Behind the Numbers

May 24, 2022

Sometimes, the numbers that we see from a "face value" perspective don't always tell us the truth, sometimes they could be lies to cover up something, here are some statistics that demonstrate what really happens "Behind the Numbers"



Looking back at recruitment activity data gathered from working directly with clients and candidates since January 2021 turns up a handful of genuinely interesting, hard numbers worth sharing rather than relying purely on anecdote.


Every single candidate placed over that period started their new role and had their first day at work without ever having a face-to-face interview or in-person interaction beforehand. That held true regardless of whether restrictions were in place at the time, and regardless of whether the candidate and hiring manager were based in the same city or working across an entirely international recruitment process instead.


From July 2021 onward, eighty per cent of candidates being actively worked with in connection with specific role openings were also participating in other recruitment processes simultaneously, with other organisations and agencies at the same time. This is a strong reminder that genuinely strong candidates are rarely sitting still waiting on a single opportunity to come through.


Also from July 2021 onward, the clients who were most successful in having their offers accepted consistently ran a process with only two key interviews. When hiring organisations became too hesitant or overly deliberate about a particular candidate, and later went back to reconsider them, those candidates had typically already accepted a role elsewhere within a window of just two to four weeks, across the entire period examined.


And finally, across many years of running this business, there has been exactly one candidate who ghosted me and my client after receiving a formal letter of offer. If you are reading this, Mike, this one is for you :) 



These small pieces of data hopefully offer some useful, grounded insight into how your own recruitment activities might be tracking against broader patterns visible in the market right now, whether you sit on the hiring side or the candidate side of the table.


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