Is your hiring process helping you attract top talent - or holding you back?
At a time when skilled candidates are in short supply - especially in real estate and surveying - many employers are still relying on slow, outdated hiring processes. But in a fast-moving talent market, speed matters.
The longer your application and interview process drags on, the more likely it is that your ideal hire is walking into a competitor’s office - or losing interest altogether.
So, is your lengthy hiring process quietly sabotaging your success?
The reality: top talent doesn’t wait around
The best candidates know their value. If they’re actively looking, they’ll often be interviewing with multiple companies. If they’re passive candidates, they’re even more likely to be put off by an excessive number of hoops to jump through.
If your process involves multiple stages, long delays between steps, or generic application forms, there’s a good chance you’re losing great people before you even speak to them.
And in a market like this - where senior valuation surveyors, asset managers, and capital markets professionals are in high demand - speed can be your competitive edge.
Why the process gets bogged down
There are lots of reasons hiring processes slow down:
Internal approvals take time
Multiple stakeholders want to meet the candidate
There’s a desire to “compare a few more CVs”
There’s concern about making the wrong hire
These are valid concerns - but if they result in weeks of indecision or poor communication, the damage is already done. By the time you make the offer, your ideal candidate has often moved on.
The candidate experience matters more than ever
Lengthy hiring processes don’t just lose candidates - they damage your employer brand. A candidate who’s left waiting weeks without updates is unlikely to feel positive about your company, even if they do end up joining.
In contrast, a smooth, respectful, and engaging process builds enthusiasm. It tells candidates: “We’re decisive. We value your time. And we’d love to work with you.”
Streamlining doesn’t mean cutting corners
Hiring quickly doesn’t mean hiring carelessly. It means designing a process that gets you the insights you need without unnecessary friction. Some ways to do that include:
Limit interview stages: Two well-structured interviews can often do the job of four.
Be upfront about timelines: If there are unavoidable delays, communicate them early and clearly.
Use tech smartly: Tools like video pre-interviews or scheduling platforms can speed things up without losing the human touch.
Trust your recruiter: If you’re working with a recruitment partner like SONDR, lean on our candidate insights. We’ve already done a lot of the legwork for you.
SONDR’s approach: speed, without compromise
At SONDR, we specialise in real estate and surveying roles - and we know how fast things can move. That’s why we work hard to keep things moving for both clients and candidates.
We proactively manage timelines, prep candidates thoroughly, and communicate throughout. Our aim? To ensure you don’t just meet great candidates - you hire them before someone else does.
And because we build deep relationships with the people we represent, we can often cut out the early-stage “CV sifting” altogether. You’ll only see talent we genuinely believe in - and we’ll help you move at a pace that keeps them engaged.