𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀.

The 2025 Global Candidate Experience (CandE) Benchmark Report, based on feedback from 66,000+ candidates across dozens of countries, makes this distinction very clear.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲:

• Job simulations

• Role-specific case exercises

• Skills-based, job-relevant interviews

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁:

• Generic interview questions

• Hypothetical brain teasers

• One-size-fits-all screening questions

Candidates are telling us something important:

They are willing to be assessed.

They want that assessment to reflect the actual job.

When interviews focus on vague traits or abstract questions, candidates struggle to see the connection between what they are asked, how they are evaluated, and why a decision was made.

That gap directly hurts perceived fairness, candidate trust, and acceptance and reapplication rates.

At Informed Decisions, we see this play out in data every day.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻:

• Skills are clearly defined upfront

• Questions are explicitly tied to on-the-job behaviors

• Decisions can be explained in job-relevant terms

This is not about making interviews harder.

It is about making them more diagnostic and creating a realistic job preview for candidates.

We're seeing so many new hires leave because the job they interviewed for isn't the one they ended up doing.