Overview

The Common Reports article identifies the most commonly requested searches and include this report type. To learn how to run searches and reports in the iCIMS system, see Creating a Recruiting Workflow Search. To learn how to save a report for future use, see Saving Search & Output Templates.

This article provides information for two related searches. Click below to jump to a specific section in this article. 

• Time to Complete Application: Incomplete Candidates
• Time to Complete Application: Complete Candidates

Helpful Hint: When creating a search, it is helpful to first come up with a clear idea for your report. Think about which candidates you want to report on (the "Who"), what details you want to know about them (the "What"), and how you want to organize the information (the "How"). The more specific you are with your idea, the easier it will be to break it down into these three sections, which will help you choose the right Keywords and Filters (for "Who"), Columns (for "What"), and/or Group-Bys and Sort-Bys (for "How") for your report. This three section concept is used below to create the searches below.

Time to Complete Application: Incomplete Candidates

1. Break your report idea down into the three sections to help determine the best way to create your search:

1. Who are you reporting about: Using filters, you can narrow your search down to show only candidates who did not complete the career site application process. 
2. What do you want to know about them: Using columns, you can view the application steps that see candidate drop-off. 
3. How would you like this information organized: Using group-bys, you can organize your results by career site and application step, as different career sites may have different processes. 

2. To create your search within iCIMS Applicant Tracking (ATS), from the top menu bar, select Search > Recruiting Workflow. The "Who," "What," and "How" directly correlate with the three sections (A, B, and C, respectively) outlined in the below image.

A. Keywords and Filters: Who are you reporting about?

To search for candidates who did not finish the online application process, add a filter for Current Application Step. To remove any candidates who did not apply through a career site (such as those who were submitted by a recruiter), add a filter for Source Origin. 

• Keywords: N/A for this report.
• Filters:

B. Columns: What do you want to know about these candidates?

To view the application step that candidates left off on, add a column for Current Application Step. To quickly see where the majority of candidates are dropping off, add a column for Count (%). To see how long it takes candidates to reach a certain step in the application process, add a column for Time to Complete Application Steps. 

• Columns:

C. Group Results By and Sort Results By: How would you like this information organized?

To separate candidates by career site to review each career site's process individually, add a group-by for Source Portal. To quickly review the breakdown of where candidates are dropping off, add an additional level of grouping for Current Application Step. 

• Group Results By:

•  Sort Results By:  N/A

Understanding the Search Results

 

In the above screenshot, the majority (58%) of incomplete candidates who started an application on the external career site stopped their application on the Candidate Profile step, meaning most external candidates who abandon their application do so during this step. The average time spent on the Candidate profile step is only 1.74 minutes, which means candidates aren't staying long before dropping off. From this, we can infer that perhaps candidates start building a profile, see that the process is very long, and decide not to continue.

• Candidates who (1) did not fill out an application themselves (e.g., whose resumes were imported via email or submitted by a recruiter), (2) applied before iCIMS 16.1 Release, or (3) withdrew their application will appear in the search results under the Current Application Step: Blank grouping.
• You may encounter some very high numbers that don't seem to make sense. This can occur due to some "outlier" candidates with completion times that skew the data, such as a candidate who never logs out of the site. This can cause the system to believe that they have taken hours to complete your application when that is not the case. 
  • This can be remedied by adding the Time to Complete Application Steps (Minutes) filter to your search to remove candidates with very high values for their time to complete application. Simply add the Time to Complete filter,  input a number of minutes that makes logical sense as an "upper bound" limit, and change the filter to say "Less Than or Equal To." 
  • This effectively limits the times that we accept as valid.  It may take some trial and error to find a reasonable cut-off point or upper bound, but a good starting point is 120 minutes. By cutting out anyone that takes more than 2 hours to complete the application, you can limit bad data in your report caused by issues on the candidates' side. Review your data to find a good cut-off point that works for your organization. 

Time to Complete Application: Complete Candidates

1. Break your report idea down into the three sections to help determine the best way to create your search:

1. Who are you reporting about: Using filters, you can narrow your search down to show only candidates who completed the career site application process within the past 6 months.  
2. What do you want to know about them: Using columns, you can view the average time it takes candidates to complete the career site application process.
3. How would you like this information organized: Using group-bys, you can organize your results by career site and job as different career sites and jobs may have different processes. 

2. To create your search within iCIMS ATS, from the top menu bar, select Search > Recruiting Workflow. The "Who," "What," and "How" directly correlate with the three sections (A, B, and C, respectively) outlined in the below image.