Why this matters for TA leaders

Our clients are generating a very healthy top-of-funnel reach

A strong majority of engaged candidates followed through.

This is a sign that the process is attractive enough that when people start, they tend to commit.

TIP: Sova’s new Modern Projects experience comes with built-in, pre-set messages that you can share with your candidates to give them a nudge and remind them they have been invited to complete the assessment. Speak to your CSM to discuss how you can personalise these touchpoints to increase the conversion rate.

Assessment Types

What candidates

actually did

on Sova

Assessment

blended / personality / cognitive

75%

Video Interviews

strategic second lens

20%

VAC

assessment centres & interviews

Partner assessments

e.g. eSkill, language tests

0.5%

Most popular assessment types:

~9%

Cognitive-only

~9%

Personality-only

~55%

Blended assessments

What this says about our clients’
hiring strategy:

For most, blended assessments are default

TA teams are not relying on a single dimension. That means better decisions and fewer regrets.

Video as a second lens, not a first gate

For most, VI is used later in the funnel with a more engaged pool.

Assessment Centres are the final stage

Allocating recruiter time to a small, final shortlist.

Global reach

When the magic happened

Peak Hour: when the internet was basically just your candidates

That’s the moment when:

TA teams were juggling dashboards, hiring managers, and Slack messages.

Thousands of candidates were mid-assessment, wondering if they saw themselves more as a team player or as an independent worker.

Daily behavioural patterns

Weekdays

~13–14k
completions

Higher peaks

Tues/Weds

The power days for candidate activity

Friday afternoon

Everyone mentally off for the weekend already

Weekends

~10k
completions

Lower peaks but more evenly spread

Sunday 4pm

Steady ~10k completions

the “okay, I’ll be productive before Monday” crowd

What this means for you:

Start the Week Strong

If your campaigns open or reminders go out early in the week, you’re perfectly aligned with candidate behaviour.

Be Ready When Activity Peaks

Support and comms should be staffed and ready around mid-week daytime – that’s when the hiring machine is busiest.

Device habits

Once upon a time, applying for jobs was a desktop-only affair. Not anymore.

While desktop remains dominant, mobile usage has grown from under 2% in 2019 to nearly a third of all applications today.

Candidate experience:

did they finish

what they started?

Once candidates start the assessment process, they tend to see it through.

Assessment completion rates

For every 100 candidates who start an assessment, 86 finish.

The biggest drop-off happens before candidates begin the experience, and that’s not a problem to solve.

It suggests early self-selection: people who are not interested or ready opt out quickly. Those who do start are engaged enough to continue, and the majority of them finish.

Who finished an assessment

Who did not finish an assessment

The average completion time is 19.8 minutes

(assessments only, excluding VAC)

Time On Task: respecting candidates’ time

Long enough to capture meaningful data. Short enough that candidates don’t feel like they’re doing a second job.

For TA leaders, this helps when:

• Justifying the process to HRBPs and hiring managers (“No, it’s not an hour-long psychometric marathon.”)
• Defending candidate experience: less than 20 minutes for an assessment is reasonable when compared with typical application and screening time expectations.

Efficiency & time savings

In a traditional hiring process, each candidate would typically require around 30 minutes of manual effort, including CV review and an initial screening call, before being progressed.

Applied to the number of candidates who completed at least one Sova assessment, that’s:

12,446,625

minutes of manual screening saved

that’s

207,444

hours of recruiter effort saved

or around

200

full-time recruiter-years

Yes, more than two centuries of manual screening time no longer required.

This is intentionally conservative. It reflects only early-stage manual screening and excludes scheduling, no-shows, follow-ups, interviews, or assessment centres, meaning the real time burden would be significantly higher.

Video: Seeing the Humans Behind the Data

What this means

More Than Datapoints

Sova clients use video interviews provide human context at scale, complementing structured assessment data.

Structure at Scale

The volume is high enough that without structure and technology, this would be impossible for TA teams to manage.

The takeaway

When we look at the whole Sova community together, a clear picture emerges

Most candidates who start an assessment go on to finish it

Thousands of TA teams invited millions of candidates.

Of those who started an assessment, 86% went on to complete it. This completion rate reflects an assessment experience that places a reasonable demand on candidates’ time and is perceived as fair.

We're buying back recruiter time, at scale

Even with a conservative assumption of around 30 minutes of manual screening per candidate (including CV review and an initial screening call), Sova clients collectively avoided the equivalent of around 200 full-time recruiter-years of early-stage screening.

This is a significant amount of time that teams can reinvest in higher-value hiring activity.

... and TA teams are spending time where it matters

Instead of spreading time thinly across large volumes of early applications, hiring teams are able to reserve attention for fewer, more suitable candidates.

This is where interviews become more meaningful, recruiters can work more closely with hiring managers, and final decisions are more confidently supported by evidence.

Thank you to our customers and partners for the care and effort you put into hiring. We’re proud to support you.

Let's talk

Lessons from a Year of Assessment Data

From “you’re invited” to “done” ✅

Why this matters for TA leaders

What candidates

actually did

on Sova

Most popular assessment types:

What this says about our clients’
hiring strategy:

Global reach

When the magic happened

Daily behavioural patterns

What this means for you:

Device habits

Candidate experience:

did they finish

what they started?

Assessment completion rates

Time On Task: respecting candidates’ time

Efficiency & time savings

Video: Seeing the Humans Behind the Data

What this means

When we look at the whole Sova community together, a clear picture emerges

Most candidates who start an assessment go on to finish it

We're buying back recruiter time, at scale

... and TA teams are spending time where it matters

Thank you to our customers and partners for the care and effort you put into hiring. We’re proud to support you.

Lessons from a Year of Assessment Data

From “you’re invited” to “done” ✅

Why this matters for TA leaders

What candidates

actually did

on Sova

Most popular assessment types:

What this says about our clients’ hiring strategy:

Global reach

When the magic happened

Daily behavioural patterns

What this means for you:

Device habits

Candidate experience:

did they finish

what they started?

Assessment completion rates

Time On Task: respecting candidates’ time

Efficiency & time savings

Video: Seeing the Humans Behind the Data

What this means

When we look at the whole Sova community together, a clear picture emerges

Most candidates who start an assessment go on to finish it

We're buying back recruiter time, at scale

... and TA teams are spending time where it matters

Thank you to our customers and partners for the care and effort you put into hiring. We’re proud to support you.

What this says about our clients’
hiring strategy: