Candidate Survey Report

About the survey: 112 responses from active candidates on Via. All responses were anonymous and submitted voluntarily

What stands out

LinkedIn profile review and salary benchmarks have the broadest overall demand, with 63 selections each. When candidates are forced to prioritise, salary benchmarks ranks first at 41 selections. The priority results suggest candidates value practical, decision-ready tools rather than generic content alone.

Candidates aren't only thinking about salary when an offer arrives. They're trying to understand their market value much earlier in the journey - while deciding which opportunities are right for them, what level they should be targeting and whether a role represents genuine progression.

For employers, that makes salary transparency more than an offer-stage consideration. The information available before an application may influence whether the right candidates enter the process at all.

Question for HR

How easy is it for a candidate to understand their potential value to your organisation before they apply?

There's an interesting message behind those responses: candidates aren't necessarily asking employers to make hiring easier, they're asking for better tools to help them perform at their best.

That challenges the traditional idea that preparation sits entirely with the candidate. Giving people clearer expectations before an interview could create a better candidate experience while also helping hiring teams have more meaningful conversations with applicants.

Question for HR

Are you assessing a candidate's potential? Or, are you partly assessing how well they managed to decode your hiring process?

Candidate experience is often viewed through the parts of the hiring journey an employer can see: the application, interview process, communication and offer.

But for candidates, the experience starts much earlier.

Their journey follows this pattern: deciding what they're worth, identifying suitable opportunities, understanding whether they're qualified, preparing an application and deciding which employers are worth their time.

That suggests some of the biggest opportunities to improve candidate experience may exist before a candidate ever clicks Apply.

Question for HR

Could you be doing more to support candidates before they apply?

We listened. Then we built.

The purpose of this research wasn't simply to understand what candidates want. It was to do something with what they told us.

Candidates told us they wanted more support navigating their careers. From understanding their value and strengthening how they present themselves, to preparing for interviews and making more informed decisions about their next move.

So we took that feedback on board.

Career Navigator is Via's response.

Built with recruitment expertise at its core, Career Navigator is designed to give candidates practical guidance throughout their job search. We don't just want to be a platform which provides job opportunities but also helps our candidates become more informed, better prepared and more confident about the opportunities they pursue. Through Via or elsewhere.

Because we believe a recruitment platform shouldn't only help someone find an opportunity. It should help them be seen, be matched then be found.

Why should that matter to HR?

Candidate support might sound like a candidate problem. We don't think it is. And you shouldn't either.

When candidates have better information and better preparation, employers have the opportunity to meet people who understand the role, have thought more carefully about their fit and are better equipped to demonstrate what they can bring to the organisation.

And when that support exists alongside the hiring journey, candidate experience can extend beyond application forms, interview scheduling and status updates.

It can start earlier. While candidates are deciding which opportunities deserve their attention in the first place.

That's where Via can play a different role for employers.

Via isn't simply another place to advertise vacancies. By combining opportunities with candidate guidance and career support, we're working to create an environment where employers can match candidates who are actively thinking about their next move and have access to tools designed to help them navigate it.

For HR and Talent Acquisition teams, that creates an opportunity to think beyond candidate attraction alone.

The question isn't only: "how do we get more candidates into our hiring process?"

It's: "how do we help the right candidates arrive better informed and better prepared?"