Dive Brief:
- A study by Glassdoor Economic Research found that the four toughest interviews took place in groups, followed by phone interviews, skills-testing sessions and presentations. Glassdoor collected data from 250,000 respondents from 2008 to 2017.
- Glassdoor says that adding a group interview to the recruitment process bumped up the interviews’ difficulty by 13%. Among employers, hospitals conducted the most difficult interviews, some 9.7% harder than other workplaces, while franchises and companies known to hire gig workers conducted the easiest interviews.
- The study also found that hard interviews resulted in the best hiring decisions. Hiring delays are growing worldwide and referrals continue to be the best means of hiring talent, as previous studies have shown.
Dive Insight:
The study found no major differences in interview difficulties between male and female candidates. Since interviews are a major test of candidates’ skills and capabilities, the natural conclusion is that women and men start out as equally talented in the recruitment process and therefore deserve the same career development and advancement opportunities once hired.
Employers who want to increase employee engagement would benefit from the study’s finding that candidates who undergo difficult interviews are more likely to be a better fit for the company and experience more job satisfaction. While this could increase time-to-hire, it would lead to savings down the line with improved retention.
While employers raise the difficulty of their interviews, they also must consider the candidates' expectations of the job and workplace culture. Recruitment marketing matters. What you put on display during the interview process sends a message about the kind of people you want and the company you want to be.