Malpractices by candidates during online assessments biggest fear among recruiters: Report

Malpractices by candidates during online assessments is one of the biggest fears among recruiters and talent acquisition (TA) specialists, a report said on Monday.

Fraudulent practices by candidates during online assessments have emerged as the biggest fear of the participants (39 per cent), followed by anxiety over finding the right candidate for a role (37 per cent), according to a report by AI-powered recruitment automation firm HirePro.

The lack of effective tools to gauge specific skills has emerged as the next significant worry among 26 per cent of recruiters, it added. The report by HirePro is based on a survey among 837 recruiters, talent acquisition specialists, and HR professionals during October 2023 to March 2024.

It further revealed that in the recruitment planning phase, the anxiety of finding the right candidate for a role (37 per cent) is the biggest concern for recruiters and talent acquisition specialists, followed by the uncertainty of meeting hiring targets (32 per cent), in case it concerns planning for high-volume hiring and hiring for specific skill sets.

In the candidate engagement phase, the report found that the inability to ascertain whether candidates are exploring multiple job offers (29 per cent) and the anxiety surrounding offer rejections or candidate no-shows (28 per cent) are among the top fears.

This is followed by the stress of losing candidates due to budget constraints (25 per cent), it added. During the interviewing phase, the management of candidates' and hiring managers' availability is a concurring challenge, the report noted.

The responses from recruiters revealed that candidates not showing up for interviews (30.5 per cent) is ranked as the top fear and candidate impersonation (27.5 per cent) and delayed feedback from hiring managers (27 per cent) add to this stress, it added.

When it comes to college hiring, the report highlighted that the absence of automation or the dependency on manual processes (23 per cent) is the most significant challenge. This is closely followed by the stress arising from high-volume hiring (19 per cent), it stated.

"The findings from this report act as a mirror, reflecting the unfiltered emotional challenges and apprehensions faced by recruitment teams every day. The anxieties are real, be it fraudulent practices of candidates in assessments, finding genuine talent, overcoming offer rejections, or combating candidate impersonation," HirePro Chief Operating Officer S Pasupathi said.

Many organisations complain about the lack of talent in the market, but the challenges behind going unattended and leveraging automation and adopting advanced assessment and video-interviewing platforms will make the process of recruitment more efficient thereby making recruiters and TA professionals fearless, he added.