CareerBuilder survey finds hiring decisions becoming more complicated for hiring managers

With a robust group of candidates in the job market, the difficulty faced by many hiring managers is finding the right candidates for the open positions within their companies. Consensus hiring is becoming a standard hiring practice as companies become more careful in their selection. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, almost one-third of survey respondents involved in the hiring process indicated that it required four or more people to make the hiring decision. For 58 percent of hiring managers, two to three people were involved in making the decision to hire. Completed in July 2002, the CareerBuilder survey, "Hiring Today," included more than 480 people responsible or involved in the hiring process.

"Consensus hiring presents challenges to both employers and job seekers," said Dawn Haden, senior career advisor at careerbuilder.com. "As the hiring process involves more decision-makers, employers need to manage the actual
hiring process. And, job seekers are now compelled to identify all the individuals involved in making the hiring decision and then ensure that their job campaign addresses everyone who can influence the final decision."

Education and Experience Versus Company Culture

Nine-out-of-ten hiring managers felt that the right balance of education and experience was the most important criteria in evaluating candidates. Fitting into a company's culture is important to 84 percent of those involved in the hiring process. "The real challenge of hiring managers is finding candidates who are true professionals in their occupation rather than professional job seekers,"
continued Haden. "As hiring managers rate education and experience as the key criteria, Human Resources can easily search for resumes meeting these specific
requirements for their open positions by using our Resume Search Engine, saving time and effort."

The Screening Process

To find the right candidates, 78 percent of hiring managers indicated that they spend both time and effort in screening resumes sent to them by Human Resources. Once screened, 55 percent felt that the candidates provided by Human Resources are well-qualified; however, 17 percent disagreed about the level of quality. Using careerbuilder.com's Resume Search Engine, Human
Resources is able to match the requirements of job postings to the qualifications of job seekers, delivering a more relevant group of candidates to the respective hiring managers.

Aim High to Impress

Based on these findings, it is the supervisors, managers, directors, vice presidents and senior management who have both the responsibility and involvement in hiring new workers. More than half of this management group
stated that they have the responsibility for hiring while 39 percent are involved in the hiring process. Only 4 percent of staff members indicated that they have the responsibility for hiring people to work in a department
while 16 percent of staff members are involved in the decision.

The Survey

The new CareerBuilder survey, "Hiring Today," was conducted from July 11 to July 18, 2002 of more than 480 survey respondents. To collect data for the survey, CareerBuilder commissioned SurveySite to use an e-mail methodology whereby individuals who are members of SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected and approached by e-mail invitation to participate in the online
survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/- 2.5 percent.