Contentment among job candidates—a measure of positive experience with the hiring process—has been on the decline since 2021, while candidate resentment remains elevated, according to the latest annual research from the Candidate Experience Benchmark Research and Awards Program, founded by Talent Board and now part of ERE Media.

The latest report is a comprehensive look at recruiting and hiring data collected in 2023 from 150 organizations around the world along with survey feedback from 240,000 job candidates. The report contains reams of benchmarking data from each stage of the hiring process and includes insights on many aspects of recruiting, including the technologies being used, priorities for the year ahead and recommendations to improve candidate experience. The following are a few key takeaways.

Candidates Are Not Pleased

Candidate resentment impacts a business and its brand because candidates who report having a very poor recruiting experience are less likely to apply again, refer others, have any brand affinity, or make purchases from that company, said Kevin Grossman, the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based vice president of research at ERE Media.

“A positive candidate experience can improve how your employer brand is perceived in the labor market, decrease ghosting by top talent and enhance your ability to fill gaps in your workforce,” he said. “Our research tells us that employers have lost their north star of improving and sustaining a quality candidate experience and, unfortunately, candidate resentment is again on the rise.”

Grossman noted that 2023 was a rough year for recruiters, who have experienced marked levels of burnout and layoffs. “For those still on the job, recruiting workloads have increased significantly, with leaner teams doing more with less and applicant volumes increasing, making it difficult to deliver a positive candidate experience,” he said.

John Wilson, CEO of WilsonHCG, a recruitment outsourcing firm based in Tampa, Fla., said that over the last couple of years, employers have begun behaving like the labor market has shifted in their favor and away from the candidates’ market seen during the pandemic recovery.

“Unfortunately, companies forget that the candidate experience should be treated like a consumer experience,” he said. “If employers thought of it like that, candidate satisfaction would go up tremendously.”

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