The Current State of Candidate Experience
March 4, 2026 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
It’s rough out there for job candidates, especially for salaried professionals and management/senior leadership candidates. Based on the latest CandE Benchmark Research in 2025, it’s one of the worst candidate markets in recent memory. Candidate resentment – the percentage of candidates who told us they wouldn’t engage a business and brand again due to a poor candidate experience – has never been higher globally.
However, there are employers that delivered and sustained a quality candidate experience this year, from pre-application to onboarding. Join Survale's Kevin Grossman, VP of Benchmark Research, as he reviews data from the 2025 CandE Candidate Experience Benchmark Research and Award Program, and what’s coming for 2026. Each year the CandE Benchmark Research Program surveys tens of thousands of candidates across four countries and dozens of industries to assess and benchmark candidate experience. Kevin will share the latest insights from the 2025 CandE data.
During this workshop you'll learn:
- What’s driving candidate resentment this year and why
- The realities of AI in recruiting and hiring and the impact on candidate experience
- What employers are doing to ensure consistent communication and feedback loops
- How employers are ensuring a positive experience impact on their business and brand
Hosted by:
Location
Robert Half San Jose
225 West Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA 95113
Program Cost
SHRM Member: $30
SHRM Non-Member: $60
Program Speakers
Kevin W. Grossman is the VP of Benchmark Research at Survale, responsible for candidate and employee experience benchmark research. Since 2011, the CandE Benchmark Research & Awards Program has focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience and has worked with over 2,000 employers and surveyed nearly 2 million candidates. In 2025, Survale acquired the CandEs from ERE Media. And in 2026, Survale will launch the EmployE Benchmark Research & Awards Program, based on the CandEs.
Kevin has over 26 years of domain expertise in the human resource and talent acquisition industry and related technology marketplace. He’s been a prolific industry writer since 2004 and his first business book on career management titled Tech Job Hunt Handbook was released in December 2012 from Apress. His second book titled Candidate Experience: How to Improve Talent Acquisition to Drive Business Performance was co-authored with Adela Schoolderman, a long-time TA professional, and released in 2022 by Kogan Page.
Kevin holds a B.A. in Psychology from San Jose State University, is an HCI certified Talent Acquisition Strategist (TAS) and Human Capital Strategist and has learning certificates from eCornell on HR Analytics and Diversity and Inclusion. Kevin also writes regularly about positive parenting and personal leadership at GetOffTheGround, and he currently serves as a trustee on the Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) Board.