Forty-seven per cent of job seekers have withdrawn from a recruitment process because it was taking too long, according to the latest research by Robert Walters.

Based on a study undertaken in May 2011 - for which almost 800 job seekers were surveyed, as well as hiring managers from over 130 organisations - the Robert Walters White Paper, Managing your employer brand throughout the recruitment process, revealed which factors have the most influence on a job seeker's decision to accept or decline a job offer and found that the length and ease of the recruitment process has a strong influence.

According to the survey, 71 per cent of job seekers think they should only have to undertake two job interviews before receiving a job offer, 46 per cent think they should only have to wait one to two days for a response to an application, while a staggering 91 per cent of job seekers have applied for a job but never received a response.

In addition, 77 per cent of respondents believe that a full recruitment process should take less than one month.

"A slow response rate can lead candidates to view the organisation as disorganised or not placing enough importance on the role they are recruiting for, which creates negative sentiment around the employer brand and can lead candidates to decline a job offer," the report states.

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To avoid this, employers must identify who needs to be involved in reviewing CVs each day so the organisation can respond to applications in a timely manner. Also, prior to advertising a job, employers should determine who needs to be involved in each interview stage and ensure these staff members are committed to timelines and have suitable availability.

"The number of staff involved in the interview process should also be kept to a minimum and employers should endeavour to conduct no more than two interviews for each role."