Proven Strategies to Slash Candidate Drop-Off Rates
Learn top strategies to reduce candidate drop-off rates, improve hiring processes, and boost engagement with proven techniques from industry-leading companies
You've spent countless hours sourcing, advertising, and promoting your open roles to attract high-quality candidates. Yet at each stage of your hiring process, you helplessly watch your candidate counts shrink.
By the time you get to the offer stage, only a handful of candidates remain from the dozens, maybe hundreds, who initially expressed interest.
What's causing this candidate drop-off? And more importantly, how can you fix it?
Candidate drop-off is the percentage of job seekers who begin your application process, but abandon it before completion.
According to a study by Appcast, candidate drop-off rates can be as high as 92%, with an average of 64% across industries.1
High drop-off rates lead to a host of negative impacts that can cripple your hiring, including:
Reduced quality of hire, as top talent leaves your funnel
Increased time to fill, as you continually have to re-source for roles
Higher recruiting costs, as you spend more to attract enough candidates
The first step to reducing drop-off is measuring it. As the old adage says, "What gets measured gets improved." By tracking your candidate funnel metrics, you can identify where and why candidates are abandoning your process.
When and Why Are Candidates Abandoning Your Process?
Candidate drop-off can occur at any stage of your hiring funnel, from the initial application to the final offer. However, some stages are more prone to abandonment than others.
According to Appcast's Candidate Drop-Off & Abandonment report, the stages with the highest average drop-off rates are:
Completion of application (60%)
Uploading a resume (43%)
Clicking Apply (25%)
So why are candidates jumping ship at these critical junctures?
The top reasons include:
Lengthy, complicated applications: A CareerBuilder study found that 60% of job seekers quit in the middle of filling out online job applications because of their length or complexity. 2
Poor communication: A lack of timely updates, unclear next steps, or radio silence can frustrate candidates and cause them to disengage. Nearly 80% of job seekers say they would not reapply to a company that didn't notify them of their application status. 3
Mismatched role/skills: If your job posting is unclear or doesn't align with the actual role, candidates may feel misled and drop off when they realize the disconnect.
By understanding these common pain points, you can start to identify areas for improvement in your own process. But first, you need a clear picture of your current drop-off rates.
How to Calculate Candidate Drop-Off Rate
To calculate your candidate drop-off rate, you first need to define the key stages in your hiring funnel. While the exact labels may vary, a typical funnel includes the following stages:
View job posting
Begin application
Complete application
Phone screen
Interview
Offer extended
Offer accepted
Track how many candidates make it to each stage. Then, calculate the drop-off rate between stages using this formula:
(Number who entered stage - Number who completed stage) / Number who entered stage
For example, if 100 candidates began your application, but only 40 completed it, your drop-off rate for that stage would be:
(100 - 40) / 100 = 60%
Repeat this calculation for each stage in your funnel. For the most accurate results, gather data over a significant period of time (at least 3-6 months) and for a representative sample of roles.
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Using Your Drop-Off Rates to Diagnose Issues
A high drop-off rate at a particular stage signals a potential issue with that part of your process. Compare your rates to industry benchmarks to see if you are in line with or deviating from the norm.
For example, if your application completion drop-off rate is 80% compared to an industry average of 60%, that's a red flag that your application process may be too long or complex.
Don't just look at the numbers in isolation. Analyze your drop-off rates in the context of other key metrics like time to fill, quality of hire, and offer acceptance rate. Cross-reference with candidate feedback to identify themes and potential areas for improvement.
Regularly review your drop-off rates to track progress and catch any new issues that may arise. Reducing drop-off is not a one-time fix, but an ongoing process of measurement, experimentation, and optimization.
The Ripple Effects of Reducing Candidate Drop-Off
The impact of reducing candidate drop-off rates extends far beyond just filling roles faster. It can have a profound ripple effect across your entire organization.
When you keep more qualified candidates in your funnel, you increase your chances of making great hires. Those high-quality hires tend to perform better, stay longer, and drive stronger business results.
A streamlined, candidate-centric process also boosts your employer brand. Candidates who have a positive experience, even if they don't ultimately get the job, are more likely to refer others and apply again in the future. In a tight labor market, that brand equity can be a significant competitive advantage.
Reducing drop-offs also frees up your recruiting team to focus on higher-value activities, like building relationships and closing offers. Instead of constantly replacing candidates who have abandoned ship, they can invest in creating an exceptional experience for the ones who stay aboard.
Candidate Drop-Off Rates
Candidate drop-off may feel like an inevitable part of recruiting, but it doesn't have to be. By measuring your drop-off rates, identifying root causes, and implementing proven strategies, you can plug the leaks in your hiring funnel.
Streamlining your application, mastering communication, showcasing your employer brand, engaging with relevant content, and soliciting feedback are all powerful levers for keeping candidates engaged from first touch to final offer.
But reducing drop-off is not a one-time fix. It requires ongoing measurement and optimization to sustain your progress. The most successful organizations, like those profiled above, make candidate experience a core competency and area of continuous improvement.
By putting yourself in your candidates' shoes and relentlessly looking for ways to make their journey better, you can become a talent magnet that no one wants to abandon.
The road to candidate retention is long, but the destination - faster hires, better quality talent, and a stronger employer brand - is well worth the effort!
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