A recent study has shown that one in three graduate job-seekers has stopped buying products following a negative experience whilst applying for a job with that brand.

The study covered 2,500 graduates and clearly showed that not attending to all elements of the recruitment process could cost the company money.

In this competitive market where good candidates are difficult and normally expensive to find, it is horrifying to discover the almost a quarter (22%) of respondents to the poll had turned a job offer down because of the way they were treated during the recruitment process.

The top five complaints were:

This level of poor process indicates to any candidate that they are not important or valued by the employer. No candidate will believe the company values of the employer unless they are embedded in every aspect of its business.

Employers need to ensure that all levels of the recruitment process indicate how much all candidates are valued - whether recruited or not - otherwise it could end up costing them money and reputation.

*Study undertaken by HR and outsourcing specialists Reed Consulting.