HR & Recruitment

1d

Why Quiet Quitting 2026 Is Increasing in Modern Workplaces

1

HR & Recruitment

2w

8 Steps To Turn Passive Candidates into New Team Members

8 Steps To Turn Passive Candidates into New Team Members

Passive candidates might be happily employed but open to a better job if you approach them thoughtfully.

Stacy Pursell

If there's one thing I can say with absolute certainty after working close to 30 years in the animal health industry and veterinary profession, it's this: If you're relying solely on job boards to fill open... positions, you're missing out on a huge portion of the talent pool. That's because top performers often aren't looking for a new job. Instead, they're content where they are but open to a compelling opportunity if someone approaches them the correct way.

These professionals are known as passive candidates, and they represent a massive, untapped resource, often far more experienced and engaged than active job seekers. In fact, industry research suggests that as much as 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent who aren't actively job hunting but could be receptive to the right opportunity.

For veterinary practices struggling to recruit in a tight labor market, learning to find, engage, and influence passive candidates is essential. Here's how practices can do so effectively in eight steps.

1. Know the Difference Between Active and Passive Recruitment

The first step toward reaching passive candidates is recognizing that traditional job board recruitment doesn't resonate with a highly skilled, experienced veterinary audience. Active recruiting relies on candidates coming to you and is how you capture professionals looking for a change.

In contrast, passive recruiting is proactive. You go to qualified candidates and build relationships with them before they even consider leaving their current employer. This tactic requires a shift in mindset and a willingness to spend time building relationships rather than just posting openings and waiting for responses.

2. Build a Strong Employer Brand

Passive candidates rarely respond to generic outreach. They're more likely to engage with organizations that stand out because of their culture, reputation, and values. Here's how to elevate your business's brand:

* Share your story publicly: Showcase your practice's mission, culture, patient stories, and impact. Candidates want to see something that touches them emotionally.

* Be visible where they live professionally: If your ideal passive candidates are on LinkedIn, Instagram, or industry forums, ensure your practice has a presence there and that you're sharing meaningful content.

* Highlight career development: Experienced professionals are often intrinsically motivated. Show them that joining your team could help them grow, lead, or refine their craft.

3. Source Candidates Where They Are

Passive candidates aren't sitting on job boards. Find them with these tips:

* Leverage professional networks: LinkedIn is a goldmine for sourcing passive talent. Use search filters to identify people with relevant backgrounds. Participate in industry groups and discussions to become recognizable and approachable. Beyond LinkedIn, utilize forums, professional associations and email lists, and specialist groups' social platforms. Being active in these circles helps you connect with professionals before you reach out.

* Revisit your talent pipeline: Don't overlook candidates who once applied for a job at your practice but weren't a proper fit then. Many of them have grown professionally since the last engagement and could be open to new opportunities. Keeping a database of strong past applicants and staying in occasional contact with them can pay off when an appropriate role opens.

4. Personalize Your Outreach

Avoid sending generic recruiting emails to passive candidates. Get their attention by recognizing their specific accomplishments or skills or offering insight into why a job opening aligns with their professional goals.

Your message might begin with a compliment about a recent project they led or a shared connection in the profession, followed by a compelling reason your practice's job opportunity matters. Personalized outreach shows respect and signals that you're offering something worth the candidate's time.

5. Build Relationships

Passive recruiting is relational, not transactional. It means:

* Engaging in dialogue before pitching a role

* Asking about career aspirations

* Providing value even if a candidate isn't immediately interested

Nurturing relationships builds trust and keeps your practice top of mind when an opportunity arises.

6. Highlight What Makes Your Practice Exceptional

When a passive candidate hesitates to leave a comfortable role, your value proposition must be meaningfully different. While higher pay might matter, the "why" can also include clear pathways for leadership or specialization, a supportive culture, a better work-life balance, and ongoing professional development.

To attract successful passive candidates, you must articulate what makes your organization stand out in ways that resonate with their professional identity and personal goals.

7. Streamline the Experience

Passive candidates don't want to jump through hoops to explore a new opportunity. Long, drawn-out hiring processes can be a deal-breaker. Streamline the experience by offering flexible interview options, clear communication about expectations and timing, and fewer unnecessary steps in the hiring process.

An easily explored opportunity shows respect for candidates' time and increases the likelihood that they'll stay engaged throughout the process.

