Less than one third (30%) of hiring professionals report receiving high-quality applications when they hired their most recent employee. This shows a disconnect between employer expectations and the pool of candidates.
According to Totaljobs, a new hiring platform. Research shows that many businesses rely on rigid screening criteria and manual methods despite the increasing competition to attract talent. Nearly two-thirds of recruiters (63%) continue to manually evaluate CVs. 78 percent use them as their primary method of candidate assessment.
It is possible that high expectations are also excluding qualified candidates. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of recruiters reject candidates with unjustified employment gaps. Another key factor is that recruiters prefer those who have held their previous positions for a long time (30%), and those with experience in well-known companies (28%). These trends indicate that some candidates who are capable may be rejected based on outdated criteria or too narrow criteria.
Natalie Matalon is the Chief People Officer of Stepstone Group. She commented: “There is a clear disconnect in hiring expectations and reality on the job market.” While recruiters are focused on finding the “perfect” candidate, they could inadvertently overlook good applicants because of rigid hiring criteria. Many recruiters focus on unexplained gaps in employment, experience with top employers and tenure requirements. However, these factors do not always indicate a candidate’s capability to excel. Businesses should adopt a more inclusive, skills-based approach to hiring to avoid limiting the pool of talent unnecessarily.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the Rise
Artificial intelligence plays a growing part in job applications. This is especially true for candidates. According to the report, 67 percent use AI tools for tailoring applications. 65 percent also use AI to create and refine cover letters. This trend has changed the way applications are evaluated and reviewed.
AI has a positive impact on recruiters. A majority of recruiters (82%) believe AI has improved application quality. Nevertheless, the same proportion of respondents said that AI-generated submissions felt less authentic. This raises concerns about their reliability when used as an indicator of true capability.
Matalon continued, “AI has transformed the process of job applications, helping candidates to refine their CVs, and make them appear more polished. AI can enhance presentation but it cannot replace human judgement. Recruiters say AI-generated applications are less authentic. Businesses must strike a balance between leveraging AI to increase efficiency and ensuring that humans screen applicants in order to determine true potential.
Rethinking the recruitment process
Researchers found that employers must adapt their processes in order to attract the best talent. Nearly half (48%) recruiters believe cover letters have become less relevant and 26% of candidates say they abandon job applications that ask for one. It is possible that employers could benefit from simplifying the application process by attracting more qualified candidates.
Employers are encouraged to improve their job descriptions as candidates ask for more clarity. They should remove jargon and outline essential and desirable qualities, while also providing transparency about pay and benefits.
In order to streamline hiring, the study suggests that companies use smart matching tools and applicant tracking systems. Platforms with structured criteria, keyword matches and pre-screening can help to improve recruitment efficiency by filtering out unsuitable applicants earlier.
Matalon stated, “Hiring is becoming more competitive. Businesses must rethink how they attract and select candidates. If you rely solely on the traditional screening methods, and strict criteria, then you could miss out on some exceptional talent. Businesses can improve the quality of applications by focusing on clear and concise job descriptions, streamlined processes and an integration of AI with human evaluation.
