With the job market consistently moving, evolving and adapting to political and economic circumstances the reasons for job rejection and job offer rejection also change in accordance. If we look at the most recent developments to majorly affect the jobs market we have the Brexit vote in June 2016, seasonal January job rush early 2017 and data from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) stating that 52% of UK businesses failed to fill their graduate vacancies towards the end of 2016. So, what effect does all this data have on job placement and just as importantly the rejection of job offers from both sides of the coin?
The Graduate Market
Given the data from the AGR we can start by looking into the reasons job offers might be rejected by graduates.
• They have offers elsewhere: The competition for top talent is fierce. And candidates with the highest grades from the most prestigious Universities can afford to pick and choose where to begin their full time working life. According to RecruitmentBuzz this rejection accounted for 7.1% of job offers in 2016 with banking, engineering and accounting the most affected sectors.
• Timing: Even if a graduate has provisionally accepted your offer of employment, newly qualified graduates might get snapped up without a speedy start date. Social Talent reported on the idea that graduates perhaps don’t have the ties – location-wise or family-wise – that mean they’ll stick around for one position. With more freedom they can pick and choose their final job role, and this can form the basis of a graduate rejection.
Ways in which to reduce the graduate rejection rate published by RecruitmentBuzz include the following excellent tips;
1. Focus on the candidate experience: A number of companies are starting to offer gamification as part of their recruitment process. In addition, informing candidates of their progress in a timely manner and maintaining contact with new employees once they have a start date can help reduce the number of rejections.
2. Consider lowering the entry requirements: Some talented candidates with great experience and soft skills may not have graduated with a first degree or from a top University, but that doesn’t mean you should exclude them from your application process.
The Overqualified Candidate
Now let’s flip the coin and look at why candidates might not receive job offers from companies. In particular for overqualified candidates, they can seem less appealing despite their overwhelming ability to do the job required to an excellent standard. Some reasons overqualified candidates might be overlooked are:
• Longevity: If you are overqualified, why would you stay in a lower level position? Particularly if offered something more from elsewhere? This can be a concern for employers.
• Completion of More Menial Tasks: If an overqualified candidate is used to performing top-level work one employer concern we’ve read about is a willingness to complete lower-level tasks and even a sense of internal competition for other members of staff who feel threatened.
• Fair Pay: Lastly, employers may feel they are unable to afford to pay an overqualified candidate what they are worth.
In times of great job opportunity it can make sense for candidates to apply for a different, higher qualified role. However in times of low job opportunity this answer to a Quora thread on JobMob about hiring overqualified candidates made us smile:
“For the employers smart enough to recognize it and willing to take you seriously, ‘overqualified’ really means ‘qualified plus benefits.’
You just need to do your homework and find them.”
The reasons for job rejection from both sides of the coin can by numerous, complex and entirely dependent on a number of factors outside the candidate’s/employer’s control. The perfect job/candidate is out there – and our team are the individuals to help you find it/them! Search jobs here and register your vacancy here.
Castle Hill House