New survey data from recruitment firm Robert Half Singapore reveals that jobseekers within Singapore’s financial sectors are becoming increasingly impatient during the recruitment process.

The survey of 150 CFOs found that the majority, or 67% candidates have become more unwilling to wait to find out if they got the job compared to 12 months ago. Even after accepting a position, 88% are willing to quit within the first month and 91% during their probation period if the job doesn’t match their expectations.

Reasons for leaving during the first month include poor management (59%), followed by a discrepancy between the job in practice and how it was advertised (49%).

“As Singapore’s financial employers continue to battle an ongoing skills shortage, top candidates are increasingly gaining leverage during the recruitment process,” Robert Half said.

On reasons why finance candidates have become more unwilling to wait to find out if they got the job, more than half (54%) of CFOs cited a change of attitude in job applicants – which is indicative of the power balance shift towards candidates in a skills-short market. Other reasons include an increase in counteroffers (46%), an increase in jobs available for finance candidates (45%), an increase in the number of interview rounds (41%) and an increase in the total duration of the hiring process (20%).

Robert Half stated that the survey results indicate that Singaporean employers need to streamline their hiring process and make a decision fast once they have found a suitable candidate in order to secure the best talent for the role.

Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore, commented, “ Oftentimes, job seekers receive multiple job offers, which puts them in a much more favorable position when interviewing for a role. Consequently, top candidates are unlikely to wait around if they haven’t received a timely response before accepting an offer elsewhere, highlighting the need for employers to act fast once they have found a match – otherwise they risk losing their preferred candidate to the competition.”

Thus in order to attract and retain the best candidate for the job, businesses need to streamline the recruitment process and provide an engaging experience at every stage, right from initial contact through onboarding and beyond, he added.