Company Loyalty Important in Hiring

That was the finding of a recent survey by The New York Times Job Market, the newspaper’s online recruitment arm.

According to the Times poll of New York area company officials and job seekers, eight in ten hiring managers assess a recruit’s loyalty before making the hiring decision.

Virtually all hiring officials and job seekers say the best way to measure loyalty is by whether the person keeps a good attitude during the hiring process, according to the poll.

Finding a Good Attitude
How do the hiring officials tell a good attitude from a bad one?
One hiring manager offered this suggestion, according to the Times poll: “It is how [job candidates] present themselves, their knowledge of the field they are in and their desire to improve on it.”

Also on the list of pre-employment factors to use in judging loyalty, according to the company officials:

• referrals
• length of previous employment
• level of position sought

Job seekers’ list was slightly different with referrals topping the list, followed by the candidate’s educational qualifications and level of position sought.

When considering a candidate’s length of employment at a previous job, hiring managers expect an average three-year stint to indicate corporate loyalty while job seekers suggest an average two years at the earlier job would be appropriate.