More than half of Irish jobseekers would refuse offer if recruitment process left a bad taste

Giving a potential new hire the time and space to make a decision was also important for 52pc of jobseekers. Stock image

Caoimhe Gordon

February 03 2023 02:00 AM

Almost 60pc of jobseekers in Ireland said they would refuse a job offer if they had a negative experience throughout the recruitment process, according to new research from IrishJobs.ie.

In a time of almost full employment in Ireland, 59pc of the 955 Irish respondents said they would opt not to take a job if they felt there was bad chemistry with interviewers or if discriminatory questions were asked.

The survey was conducted by the jobs platform in partnership with Boston Consulting Group and hiring platform association The Network.

A further 41pc of those surveyed reported they would also refuse an offer of employment from a company if they felt the selection process was unprofessional. Jobseekers said they would be unimpressed if the journey from application to offer was too long or disorganised.

Employers could improve the chances of a job being accepted if they are open to negotiation. A total of 67pc of jobseekers said this would entice them to take a role, while over half said a tour of the workplace would persuade them to accept.

Giving a potential new hire the time and space to make a decision was also important for 52pc of jobseekers.

Irish professionals differed from most global respondents, with work-life balance ranked as the top priority when deciding on a new position. This contrasted from those in other countries, with financial compensation the main deal-breaker in most locations.

For those surveyed in Ireland, salary placed second, followed by flexible work location and hours. While 55pc said they would prefer a hybrid model, only 16pc said they would like to be fully remote.

A total of 45pc of jobseekers look at the salary first when consulting a job advert, followed by the location of the role.

The importance of clarity around remuneration in a job posting was evident in further findings from the survey, with 54pc stating that indicating a salary range is the most important part of a good job advertisement.

“While a negative recruitment experience can dissuade a lot of people from accepting a job offer, work-life balance is still the number one deal-breaker for Irish professionals,” IrishJobs.ie general manager Sam McIlveen said.

“Increased salary and higher seniority may be enough to attract candidates – but what they look for in the longer term is good work-life balance and flexibility.”