Lever, a recruitment platform used by companies around the world, published a detailed report on the effectiveness of different hiring channels. The analysis covered more than 600 companies and approximately 1.5 million job applicants.

During the period examined, the participating companies hired around 15,000 people — representing approximately 1% of all applicants.

The data provides useful insight not only for employers looking to improve their recruitment processes, but also for candidates trying to understand how to get a job interview and improve their chances of finding the right position.

Not all application channels are equally effective

Lever’s findings highlighted significant differences between the ways candidates entered the recruitment process.

• Applying directly online had one of the lowest success rates. According to the study, approximately one candidate out of every 130 who submitted a standard online application was ultimately hired — a success rate of less than 1%. At the same time, because of the very high volume of applications, this channel still accounted for 43% of all hires in the companies analysed.
• Employee referrals were significantly more effective. Candidates who were referred had substantially better chances of being hired than those who simply applied through an online job advertisement. Despite this, referrals accounted for only 14% of hires.
• Recruitment agencies and headhunters delivered relatively high-quality candidate pools. Although only around 4% of hires originated from recruitment agencies, employers needed to evaluate approximately 25 candidates to make one successful hire through this channel.
• Recruiters also actively sourced candidates through LinkedIn and CV databases. Around 34% of candidates entered the hiring process through proactive sourcing, with recruiters reviewing approximately 65 profiles for every successful hire.

For job seekers, the message is clear: relying exclusively on online applications may significantly limit your opportunities. A more effective job search strategy combines several different channels.

1. Combine different job search methods

Do not depend on a single method when looking for a new position.

Use job boards, recruitment agencies, LinkedIn, professional networks and referrals together. You might begin by identifying around 20 interesting opportunities each week, then narrow the list to the three or four positions that best match your background and career goals.

Rather than applying indiscriminately, focus your efforts on roles where your experience and skills correspond closely to what the employer is looking for.

2. Make yourself easy for recruiters to find

Not every job opportunity begins with an application. Recruiters and headhunters frequently search proactively for professionals who match their clients’ requirements.

A strong LinkedIn profile and an up-to-date online CV can therefore increase your visibility considerably.

Make sure your profile clearly communicates:

• your key professional skills;
• your areas of expertise;
• your most significant achievements;
• the industries and functions in which you have experience;
• relevant keywords recruiters may use when searching for candidates.

A well-structured profile allows recruitment professionals to understand quickly what you can offer and whether your experience could match an available opportunity.

3. Use referrals whenever possible

Professional referrals can be one of the most effective ways to enter a recruitment process.

The Lever data indicated that candidates entering through referrals performed particularly well compared with those applying through standard online channels.

A recommendation from someone who already knows your professional capabilities can provide employers with an additional level of confidence and may help your application stand out in a large candidate pool.

This does not mean asking everyone you know for a job. Instead, build genuine professional relationships with people who understand your work and would be comfortable recommending you when an appropriate opportunity arises.

4. Build a genuine professional network

Networking is not simply about collecting contacts. It is about developing professional relationships with people who understand your expertise and may be able to introduce you to relevant opportunities.

Participate actively in professional communities, industry associations, conferences, online groups and events connected to your field.

Recruiters often use these communities to identify specialists, particularly when searching for candidates with niche or hard-to-find expertise.

A strong professional network also increases the likelihood that someone will think of you when an opportunity becomes available.

5. Create a two-way relationship with recruiters

When a recruiter or headhunter contacts you, it can be worth having the conversation even if you are not actively searching for a new position.

Maintaining relationships with recruitment professionals can help you stay informed about developments in the labour market and opportunities that may not be publicly advertised.

You can also strengthen these relationships by recommending other professionals when an opportunity is not suitable for you. Recruitment networks work in both directions, and being helpful can contribute to long-term professional relationships.

6. Turn the interview into a meaningful professional conversation

Getting invited to an interview is only one part of the process. Candidates also need to demonstrate clearly how their previous experience relates to the employer’s actual needs.

