Jobseekers in Singapore list their biggest frustrations when applying for a job
Almost half of Singapore jobseekers are willing to withdraw their application if they do not receive a timely response about the status of their application
By Sujin Thomas
Ever applied for a job and then found yourself frustrated at how long it took for the prospective employer to get back to you?
Turns out, jobseekers in Singapore have listed slow feedback (47 per cent) as their top peeve when applying for jobs, followed by poor communication (44 per cent) and delays in decision-making on the part of the employer (44 per cent).
These are the findings of a survey conducted by global recruitment firm Robert Half between December 2017 and January this year among 500 jobseekers in Singapore.
Companies may not be aware of this, but the implications can be far-reaching with 47 per cent of jobseekers saying that they would not recommend such companies as a potential employer.
Furthermore, almost half (49 per cent) are even willing to withdraw their application if they do not receive a timely response about their application status.
It could be a scary thought, but some 52 per cent of jobseekers say they generally do not receive feedback from their potential employers about their performance in interviews and 61 per cent get no wind of why they were not offered the job.
Jobseekers in Singapore are not ones to put all their eggs in one basket either – some 42 per cent of them apply for 10 or more roles at the same time.
The research showed that almost eight in 10 jobseekers regularly receive multiple job offers when searching for work, with 36 per cent “often” or “always” getting more than one offer.
Managing director of Robert Half Singapore Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard said: “Singaporean companies would benefit from balancing their recruitment process against the expectations and frustrations of jobseekers, whilst simultaneously streamlining their application and interview process.
“This will help them ensure that delays and other frustrations are not costing them top candidates.”
