04/25/2018  // TALENT TRENDS

The 2018 Yello Recruiting Study delves into the career aspirations and job search insights from soon-to-be and recent college graduates. The third annual report compares year-over-year responses and shares new data to help talent acquisition professionals continue to adjust recruitment strategies and stay aligned with industry trends. This report highlights thought-provoking statistics and provides actionable takeaways to help talent acquisition teams leverage these insights to make strategic hiring decisions.

Key insights include:

  • Growth: More than 50% of respondents stated that the most important considerations when accepting a job are career advancement and the type of work they would be doing.
  • Speed: Almost 50% of applicants have multiple offers to consider. Companies no longer have the luxury of believing they are the only offer on the table.
  • Connections: The candidate experience has everything to do with accepting a job. 60% of respondents said the application and interviewing process are the deciding factors behind accepting a job.
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Salary Expectations: Insight Into Compensation Targets

With unemployment rates at 4.1%*, candidates aren’t shy about increasing their salary targets. In the first year post-graduation, 70% of respondents expect to make over $60,000.

Salary expectation breakdown

A graph showing respondents' salary expectations
*According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – The Employment Situation – February 2018

Gender Differences: What Sets Men and Women Apart?

Job search behavior

Women are more inclined to take an event-centric approach to job searching, whereas men are more likely to network.

Females are ~30% more likely to hear of a new job at a hiring event.

Males are ~60% more likely to hear of a new job via a referral.

Salary expectations

Almost twice as many men seek salaries above $85,000.

A chart showing that women are more likely than men to expect salary ranges under $85,000 and men are more likely than women to expect salaries greater than $85,000

Job Searching Behavior: Students Leverage On-Campus Resources

Campus recruiting is more important than ever. 92% of respondents started job searching before their graduation date. These students take advantage of their resources: more than half of all respondents use on-campus resources (career center and hiring events) to learn about new positions.

Where else are they searching?

32%   Hiring event (Diversity conference or career fair)

21%   Career center
15%   Referral
15%   Job board (Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn or other third-party site)

8%   By visiting the company’s website directly

2%   Social media

Candidate Experience Is Everything:
How to Make or Break Offer Acceptance

The risk of under-performing recruiters

A recruiter’s role in the job search process goes well beyond sourcing, scheduling and extending offers. The interactions between a recruiter and a candidate can make or break the candidate’s likelihood of accepting an offer. The candidate experience has everything to do with accepting a job.

70%

Said the recruiter they worked with during the interview process impacted their decision to accept a job

60%
Said the application and interviewing experience impacted their decision to accept a job

Lagging Technology: Equals Lagging Pipeline

Technology is key in building a candidate pipeline and keeping talent engaged with your organization. 1 in 5 respondents suggested a company’s lack of technology could deter them from joining, and 22% are more likely to not engage with a company due to lack of technology during the interview process.

Role of mobile

Is your career site optimized for mobile? Mobile continues to grow in importance. As this number increases year over year, it is vital to a business’s success to provide a seamless mobile experience. This year, 29% of respondents applied to a job via their mobile device.

When asked, “Did your current or future employer use any of the following technologies during the interview process?”

6 in 10
Respondents scheduled interviews online

1 in 4
Texted with their future employer during the interview process

1 in 3
Shared that video interviewing was used

Download the unabridged study to unlock best-in-class talent acquisition strategies.

Download the Full Report