One useful approach is to ask the interviewer about the most important challenges or responsibilities the successful candidate will be expected to manage.

You can then provide specific examples of similar situations you have handled in previous roles.

Instead of giving general statements about your abilities, explain:

• what the situation or challenge was;
• what responsibility you personally had;
• what actions you took;
• what result you achieved.

This makes it easier for the interviewer to understand how your experience could translate into performance in the new position.

A successful job search requires more than clicking “Apply”

Lever’s findings underline an important lesson for candidates: finding a new position is not simply a numbers game.

Submitting more applications does not necessarily lead to better results. Visibility, professional relationships, referrals and direct contact with recruiters can all play an important role in determining whether you reach the interview stage.

Understanding how to get a job interview therefore means thinking strategically about where opportunities come from and how employers identify potential candidates.

A well-targeted application, a strong professional profile and a trusted network can often be more valuable than sending dozens of generic applications.

Source: HR Portal

Flexible working arrangements and the people they work with are among the most important factors for the employees of the future. Base salary also ranks highly, but when it comes to relative importance, compensation is only the third most influential factor among the top five workplace preferences.

PwC Hungary surveyed nearly 13,000 secondary school students, university students and early-career professionals between November 2016 and March 2017 to understand what influences their choice of employer.

According to the research, 63% of respondents were studying in higher education, nearly 20% were already working, and 18% were enrolled in secondary education.

Róbert Bencze, Director of HR Consulting at PwC Hungary, explained that the research was designed to identify the factors students and young professionals consider when choosing a workplace and to make these insights available to employers.

Understanding these preferences is particularly important for organisations facing talent shortages and increasing competition for skilled employees.

Flexibility and colleagues matter most

When respondents were asked to evaluate 36 different workplace factors, flexible working arrangements ranked first, followed by the people they would work with on a daily basis and base salary.

The fourth most important factor was the opportunity to take a sabbatical or extended period of leave, followed closely by interesting and challenging work.

Interestingly, employer brand was not considered particularly important by the respondents. Corporate vision and strategy also ranked relatively low, while honest and transparent communication was viewed as significantly more valuable.

The findings suggest that what employees want from employers is increasingly connected to the everyday experience of work rather than corporate image alone.

Career development remains a key priority

Three quarters of respondents considered Budapest as a potential place to work. Among the preferred industries, financial services attracted the greatest interest, with 34% indicating that they would consider working for a company in the sector.

The survey also explored why young professionals might consider working abroad and what could encourage them to remain in Hungary.

According to PwC, the same two factors appeared on both sides of the decision: financial compensation and career development.

Young people were also open to relocating within Hungary, particularly when a prospective employer was willing to support their family’s relocation or employment needs.

At the same time, working abroad remained attractive because many respondents believed that international opportunities could offer not only higher salaries, but also stronger prospects for professional development.

What can employers learn from these preferences?

The research provides employers with a clearer picture of the workplace practices and benefits that may appeal to students and early-career professionals.

Organisations can use these insights to assess whether their current working methods, benefits and employee experience reflect the expectations of younger generations entering the labour market.

If gaps are identified, employers have the opportunity to adapt their workplace practices before these future employees begin actively searching for jobs.

Employer attraction goes beyond salary

For recruitment professionals and employers, the findings underline an important point: attracting young talent requires more than offering competitive compensation.

Flexible working, supportive colleagues, meaningful professional development and transparent communication can all influence how candidates evaluate potential employers.

This means that recruitment strategies should communicate not only salary and benefits, but also the working environment, team culture, development opportunities and flexibility that candidates can expect after joining the organisation.

For companies competing for high-potential professionals, understanding what employees want from employers can therefore play an important role in strengthening both recruitment effectiveness and long-term talent retention.

Source: HR Portal

Although women represented nearly half of Hungary’s economically active population, men continued to hold the majority of senior leadership and entrepreneurial positions. Changing this requires more than social support: strong female role models, professional networks, inclusive corporate cultures and greater confidence among women themselves all have an important role to play.

