It can feel overwhelming to applicants and to HR representatives when embarking on a hiring process. Because of the awkward gulf between those who seek employment and those who are looking for top talent there is certain amount of tension that surrounds every level of interaction.

Questions arise such as: How long should it take for a position to be filled? How many applications are typical for one job? What is the best way to find the right candidate? And am I working properly toward creating a diverse workforce?

By looking at statistics from massive job sources like Glassdoor, Linkedin, and Monster.com it is possible to put together clues to get answers to these and other provocative questions. Statistics like these help hiring managers prioritize more effectively, gather better data, and simply take some of the guesswork out of what can be a grueling (and costly) ordeal.

The infographic below lays out some critical stats, letting you solve the riddle of hiring with hard numbers. Some of what it outlines includes:

How many applications should I expect and how many should I contact?
Statistics show that the average position receives in the neighborhood of 250 resumes. Of those only 5 (2% of applications) tend to rise to the top and lead to being contacted for interview. This means you can be rigorous when it comes to honing down a list of maybes. Do not feel obligated to contact too many people and waste time with those that seem like they may be less than ideal.

How long should a hiring process take?
According to the data, from the time applications are received to the date an applicant is hired is typically about 42 days with 22 of those days taken up by the interview process. That means that there are about 3 weeks of viable time to assess applicants. Then, once interviews are begun, it’s reasonable to take another 3 weeks to schedule meetings, make offers and counter offers and get a new applicant into the new position.

Are millennials are taking over?
By 2025, over 75% of the global workforce will have been born after 1983. Currently 42% of people looking for a new job were born between 1983 and 1999. Millennials have an evolving perspective on benefits, scheduling, and work life balance and it’s important to understand that mindset before starting a hiring process. Flexibility in scheduling and health care considerations can trump salary benefits for many of these hires. Also it’s important to consider ways for these new applicants to grow and thrive and build responsibilities. Providing an outline for a clear path of success in your own company is critical or your best hires will find another company that embraces their ever-growing talents.

Who to hire?
They say it’s not what you know it’s who, and the numbers actually bear this out. About half of all “quality” hires have been shown to come from employee referrals. Make sure you have an employee referral program in place before spending too might time and money casting a large net that may not glean as much in the way of results.

What’s your reputation?
While you are assessing applicants, the most talented people are also assessing your company. Applicants read an average of 6 reviews to make an informed decision about applying, and almost 70% of applicants have said that they take bad reviews to heart and will not apply if a company has a poor track record. A streamlined application process is equally important. When faced with an overly complex or time consuming application 60% of applicants say they have just given up. This may weed out those who are less passionate about the position, but it will also discourage talented people that simply don’t feel they have time to work with a company that has a draconian HR system (the stats also show that close to 50% of companies are working with HR software that is over 7 years old).

Are your demographics changing accordingly?
Statistics surrounding hiring demographics are very sobering. At this point, the workforce is dominated by white men and women by a staggering degree (70% of the workforce in 2016 was white). At the same time diversity is highly prized by applicants – close to 70% of people say that diversity is an important consideration for them when taking a job. For this and many other reasons, hiring managers have to be mindful of finding ways to create opportunities for diverse candidates.

Discover more crucial statistics to inform hiring practices in the infographic from background screening company EBI. https://www.ebiinc.com/resources/blog/hiring-statistics