More than half, or 58%, of candidates in the UK, have taken a second-choice job offer because a potential employer took too long to make a decision, according to research from Robert Half UK.

The survey of 1,000 jobseekers, showed that 55% of candidates have waited longer than a month to hear back about a role for which they have interviewed, while 28% have waited longer than six weeks. According to Robert Half, this contrasts sharply with candidates’ expectations of the hiring process as 12% believe it’s acceptable to wait for over a month.

“With 69% of jobseekers reporting they lose interest in the role if the hiring process takes too long, the research found that hiring managers are taking too much time to get back to jobseekers,” the research stated.  “Ambitious UK candidates have 20 applications on the go at once so expect quick hiring decisions. Over a third (35%) want an answer within two weeks and 30% expect a decision within seven days.”

“Employers are in a fiercely competitive battle to find the right skills and talent to take their businesses forward, and they cannot afford to alienate potential new hires with a long, drawn-out recruitment process,” Matt Weston, Director at Robert Half UK, said. “Candidates know that their skills are in demand, which makes it all the more worrying that so many are turning down their dream job because they’ve been left waiting for so long.”

“While it can take time to narrow down a large field of candidates and to conduct thorough interviews, companies who fail to adapt their recruitment process to the expectations of today’s candidates will increase the risk of losing out on the best talent available,” Weston said.