These issues were discussed at the “Future Leaders – Are Women the Leaders of the Future?” panel held at Loffice as part of Startup Safary, where senior executives and business leaders examined how organisations and society could support the next generation of female leaders.

International research cited in the discussion had associated greater female representation in corporate leadership with stronger business performance. At the same time, the speakers highlighted that although women occupied a significant share of management positions in Hungary, their representation tended to decline as company size and seniority increased.

The discussion also addressed differences in compensation and career progression, as well as the structural and cultural factors that can make it more difficult for women to reach the highest levels of corporate leadership.

Leadership role models can make a difference

One of the challenges discussed was confidence. Women may sometimes hesitate to pursue senior positions even when they have the necessary qualifications and experience.

Edina Heal, then Head of Google’s Hungarian office, emphasised that supportive corporate cultures and strong professional networks can help more women see leadership as a realistic and achievable career path.

Visible role models can also play an important role. Successful female executives demonstrate that senior leadership positions can be reached despite social and organisational barriers, while also showing that there is no single model for building a successful career.

Borbála Czakó, Global Partner at Ernst & Young, was highlighted during the discussion as an example of a senior executive who had built a long-term leadership career in the financial sector while also raising a family.

Building the pipeline for female leadership

Increasing the number of women in leadership is not simply a question of appointing more women to the highest executive positions. Organisations also need to consider the entire leadership pipeline.

If companies want greater diversity at board and executive level, they need to ensure that talented women have access to the management opportunities, development programmes and career progression that prepare future leaders for senior roles.

Judit Zolnay, then CEO of MetLife Hungary, also highlighted the importance of women learning to advocate for their own professional interests clearly and confidently.

From a talent management perspective, this means that organisations should examine whether high-potential employees have equal opportunities to take on visible assignments, manage teams, participate in leadership development programmes and progress into increasingly senior positions.

Different expectations for female and male leaders

The panel participants agreed that the fundamental requirements of good leadership are not determined by gender. However, women and men may still face different expectations in the workplace.

Traditional social expectations can create contradictory standards for female executives. Women may be expected to demonstrate empathy and understanding, while assertiveness and decisiveness can sometimes be judged differently when displayed by female rather than male leaders.

Nikolett Blaskó, Managing Director of ACG, highlighted generational change among women entering leadership positions, noting that younger female professionals appeared increasingly willing to take risks and pursue ambitious career opportunities.

Inclusive leadership requires the participation of men as well

As long as men continue to occupy a large proportion of senior management positions, they also have an important role in creating more inclusive organisations.

Barnabás Batta, Strategy Director at MITTE Communications, emphasised the importance of helping leaders recognise unconscious assumptions that may influence how employees are evaluated, promoted or selected for leadership opportunities.

Many organisations therefore use training and leadership development programmes to help managers identify unconscious bias and make talent decisions based more consistently on performance, capabilities and potential.

György Simó, Managing Partner at Day One Capital, also highlighted the importance of challenging traditional roles both at work and in private life. Greater flexibility in how responsibilities are divided can help create an environment in which both women and men have broader opportunities to pursue demanding careers.

Changing how leadership is represented

Zoltán Varga, CEO of Central Media Group, drew attention to the importance of broader media representation. If women are shown in a wider range of professional and leadership roles, successful female executives can become more visible to younger generations considering their own career paths.

Presenting women not only in traditional roles but also in business, technology, finance and senior management can gradually influence how society perceives leadership and professional success.

What does this mean for recruitment and executive search?

For companies competing for leadership talent, diversity should begin long before an executive vacancy appears.

Executive search and recruitment processes can support more diverse leadership teams by ensuring that organisations consider the broadest possible talent pool, evaluate candidates consistently and focus on the capabilities required for success rather than traditional assumptions about what a leader should look like.

