UK Managers Have Itchy Feet Says Survey

9th July 2007

A nationwide survey among managers reveals that almost 9 out of 10 managers have gone for at least one job interview within the last five years. This means that, according to the results of the survey undertaken by training company PTP Training & Marketing, only eleven per cent of managers have not been tempted to look for another job within this period.

The survey of more than 200 managers highlights that 45% of them have had up to three interviews in the last five years, 23% have had up to six interviews and eight percent have had more than 15 interviews!

With a number of interviews behind the majority of our managers most were quick off the mark to know if they had been successful or not in nailing that job. Seventeen per cent of applicants say it took them less than five minutes to know if they were going to be hired while an additional 26% say they came to this conclusion in under 30 minutes. However four out of ten managers claim to believe the job was theirs - although ultimately they weren't chosen - right up to the end of the interview!

There are split views when it comes to agreeing that the job interview is the best tool for hiring. While 47% of managers say that it is the best way to select staff a large contingent of 41% believe it isn’t with 12% unsure. And the quality of the interview is often behind this viewpoint. The majority vote (53%) classed their interviewer’s ability to undertake a productive interview as between ‘poor and average’ and only 14% believed the interviewer to be ‘very good or outstanding’. The three major causes for concern regarding the interviewer were for ‘not giving a clear account of the job and responsibilities’, ‘not asking relevant questions’ and ‘not putting the interviewee at ease’. Other gripes included the interviewer ‘not having the correct information about the applicant’, ‘seeming disinterested in the interview’ and ‘talking too much about themselves’.

The survey went on to ask the participants which well-known person they would most like to be interviewed by for a job. Sir Richard Branson was the top choice followed by Sir Alan Sugar. Michael Parkinson was in third place, Tony Blair in fourth and Gordon Ramsey and Jeremy Clarkson shared fifth place. Graham Norton, Alex Ferguson and Jeremy Paxman jostled for sixth place while other nominees included Prince Charles, Sharon Osborne, Russell Brand and Ken Livingston.

Commenting on the results, Marc Holland, managing director of PTP Training & Marketing says:

“It’s surprising how much movement there seems to be in managerial jobs. The job for life mentality is well and truly over and many managers seem to be on a constant look out for a promotion or change of scene. What is worrying is the lack of skills of many interviewers in what is a key selection process in hiring staff. Basic mistakes in not clarifying the role or not asking pertinent questions could easily lead to taking on the wrong person or the person accepting the job finding that it doesn’t live up to the interview. In both cases this leads to not having the best person for the job in place and can be a very costly mistake.”

For more information log on to PTP’s web site at www.ptp.co.uk.

The top six job interviewers selected by UK managers:

1. Sir Richard Branson
2. Sir Alan Sugar
3. Michael Parkinson
4. Tony Blair
5. (Joint) Gordon Ramsey and Jeremy Clarkson