Tech professionals will assume a job vacancy not filled within 67 days means it’s a job no one wants, research by IT recruiter Randstad Technologies suggests.
Some 2,001 members of the UK general public, however, said a job has to be vacant a full week longer – 74 days – before it looks like a role no one wants to fill.
“Tech professionals are far more concerned about the length of time a vacancy’s been advertised than the rest of the UK’s workforce,” said Mike Beresford, managing director of Randstad Technologies.
“(Tech professionals) work in a fast-paced world which rapidly evolves every day. A stagnant recruitment process signals alarm bells.
“Recruiting for a tech post is like trying to sell your house. Leave it on the market too long and, for whatever reason, people start to think there is something wrong with it. That leads to fewer applications and increased pressures on the rest of the staff left trying to cover the empty position,” Beresford added.
“We know tech professionals already feel they are performing the job of one and a half people. If they’re cramming an extra two and a half days worth of work into a working week, they are going to find it extremely difficult to cover for vacant job posts, too.”
Beresford said the ideal recruitment window is actually less than half the time of 67 days – 29 days.
“It may seem obvious, but having a clear plan before embarking on any recruitment activity is vital,” said Beresford.
“The availability of all the stakeholders required to interview candidates, run assessments and finally authorise the hire is the most common cause for delay so something as simple as a co-ordinated diary management approach can make a huge difference.”