At the same time, sustainable progress depends on what happens inside organisations. Strong leadership pipelines, transparent career opportunities, mentoring, professional networks and inclusive corporate cultures can all help ensure that talented professionals have the opportunity to progress based on their skills, performance and leadership potential.

Source: HR Portal

Lists of common job interview questions can be found everywhere online. The exact questions you encounter will depend on the company, the position and the interviewer, but many candidates share the same frustration: standard questions often generate standard answers, leaving little room for genuine conversation.

Job interviews work best when both sides communicate openly. Candidates want to understand what an employer is really looking for, while interviewers want to gain an authentic picture of the person behind the CV.

However, some job interview questions are phrased indirectly. The interviewer may be asking one thing while actually trying to understand something slightly different.

Recognising the intention behind these questions can help candidates provide more relevant answers and turn the interview into a more meaningful professional conversation.

1. Why would you like to work for us? Why are you interested in this position?

For candidates who have been searching for a job for some time, this question can sometimes feel artificial. After all, one obvious motivation for applying is simply that the candidate is looking for employment and believes they can perform the role.

However, the interviewer is usually looking for something more specific. In many cases, the underlying questions are:

• What do you know about our company?
• Why does this particular role make sense for your career?
• How does your experience relate to the responsibilities of the position?

A strong answer therefore demonstrates that you have researched the organisation and understand the role.

Mention relevant information you have found on the company’s website, in industry publications or through other reliable sources. Then connect the responsibilities described in the job advertisement with your own experience, qualifications or career goals.

For example, you might explain that you have already performed similar tasks in a previous position, studied the relevant area or developed expertise that could be directly applied to the new role.

2. Have you worked in a similar role before?

The answer may already appear in your CV, which can make the question seem unnecessary. However, a CV can only provide a summary of your professional background.

The interviewer is usually asking you to explain which parts of your previous experience are most relevant to the position they are currently recruiting for.

Instead of simply answering yes or no, highlight specific examples from your career that correspond to the responsibilities listed in the job description.

This may include:

• professional experience in similar roles;
• relevant studies or qualifications;
• voluntary work or projects;
• knowledge of the industry or organisational environment;
• experience working with similar teams, clients or professional terminology.

Concrete examples are particularly effective. Rather than saying that you have experience in “handling customer complaints”, describe a specific situation: what the customer raised, what steps you took, which colleagues or departments were involved and how the issue was ultimately resolved.

You can also demonstrate how quickly you learn new responsibilities by explaining how you have approached unfamiliar tasks in the past, where you found the necessary information and how you developed the required knowledge.

3. In which areas would you like to develop?

This question is often intended to explore a candidate’s self-awareness and areas for improvement. In some interviews, it has effectively replaced the more traditional question: “What are your weaknesses?”

However, the two questions are not necessarily identical.

A candidate may genuinely want to develop an area in which they are already strong, simply because they are interested in becoming even better at it. At the same time, an interviewer may actually be trying to understand where the candidate sees limitations or potential professional risks.

The best approach is to answer honestly while keeping the response relevant to the position.

You can discuss a skill you would like to strengthen, a new area of expertise you would like to acquire or an aspect of your professional performance that you are actively improving. Where appropriate, briefly explain what you are already doing to develop in that area.

If you are asked directly about weaknesses, there is no need to over-explain or become defensive. Everyone has areas that could be improved. The interviewer is often trying to understand whether those limitations would affect your ability to perform successfully in the role.

Understanding the intention behind interview questions

A successful job interview is not about finding the “perfect” answer to every question. It is about understanding what information the interviewer needs and responding clearly, honestly and professionally.

When candidates recognise the purpose behind common job interview questions, they can provide more relevant examples, communicate their experience more effectively and create a more authentic conversation with the employer.

For employers and recruitment professionals, clear and transparent questions can also lead to better interviews. The more precisely a question reflects the information being sought, the more likely candidates are to provide meaningful answers that support an informed hiring decision.

Source: HR Portal – Jobangel