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Here’s What Recruiters Are Looking for Right Now

Topics: Career Advice
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Understanding current hiring trends is helpful when you’re looking to maximize your job search process. A new report from Jobvite sheds some light on what companies are looking for right now.

Over 800 recruiters were surveyed about “attitude, behaviors, fears, strategies, and predictions for how to build the best companies possible — good people, good practices, and good culture.”

Let’s take a closer look at a few of the most important findings from this report.

Experience Matters Most

When it comes to getting hired, experience matters most. But, it’s also a big deal if you can demonstrate that you’re a good cultural fit for the organization. It also matters whether you’re introduced to the company by a current employee.

The most important factor when it comes to how hiring decisions are made is previous job experience. Ninety-two percent of recruiters agreed that it was critical. The other factors that came out on top were a little less obvious. Eighty-three percent said that finding someone who was a good cultural fit for the organization was key. And, 51 percent said that employee referrals carried significant weight when it came time to make a decision.

Certain Traits Catch Recruiters’ Attention

Candidates are more likely to be hired when they display certain abilities and skills during their interview. Demonstrating knowledge of the industry made a significantly positive impact on recruiters’ decision to hire a candidate, according to 65 percent of those surveyed. Sixty-two percent said that someone who demonstrated enthusiasm during the interview made a positive impression. Demonstrating good conversational ability caught recruiters’ attention 69 percent of the time.

Other factors, like coming prepared with questions for the interviewers (29 percent), or bringing a portfolio of work (19 percent), also registered as priorities.

There Are Some Universal Deal-Breakers

Recruiters agreed about some hiring deal-breakers. Fifty-two percent said that bad hygiene automatically disqualified a candidate. Fifty-eight percent said that showing up late for the interview was a deal-breaker. Seventy-one percent felt that checking one’s phone during an interview warranted an automatic disqualification. And, 86 percent said that “being rude to the receptionist or other support staff” meant that the candidate didn’t stand a chance.

The responses revealed lesser factors as well. Twenty-four percent of respondents said that dressing too casually was a deal-breaker. Thirty-eight percent immediately disqualified a candidate who brought food to the interview. Recruiters viewed interrupting the interviewer as a deal-breaker 39 percent of the time.

The Gender and Age of the Recruiter Had an Impact

Not all aspects of the hiring process are within a job seeker’s control. This report found that the age and the gender of the recruiter had an effect on who they hired.

  • Recruiters over the age of 50 were more likely to disqualify a candidate for bringing food or beverages to the interview than were younger recruiters.
  • Millennials were much less likely to use personal style and grooming to assess whether or not a candidate was a good cultural fit than older recruiters were.
  • Those over 50 were more likely to view knowledge of the industry and appearance as top factors. Millennial recruiters were more likely to look for good conversational skills and enthusiasm.
  • Female recruiters cared more about a candidate’s college major and references than male recruiters.
  • Male recruiters were more likely to disqualify a candidate because their dress was too casual. They also paid more attention in general to appearance and personal style.

Bias Continues to Influence Hiring, But Not Everyone Has Goals in Place

Recruiters admit that bias continues to affect hiring choices in 2017. However, only 13 percent said that “increasing diversity at my company” was one of their top three priorities. (This is despite the fact that lack of diversity, especially in leadership positions, is a pervasive problem.) The majority of recruiters, 57 percent, said that they believe that “implicit bias is a real problem within the American workforce.” Yet, 51 percent said they don’t have specific goals in place for improving racial diversity through their hiring practices. Similarly, 52 percent did not have goals aimed at improving gender diversity.

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Jen Hubley LuckwaldtDarth Digital Recent comment authors
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Darth Digital

Gender, age, bias, etc. may affect hiring, or perhaps influence hiring, but I guarantee that those things will not “impact” hiring. Please lose that word and all derivations thereof.

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