Like any solid relationship, hiring is a two-way street. Organizations need to be clear about what they’re looking for in their search, and candidates also need to know what their priorities are once they start engaging. Understanding a candidate’s interest level can be tricky, especially if they are actively looking for a new position or juggling several potential offers.

Why might a candidate not be upfront about their interest level? They might be relatively happy in their current role and in the end, unwilling to make a big change. Of course, they could also be using a job offer to leverage better pay or benefits at their current company. Our own research also indicates that interest level can be influenced by the type of role (senior vs junior) and how specific the position name is; including more specific terms can actually increase interest significantly!

There are a lot of factors that go into gauging candidate interest. As you’re sourcing and nurturing candidates, look out for these signs that indicate a candidate is truly interested in joining your team:

They're responsive.

Obviously, positive responses to email or Inmail indicate that a candidate would like to hear more from you. First, how quickly do they respond? Most people check their inbox multiple times a day, even if they are not job hunting.

In an analysis of Fetcher’s clients, we found that a candidate that responds within 6 hours is 58% more likely to be hired, and overall, 54% of candidates that end up being hired respond in 3 days or less. If they are interested in learning more, you can expect a quick reply!

Take note of the tone and language used in replies, too. Are they putting their best professional self forward? If so, they’re likely interested enough to want to learn more and get to the interview stage. Are you getting one-word or overly casual responses? This lack of effort could indicate a lack of real interest in the role. It could also mean that email isn’t their preferred method of communication. If that’s the case, ask them if there’s a better way for you to engage with them.

For more on how to develop subject lines, copy, and calls to action that ensure your emails get a candidate’s attention, check out our blog post on optimizing outreach.

They've done their research.

If someone wants to impress a recruiter or hiring manager, they’ll take time to check out your website, social media, and reviews on Glassdoor or Indeed. Truly interested candidates will go the extra mile to find any recent press releases or news about your company, and may even try to learn more about who they’ll be interviewing with.

While it’s not expected they learn everything before doing an interview, finding out how much a candidate has researched you is an easy way to determine whether they’re invested in the process.

They ask a lot of questions.

On the surface, you want candidates to be just as excited about an opportunity as you are to fill it. However, candidate skepticism is a good thing; if they’re asking meaningful questions it’s an indicator of genuine interest. It means they want to understand the company and the role better!

In turn, these questions can give recruiters insight into a candidate’s mindset, which is why it’s important to review the kinds of questions they are asking. Are they all related to salary and benefits? They may be a perpetually looking for a bigger and better opportunity! Are they completely unrelated to the role and its responsibilities? They may not be qualified. Interested candidates will ask smart questions that help them paint a picture of what life will be like at your company.

They're interested in making a long-term impact.

Some job seekers are just that: perpetually looking for a new or better role. For reference, consider that according to a 2020 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure for U.S. employees is 4.1 years. If you’re engaging with a candidate who has multiple instances of tenures of a year or less, talk to them about what drove them to accept certain roles and their reasons for leaving. References can also reveal why a candidate jumped ship quickly.

If a candidate is truly interested in your company, they’ll want to make an impact. That takes time! Interview questions like, “where do you see yourself in three years” are cliche but can be telling if they have no intention of sticking around. For those new to the workforce, check to see what other areas they’ve shown a level of commitment to — it could be related to their educational background or to a certain skill or hobby.

While it’s impossible to read a candidate’s mind, the above signs point to their being interested in moving forward through the hiring process. Technology can actually help recruiters detect interest levels too — Fetcher’s AI recruiting software is able to “read” a candidate’s email responses and track whether or not they are interested!

More importantly, Fetcher provides analytics to give you a high-level view of which candidates showed interest and where outreach can be refined to improve interest rates. Learn more by scheduling a demo today!

Check out our other blog posts for more talent acquisition tips and insights into recruiting trends.