5 Ways Companies Can Make the Hiring Process Less Painful

Searching for a job is one of life’s most stressful tasks. The candidacy process is often unfriendly. Some might even say cruel. Unemployment causes significant anxiety, depression, and stress (Paul, K et al., 2009; McKee, R F et al., 2005). Extended unemployment beyond a few weeks is associated with an increased risk of mortality from all causes (Delgado, P. et al., 2023; Nie, J. et al., 2019). Companies can do more to safeguard job applicants' mental and physical health.

Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

The average time it takes to fill a job has increased steadily since 2009. It now takes 68 days to fill a white-collar position. That’s 26 days longer than it was in 2010. The average wait time from application to hiring varies by industry. For example, health services (49 days), finance (42 days), government (36 days), education (35 days), and information technology (32 days) (Maurer, R. 2016). When one must wait weeks and months only to be rejected, it can shake the confidence of even the most optimistic candidates.

The Most Rejected Man in America

Daniel Seddiqui, whom USA Today called “the most rejected person in America,” aims to help others learn from his pain (Bell, D. 2022). Daniel and I decided to collaborate to offer companies better ways to humanize their hiring practices.

Daniel graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Southern California, where he also competed as an athlete in track and field. Rejected after 120 job interviews, he sent over 18,000 emails and made 5000 phone calls before pivoting to craft his own career path.

In a desperate attempt to make his own opportunity, he set a goal to work 50 jobs in 50 states. This culminated in his best-selling book, 50 Jobs in 50 States: One Man’s Journey of Discovery Across America. Daniel now manages an internship program he created for college students called Living the Map. Students earn college credit while exploring five jobs in five states in five weeks.

Daniel shared some egregious experiences of corporate cruelty with me. For example, he applied for a regional sales manager position for a national beverage company. They asked him to visit four grocery stores and research their product placement. He was then asked to create an hour-long PowerPoint presentation on improving product visibility. He spent a week doing unpaid research for the company. Daniel prepared his presentation and shared it in front of four hiring managers. They gave him enthusiastic praise.

The hiring committee regaled him with the sweet benefits he would receive in the position. They left him feeling confident that he was under serious consideration. When they still hadn’t notified him after two weeks, he called them only to learn the job was given to someone else. They hadn’t bothered to notify him.

A month later, a representative from that same beverage company told him the new hire had quit. They invited him for an interview with a new hiring manager. This time the interview was an hour away. Daniel arrived at the interview site on time. The hiring manager never showed up.

How to Avoid Inflicting Unnecessary Pain

Companies that treat candidates this way cause unnecessary pain. They also hurt their company brand.

My psychotherapy clients share similar stories with me as they try to lower the anxiety and stress of looking for work. While job-hunting stress isn’t entirely preventable, hiring managers can prevent unnecessary stress-producing situations. With just a few simple changes, employers can reduce harm stemming from rejection.

Here are five ways employers can find the best candidates while causing the least amount of psychological suffering:

1. Prepare a strict timeline: Time is valuable for everyone. Human resources and hiring committees should agree on a timeline and include it in the job post. Limit the number of interviewers and designate a hiring manager to make the final decision. Google and Amazon both found anything over five interviews offers no added benefit (Tarki, A. et al., 2022). Improved efficiency saves money and lowers the risk of losing good candidates. One of my clients endured 16 interviews over two months only to get rejected after the final round. The more time allowed to pass, the higher risk of exacerbating anxiety and stress.
2. Communicate clearly and promptly: Clear communication can lower anxiety, even if it’s bad news (Kay, A. et al. 2022). Ghosting, defined as breaking off communication without explanation, is rising. 77 percent of job seekers say a prospective employer has ghosted them. Some applicants (10 percent) report that an employer ghosted them even after providing a verbal job offer. Ghosting has also been trending amongst jobseekers: 28 percent have ghosted an employer, up from only 18 percent in 2019. 7 percent of new hires don’t even show up for their first day of work (Threlkeld, K. 2021).

   We each play a part in creating our culture. Implement a communication “golden rule.” Strive to communicate with others as you want them to communicate with you. Let applicants down with dignity and respect. Write a personalized email, or, even better, make a phone call. Tell them about other positions available at the company that might be a better fit or that you will keep them in mind for future opportunities.

3. Limit the candidate pool: Funneling too many applicants through the vetting process wastes time and doesn’t necessarily help you find the best talent. There are several ways to limit the candidate pool. Employers should stop posting “phantom jobs,” or jobs that don’t exist. Fishing for talent in this way lowers trust. Candidates become suspicious of being duped when they observe the same posting on a job board for months. Take postings down when a job has been filled. You can limit the candidate pool by providing screening tests for basic skills and/or detailed information about the duties and work environment. You can also narrow the funnel by limiting the time a job is posted or taking the posting down after a specific number of applicants apply (Cappelli, P. 2019).
4. Don’t Require Free Labor/Research/Ideas: Employers often ask for too much. Daniel’s example of providing free market research for a company is only one of the many ways employers leave applicants feeling exploited. Clients tell me potential employers have asked them to create presentations that would: improve the company’s website, create a better brochure, develop new product ideas, and identify ways for the company to save money. These ideas take hours of brain power and labor. If you need to see a sample of work product for your company before hiring, consider paying top applicants a stipend for their time. Hopeful applicants feel unfairly used when they receive a rejection after investing time and effort in the hopes it will help them land a job.
5. Let the Candidate Decide: Hiring managers sometimes quickly rule out candidates based on arbitrary assumptions. Don't assume a candidate would not want to relocate from their lovely beach town or that the candidate is overqualified. Don’t assume you know from looking at an application why a candidate might want or not want a particular position. Many people might prefer a job with fewer responsibilities, less pressure, and an hourly job so that they have more free time for family or a hobby or to care for an aging relative. Take the time to find out what the applicant is looking for and why they want the position you’re offering. If the candidate looks great and is willing to take the job at the salary you can offer, let them decide.

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Employers can attract qualified candidates, save time and money, lower stress and anxiety, and protect their brand by applying a little bit of human kindness and consideration. It’s the right thing to do.