A lack of information about a job’s total compensation package — including pay and benefits — is among the biggest frustrations for US workers and job seekers during the interview process, according to a Glassdoor survey released today.

Half of the US workers/jobseekers surveyed, 50%, said that this would be among their biggest frustrations, with an equal proportion saying it is potential employers canceling or postponing interviews. Ranking third, 47% said that potential employers not responding in a timely manner are among their biggest grievances.

The report also highlights specifically what would make people pull out of a recruitment process. Forty-four percent said this would be caused by the employer announcing layoffs, followed a poor first interaction with a recruiter or hiring manager at 40% and reading negative reviews from employees at 35%. Hearing about employee or leadership scandals and reading negative news coverage about the company would cause about one-third to pull out of a recruitment process.  

On the flip side, the survey also asked what would constitute a positive job application experience and 58% of the survey participants said that a company communicating with them clearly and regularly is what they want. More than half, 53%, said they would want a company to set out clear expectations for them so that they could prepare well and 51% said getting feedback from the company, even if they were not successful, would be appreciated.

The online survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor in May 2018 among more than 1,100 US adults who are either currently employed or not employed but looking for work.