We came across an interesting article from ere.net recently, which explores how long a position can be advertised before people start to wonder why it hasn’t been filled. Below, we have summarised accordingly.
It’s the same situation in all forms of retail and sales: if nobody is buying it, what’s wrong with it? Going to see a house that has been on the market for over a year in a nice area can often give you the impression that you’re going to find something wrong with it. Even if you love the house, your opinion can be swayed by the fact that it’s still available, what have you missed? What hidden secret has put off so many other buyers?
This is no different in the job market; perhaps it’s even more effective and dangerous. An unfilled vacancy in today’s economy can be bad news for the employer. With such a drought of positions, it must be awful if nobody has taken the role. And the average time before people begin to feel concerned?
72 days.
Randstad conducted a survey amongst 2,000 candidates to ask how many working days a vacancy can remain open before it starts to appear as “a bad job that no one wants?”
The results give the average of 15 weeks or 72 days but much depends upon the job and the candidate. Older people think that positions should be filled faster; health workers extend the average to 83 days whilst construction and engineers lower the average to 71 days. Those working in computing have a lower tolerance still, at 67 days.
UK CEO of Randstad makes the point that “The best applicant is often the one who turns up early in the process.”
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