How a Tight Job Market Can Make You Lose a Candidate

It is important to keep up with a changing market, so you don’t lose out on the best candidates. Use these tips to help.

At the beginning of 2020, the candidate market was brutal for recruiting teams. There were very few quality candidates that were not already working, so the hunt for solid talent was difficult. While times have changed currently for the majority of workers in retail, food service, hospitality, and other industries, technology is still a tight market with fewer candidates than jobs. Keeping up with changing markets is an important part of recruiting. Here are some tips to help you understand how a tight job market can help you lose a candidate.

Factors Affecting the Technology Job Market

Technology workers have a lot going for them. They have sought-after skills, plus they have a wealth of industry knowledge at their fingertips to inform their job hunt. They can research salaries by market and by job online. They can also read reviews from candidates and employees when applying for a job. Of course, they can closely research your company and learn about everything from revenues to culture.

Recruiters and hiring managers must learn to manage some of the data that is out there whenever possible to make sure the information candidates are receiving is accurate and appropriate. Did you know almost one-third of job candidates have turned down an offer if they found something negative online?

Another area for recruiters and hiring teams to consider is how much time it takes a candidate to apply for a job. The majority of job seekers (60%) have discarded their online job applications as too cumbersome to complete, which is a huge red flag for any hiring process.

When was the last time your HR team took a look at what the application process was like from a candidate’s perspective? You will lose on the best candidates if you make them jump through too many hoops before even getting to the interview.

Then, if the interview drags on too long or if the process has too many steps, you may still lose the candidate. No candidate likes a drawn-out interview process. Think of what we put our technical candidates through. Multiple interviews, a coding or other type of test, background checks, and sometimes more. What if you need a job quickly and don’t have weeks to go without one? What if you have to take time off work from your current job to go through the interview process?

Another way you can lose a candidate is if you left them with a bad taste. Was the recruiter not prepared for the interview? Did they ask intelligent questions that weren’t redundant or repeated? How welcome did the candidate feel upon entering your company and the interview?

A tight job market means that candidates are interviewing you, too. If you don’t make an effort to put your best foot forward, the chances are high that the candidate might walk away for greener pastures.

It’s a competitive market out there for technology talent. That is exactly why companies partner with Blackstone. Find out how we can give you a competitive edge. Contact us today.

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