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Survey Results > Talent Factor

Seventy-Five Percent of Job Applicants Do Not Hear Back From Employers

resume_black_holeJob hunting can be a frustrating process especially if you have no idea whether the employer made a decision or even saw your application. The vast majority (75 percent) of workers who applied to jobs using various resources in the last year said they never heard back from the employer, according to a nationwide CareerBuilder survey.

While this speaks to the challenges of finding employment in a highly competitive market, it also brings to light negative implications for today’s employers.  Candidates who have had a bad experience when applying for a position are less likely to seek employment at that company again and are more likely to discourage friends and family from applying or purchasing products from that company.

Just How important is it to acknowledge every job applicant? 

Eighty-two percent of workers expect to hear back from a company when they apply for a job regardless of whether the employer is interested.  Nearly one-third (32 percent) of workers said they would be less inclined to purchase products or services from a company that didn’t respond to their application.

How your employment brand is presented to job seekers from the moment a job is posted can have a lasting effect not only on your ability to acquire talent, but your business overall. If limited resources and large volumes of applications prohibit a customized response, at the very least, set up an automatic reply with a quick note on the time frame of hiring, so the candidate knows you received his/her application and is aware of your hiring timeline.  Keep candidates informed about the timeline for interviews and when you will make the decision, and always make sure to follow up with candidates who ultimately weren’t chosen after an interview.

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Stephanie Gaspary

About Stephanie Gaspary

Stephanie Gaspary joined CareerBuilder’s corporate marketing department in 2006 as the manager of the marketing communications team. She was responsible for launching CareerBuilder’s first employer blog, The Hiring Site, and was an early champion for using social media as a communications channel to reach both our employer and job seeker audiences. In 2010 she was promoted to director of social strategy and creative services, overseeing CareerBuilder’s 100+ social accounts, establishing social listening and engagement strategies and leading creative execution for both corporate and consumer audiences. Within this role she was able to reshape how we messaged our consumer audiences, knowing many were seeking new opportunities in a very uncertain job market. Stephanie has the ability to understand our customers’ needs and create opportunities to share the CareerBuilder story with any audience through clear and meaningful communication, creative strategies and branded execution to maximize awareness, generate preference and incite action. In Stephanie’s current role, managing director of content strategy, she continues to streamline how we message, educate and interact with job seekers, through our public marketing and communication channels and our paid client services portal channels. Stephanie is also responsible for consumer products, looking for new opportunities to present relevant offers to job seekers throughout their career lifecycle. Stephanie holds an Master's in Business Administration and a Master's in Management - both from North Park University. Connect with Stephanie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sgaspary or on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/sgaspary.
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Curtman40 120 pts

Great article it is so fustrating it is either your interested or not period, especially when you don't have that many candidates to apply.

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Rajpreet 8 pts

Companies only get one first impression. When job seekers go to a careers page and apply, they’re showing interest in that business. Not hearing back could affect them on a personal level. Employers lose out too as you mentioned.

 

Job candidates have more power than ever before and can share their poor experience with their social media networks. But that shouldn't be the only reason a company should improve their hiring process, companies should want to find the best candidates. Setting up automated responses should be a give. There are many automated tools that can help. 

 

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Trackbacks

  1. Keeping Your Cool in Job Interviews; More Interviews the says:
    March 13, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    [...] 75% of applicants didn’t even hear back from the employer in 2012. Not only were you contacted, you’re still being considered. [...]

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