Talent & Tech Asia Summit 2024
human resources online

How long should the interview process take? 82% say less than a month

A new survey from Glassdoor of 1,100 employed or employable adults in the US finds that the majority (82%) would want the entire interview process to take less than a month, while two in five (40%) said less than a week is ideal.

Glassdoor’s chief economist Andrew Chamberlain found that the average length of the interview process in the U.S. is 23.8 days in a 2017 survey. However, even the jobs with the fastest interview processes globally are a minimum of eight days or more.

Julie Coucoules, Glassdoor’s global head of talent acquisition, explained: "Nobody likes to have their time wasted, which is why it is so important for employers to provide the necessary information up front to allow people to make good decisions about the jobs they are applying for."

ALSO READ: How a negative candidate experience really impacts your business

Among the other aspects of this survey were the biggest frustrations of job-seekers:

  1. A lack of information about a job’s total compensation package (50%)
  2. Potential employers canceling or postponing interviews (50%)
  3. Potential employers not responding in a timely manner (47%)

Conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor, it also highlights specifically what would make candidates pull out of a recruitment process:

  1. Employer announcing layoffs (44%)
  2. A poor first interaction with a recruiter or hiring manager (40%)
  3. Reading negative reviews from employees (35%)
  4. Hearing about employee or leadership scandals (33%)
  5. Reading negative news coverage about the company (32%)

ALSO READ: Have you ever been ghosted by candidates?

So what constitutes a positive job application experience? Nearly three in five (58%) said that a company communicating with them clearly and regularly is what they want.

More than half (53%) also said they would want a company to set out clear expectations for them so that they could prepare well, while 51% said getting feedback from the company, even if they were not successful, would be appreciated.

A company explaining how many interviews candidates might need to go through and who those interviews might be with would make for a positive experience according to 45%, while a close 43% would welcome a simple and efficient online job application process.

Photo / 123RF

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top Human Resources stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's Human Resources development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window