Our Director of Talent Intelligence – Gary Towers – was joined by Giles and Alex to look at our latest Candidate Insights report and walk through some big learnings.
Compiled by our Talent Intelligence team and powered by Candidata™, the report is based on an extensive survey of 7,000 candidates across 25,000 vacancies and 18 industry sectors, providing an unparalleled look into candidate attitudes and motivations.
What can we understand about the candidate market in 2024? What do candidates want?
Why are candidates applying?
We’ve seen some changes over the past few years. Coming out of the pandemic, candidates were looking for career changes and we saw a large number of over 50s leaving the job market altogether! But now, career progression is the dominant factor for many job seekers (42%).
Home-based/flexible working might only make up 4% of candidate motivation, but this is likely because more workplaces offer flexibility since the pandemic, so it would naturally be less likely someone is searching for something that already exists in their current workplace!
Generationally, we’re seeing that Generation “Boomer” (9%) and Generation Y (10%) are less likely to seek a different profession. This is predictable and typical, as these older generations are likely at a point in their lives where they feel settled with their chosen career.
Overall, we see that 65% of colleagues intend to move on at some point in their working life – which is quite a reassuring statistic! If an employee comes to you and says that they’re thinking about moving on to pastures new, don’t take it personally. Statistically, it’s not you – it’s them!
Perceptions of artificial intelligence
It’s the topic of the hour – but for how long is anybody’s guess! Employers are starting to consider the pros and cons of generative AI, such as when it’s used as a tool by candidates to cheat the system!
Candidates seem to lean more positively towards AI (although there’s a caveat to that!) 83% felt there was a need to learn new skills and adjust to a world with artificial intelligence shouldering its way into work. So if you don’t offer AI training in-house, now might be the time to invest!
However, when it comes to the recruitment funnel, be aware that candidates don’t necessarily want to be exposed to AI when applying for work. 74% of candidates said they wouldn't like to apply via a chatbot as they worry it takes the human out of the process. This is why our support team - which supports our ATS users and the candidates of our clients - is powered purely by humans!
What influences candidates to apply for your job?
Let’s list the stats:
10% - recommendations from a friend or peer
11% - the description of the salary/benefits in the advert
21% - the organisation’s Glassdoor rating
37% - the description in the job advert
17% - flexible working offered
3% - the organisation’s careers site
21% of candidates being influenced by Glassdoor came as quite a surprise! So be sure to monitor how colleagues perceive you online. What’s notable is that 51% of these responses come back to how the job advert is created. There can be a perception that the job advert isn’t as important and that candidates just give it a quick scan, but we’ll soon see this isn’t the case at all!
The importance of ED&I
91% of candidates say that a company’s equality, diversity, and inclusion policy is important to them when applying for a role – and this is a consistently strong response over the past few years! It’s important to say that this isn’t about virtue signalling, it’s about real, transparent change. Diversity can come in many forms, whether that’s skin colour, gender, sex or even age. Find out what makes your organisation diverse and show that off in your job adverts. As a quick win, attach your ED&I policy to the job advert. Candidates are looking for it!
Candidates want videos
Images and videos in your job advert can increase the quantity and quality of candidates. We’ve been banging this drum for years and the tide isn’t changing! Job adverts with videos (31%) will lead to you rejecting fewer candidates than job adverts without (58%). What we see here is that videos seem to encourage quality candidates to step forward because they engage with your company culture before submitting an application.
We practice what we preach, with our recent hiring spree being accompanied by a video that showcases our culture. You don’t need a fancy camera or video team to make this! Just pull out a decent phone and capture some clips.
Advertise your work/life balance
Whilst 81% of candidates have said that they would not apply for a role if the salary wasn’t advertised, 79% say that the work/life balance is a primary driver for them. That doesn’t mean salary isn’t important – but it’s not the ultimate priority. However, notably, it’s less important for Generation Z. This makes sense! Looking at the current economic landscape, Generation Z is looking at things like getting on the housing ladder, so they’re looking for income that can help with that. But for the older generations, make sure you emphasise your company culture.
This is likely why candidates say they wouldn’t apply for a role that doesn’t advertise salary! Concealing that information shows a lack of transparency, and for some job seekers, can be a red flag for your company culture!
Monitor the length of your applications
71% of candidates are applying for work via mobile phone. Can you imagine spending an hour working through an application form on your phone? One of our clients - Isle of Man Government - has achieved 100% candidate satisfaction because they regularly survey their candidates and keep a close eye on the length of their application process to make sure they're not asking too much at the early stage.
We're not saying you should invite high volumes of applications (after all, quality is key!) but don't lay down unnecessary barriers. You can always ask for more information at the second stage. But kick off by asking yourself "What's essential?" Then wait before asking "What's desirable?"
The action plan
This is just a small snippet of what we uncovered in this year's Candidate Insights report. If you want to download the full report, it's right here! But if you don't have the time, here's our action plan below! 👇
