Singapore jobseekers’ top gripes: Slow feedback, poor communication

• Feb 05, 2018

SINGAPORE employers are potentially alienating job candidates with their slow feedback and poor communication during the recruitment process, new research from recruitment consultancy Robert Half shows.

Nearly half of the 500 jobseekers polled across Singapore cited slow feedback on where they stand in the recruitment process as the top frustration when applying for jobs, followed by poor communication about the required steps in the recruitment process.

Delayed decision making by the prospective employer ranked similarly highly on the list.

According to Robert Half’s research data, 42 per cent of professionals apply for 10 or more roles simultaneously.

Some eight in 10 jobseekers regularly receive multiple job offers when looking for work, with 36 per cent “often” or “always” getting more than one offer, Robert Half said.

Just over half of respondents also said they generally do not receive feedback from potential employers about their interview performance, and 61 per cent were not given a reason why they were not offered the job.

As a result of such delays, 47 per cent of jobseekers said they would not recommend a company as a potential employer, with nearly half going so far as to willingly withdraw their application if they have not received a timely response about the status of their application.

Robert Half Singapore’s managing director Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard said businesses should avoid alienating applicants with long, drawn-out interview processes if they want to secure the best candidate for the job.

“Singaporean companies would benefit from balancing their recruitment process against the expectations and frustrations of jobseekers, whilst simultaneously streamlining their application and interview process. This will help them ensure that delays and other frustrations are not costing them top candidates,” Mr Imbert-Bouchard added.

Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-jobseekers-top-gripes-slow-feedback-poor-communication