bombing and baiting are also prevalent, and actions like these can discourage candidates. Along with misleading job descriptions, bias and unfair practices in the interview process and lack of transparency about pay. In one instance, a legal professional was exploited for ‘free legal advice’ after four interviews, only to find out that there was no concrete job offer.
If one is familiar even slightly with the dating app scene, then the concept of ghosting (or icing) would not be alien. It refers to the sudden and unexplained cease in communication by one party. As much as such a practice is known to be normal in love, its implications are quite grave when it takes place in a professional context. Sadly, this unfit practice is fast gaining popularity in the business industry, sometimes even transpiring post a job offer. Needless to say, this creates excessive stress for hopeful applicants awaiting feedback.
“The sustained existence of such issues, and their rising frequency, especially ghosting, is news,” says Chait. He further states that as per survey data specifically for Ireland, job hunters are facing troubling hiring methods, and feeling discouraged by the extensive multi-level interviews only ending in rejections.
Going by the Greenhouse survey, more than half of the 2,900 worldwide employees who took part have been ghosted. Approximately one third were ghosted after their preliminary interaction with a recruiter, another third after their interview with the hiring manager and one fifth after being offered a job.
Chait adds that it is not like such negative practices are ignored. Current job applicants are quite inclined to share their experiences publicly.
On the other end of the spectrum, “love bombing” is another practice. This method involves charming a potential employee by praising them excessively with the aim to increase their interest in a shift. The catch here is that when a job offer is eventually placed, the remuneration is significantly less than what the potential employee’s qualifications and experience should command.
Job seekers are also not fond of “baiting”. It’s a practice to attract a candidate to accept a job based on its advertised characteristics. However, once the candidate joins the company, they realise a switch has been made in the job’s scope, which differs drastically from the original offer.
What’s intriguing about these practices is that companies are essentially causing harm to themselves. As Chait highlights, the capacity of an organisation to recruit and maintain top-quality talent directly impacts their revenue and future growth prospects.
It appears that improper recruitment practices are increasingly being noticed. Modern job hunters are often ready to disclose their experiences on publicly accessible discussion platforms. Close to 80 per cent of participants in the Greenhouse study expressed that a firm’s image and external brand carry significant weight and could alter their decision to apply for a particular role. Besides, any adverse information they may hear or come across about a company’s culture or branding (like on Glassdoor or TikTok, for instance) would be a black mark.
What was particularly striking about the Greenhouse research was that recruitment errors weren’t confined to the application process. A jaw-dropping 78 per cent of Irish job searchers participating in the latest study, who got invitation for an interview, had experienced prejudiced and discriminatory questioning, including inappropriate comments about age, marital status, ethnicity, and sex. More than half of them were left hanging by companies after the preliminary assessment phase, and 48 per cent were seduced with excessive praise followed by stingy offers. 40 per cent of the Irish respondents considered hiring practices in the country had declined.