Accountants' and employers' recruitment expectations vary

ACCOUNTANTS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS have widely differing expectations about how long a recruitment process should take, research has found.

A white paper by recruitment specialist Robert Walters found that 83% of accountants expect a full recruitment process – from application to job offer – to take four weeks or less. By contrast, 73% of employers say it takes longer than this in practice.

Additionally, 61% of accountants expect a response within four days of applying for a job (85% expect a response within six days) and 71% expect a job offer after two interviews.

"Accountants are sending a clear and consistent message regarding how they like to be treated when applying for jobs – they don't want to be kept waiting too long and they like to be updated at all stages," said Andrew Setchell, director of commerce at Robert Walters.