“The recession has dropped a deluge of candidates on companies’ doors—but that doesn’t translate into foolproof hiring,” Scott Erker, Senior Vice President of Selection Solutions for DDI said. “The fact is that companies still have to find the same needle but in a much larger haystack—the overabundance of available candidates isn’t an insurance policy for better hires.”
The study, “
Are You Failing the Interview,” was conducted in late 2008 to take the pulse of hiring managers about how they think they’re doing in interviews—and to measure hiring concerns during a down economy. The study also examines candidate reactions to
interviewing practices. DDI researched 1,910 hiring managers/interviewers and 3,523 candidates in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K.
Interviewers think they’re bullet-proof. When interviewers revealed their top concerns in the hiring process, asking illegal questions was at the bottom of the list, with only 5 percent of interviewers ranking it among their top three worries.
But, when asked to identify illegal questions, between 30 and 40 percent of interviewers don’t know that asking about marital status, religious affiliation, age and family can result in a lawsuit. In addition, a staggering 80 percent don’t know it’s illegal to ask health related questions, like “how did you hurt your leg?”
Candidates report consistent experiences—1 in 3 said they've been asked "Are you married" by an interviewer and 1 in 5 have been asked if they plan to have children.
“This isn’t just a matter of courteous behavior—companies are more vulnerable now to legal backlash,” Erker said. “Interviewers are under a microscope when they’re exposed to so many candidates who are desperate for a paycheck.”
In fact, discrimination lawsuits increase during recessions, when candidates are more likely to cry ‘foul.’ The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) saw a decline in the number of discrimination charges for the past five years, but in 2008, the number jumped by 15 percent from 82,792 to 95,402 charges.
Mixed emotions on social media. One in four interviewers say they check social networking sites for information on candidates. As expected, the practice is more common among younger interviewers—almost half of interviewers under 25 look at Facebook and similar sites for information about candidates. Even though few interviewers report using these sites, 60 percent of those who do are using the information they find online to inform their hiring decisions.
What do candidates think? Less than one-third believe that what they put online impacts a job search. “Job seekers need to be aware that their social media presence can truly have a negative effect on their job search, Erker said. “And, employers should be even more cautious because they can stumble over information that shouldn’t be a part of their hiring decisions, like ethnicity or religious affiliation.”
Overloaded interviewers make snap decisions. In a climate where every open position is in the spotlight and companies are receiving thousands of resumes in hours, employers have to be even more diligent in finding the candidate with the motivation for their job—not just any job.
Hiring decisions can be worth millions to an organization, but nearly half of interviewers spend just 30 minutes or less making a decision about a candidate after the interview is completed. And, 46 percent of interviewers are concerned that they can get enough information to make a decision.
When asked to grade themselves, Seventy-three percent gave their interviewing skills an A or B, many citing impeccable instinct as a major factor. In fact, 44 percent of hiring managers rely on instinct rather than training methods for conducting interviews.
“Interviewers need to keep themselves from making knee-jerk hiring decisions, especially now that they are looking at more candidates and it’s easier to miss key information,” said Erker.