Study: Companies' hiring sites are lacking in these areas...
The hiring processes of Fortune 500 companies are lacking the personalization that job seekers are looking for.
That’s according to AI-powered human resources company Phenom’s ninth-annual State of Candidate Experience: 2025 Benchmarks Report, which found that 87% of Fortune 500 companies fail to use AI and automation to hyper-personalize their career sites.
Yet, nearly half (47%) of American 18-34-year-olds say companies’ career sites should be able to learn what jobs they’re interested in the same way the algorithms of their social media platforms learn what videos and posts users might be interested in, according to a recent survey commissioned by Phenom and conducted by The Harris Poll.
Phenom found that in a survey of Fortune 500 candidate experiences across 14 industries, 88% did not suggest related job openings based on current job title and skills, while 87% failed to use AI and automation to hyper-personalize career sites, and 83% did not have a chatbot on the career site that provides job recommendations.
In addition, Phenom’s report found that 83% of career sites did not show recently viewed jobs, and three-quarters (76%) did not automatically detect the candidate’s location and suggest relevant jobs nearby. Seventy-four percent did not clearly articulate the employer value proposition throughout the candidate journey in a way that was easy to find, and a similar number (73%) did not feature a lot of relevant, quality content that conveys the employer brand throughout the candidate journey.
When it comes to where Fortune 500 company job sites did well, 96% had well-written job descriptions with at least three clear responsibilities and qualifications, and 91% provided the ability to upload a resume and cover letter from mobile devices. Eighty-two percent provided an easy mobile-apply process in three steps or less.
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To improve the candidate journey, Phenom recommended the following:
- Deliver industry and job-specific personalization Generic career sites create friction and waste valuable time for candidates looking to learn about jobs and submit applications, according to Phenom. Companies should personalize the candidate experience by serving up hyper-relevant content and work opportunities based on context including the candidate’s preferences and experience.
- Build a skills-forward career site Strong candidates navigate career opportunities based on transferable skills rather than rigid job titles or industry boundaries. Phenom says organizations must reimagine their career sites, where talent can instantly connect with relevant opportunities based on their individual capabilities, and where job descriptions prominently showcase the skills and competencies that drive success.
- Invest in conversational AI and automation Phenom says companies should expand their talent acquisition team’s capabilities 24/7 with advanced conversational AI that provides instant support throughout the entire candidate journey. These AI-powered chatbots should seamlessly handle questions, recommend relevant jobs, conduct preliminary screening, and even support the application and interview scheduling process.
“There is a clear divide between companies experimenting with AI and those truly harnessing its power to accelerate talent acquisition processes and transform candidate engagement through hyper-personalization,” said John Harrington, senior director of product marketing at Phenom. “In today’s economy, AI-powered recruitment isn’t just an advantage – it’s survival. Organizations can automate up to 90% of hiring workflows while improving candidate experience. Those who resist this evolution won’t just fall behind; they’ll become irrelevant in a market where efficiency and speed directly determine viability.”
Methodology
Phenom's analysis of Fortune 500 career sites was conducted based on the representation and performance of each organization’s career site, application process, and communication with candidates across three phases of talent acquisition: Attraction, Engagement, and Conversion. It also assessed how well companies used AI and automation technology throughout the process (e.g., use of a chatbot, personalization, automated communications, intelligent search functions, candidate scoring, and more).
To conduct the audit, Phenom appraised the digital candidate experiences of the Fortune 500 from October 2024 to March 2025 using several criteria across three categories. A separate analysis of their use of AI was also performed.
The Harris Poll's survey was conducted online within the United States on behalf of Phenom from May 20-22, 2025 among 2,055 adults ages 18 and older.