8. Use an Experienced Recruiter

Passive recruiting is time-intensive, nuanced, and often outside the expertise of busy practice owners and managers. A seasoned, industry-specific recruiter has:

* Established relationships with high-performing passive candidates

* Deep knowledge of industry labor markets

* Insight into candidate motivations, compensation expectations,and career drivers

* The ability to approach passive professionals discreetly and credibly

Because passive candidates are not actively looking for a new job, who delivers the message matters just as much as what is said. Recruiters act as trusted intermediaries, opening doors that employers often cannot open on their own. In addition, experienced recruiters handle the most time-consuming aspects of the recruitment process, allowing employers to stay focused on their core tasks and operations while gaining access to top-tier talent they would never reach through job boards alone.

It Ain't Easy, but It's Worthwhile

Reaching passive candidates isn't a quick fix. It requires intentional effort, thoughtful communication, and strategic relationship-building. But the reward is access to deep reservoirs of talent -- professionals who bring experience, stability, and long-term value to your veterinary practice.

By going beyond job boards and investing in proactive, personalized outreach, practices can build stronger talent pipelines and accelerate hiring in ways that competitors who rely on job postings simply can't match.

Passive candidates aren't waiting for you to find them on a job board. It's time to go directly to them. more

HR & Recruitment

2w

Why managers are struggling to spot real talent in the age of AI

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the hiring landscape faster than most business leaders expected. Recent research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows that more than half of executives believe AI will create jobs and fuel growth over the next two years. But while AI is helping companies work smarter, it's also introducing new and unexpected challenges in the... hiring process.

One of the biggest issues emerging today is the "mirror résumé." Powered by generative AI tools, we've seen a rise in applications that closely reflect the exact language of a job description yet don't always represent a candidate's true skills or experience. While the résumé looks perfect and the match rate is high, interviews often reveal that some applicants can't speak to what's on the page.

This disconnect is slowing down hiring at a time when many businesses are already short-staffed. Nearly two‑thirds of hiring managers tell us that AI‑generated applications are making it harder to identify qualified talent, and 58% say it's now more difficult than it was a year ago to determine whether a candidate genuinely has the skills the role requires.

More Applications, Longer Timelines

For employers, the rise of AI‑assisted job applications is as much about application volume as it is about résumé quality. AI tools allow candidates to apply to more roles more quickly, meaning hiring teams are sorting through significantly larger applicant pools -- sometimes upwards of 1,000. That creates more work up front: additional screening steps, deeper interviews, and more time verifying whether a candidate's skills translate into real‑world performance.

This added friction is hitting at a moment when companies need skilled talent the most. Only 6% of hiring managers say they have the talent needed to meet current business demands. In some specialties including legal, marketing, finance and technology, the gaps are even more pronounced.

For Job Seekers: AI Is a Support Tool, Not a Stand‑In

Despite the challenges, AI can still be a valuable asset for candidates, when used responsibly. The strongest applicants use AI to enhance their materials while carefully reviewing for accuracy and authenticity.

A few guiding principles:

Use AI to sharpen your résumé. Let it help you format, proofread or tighten your wording, but ensure everything you include is true and experience‑based.

Prioritize real examples over keyword stuffing. Hiring managers want to hear specific achievements you can clearly explain in an interview.

Lean into uniquely human strengths. Interpersonal skills like communication, problem‑solving and adaptability matter even more in an AI‑powered job market.

Candidates who can combine technical literacy with strong soft skills will continue to differentiate themselves.

For Employers: Focus on Validation and Capability

On the employer side, success in the AI era requires a more thoughtful, skills‑based approach to hiring.

These strategies can help streamline the hiring process:

Deepen your evaluations. Behavioral interviews, sample work and practical assessments help confirm whether a candidate can do what they say they can.

Clarify job descriptions. Precise, skills‑focused language can reduce the volume of generic or AI‑optimized applications.

Use trusted hiring partners. Nearly nine in ten managers say staffing firms help them navigate AI‑related hiring challenges by vetting talent, verifying skills, and reducing application noise.

At Robert Half, we're helping companies look beyond résumés to assess real capabilities, track record, and culture fit.

What This Means for the Job Market

Despite headline‑grabbing layoffs, the hiring landscape remains active. Sixty percent of employers plan to add permanent staff in the first half of 2026, and another 55% expect to bring on more contract talent to fill critical gaps. Business confidence is rising, and demand for skilled professionals remains strong.

AI is transforming jobs, and the most significant opportunities will go to professionals who can pair AI literacy with human judgment and problem‑solving. For employers, the path forward is clear: invest in stronger evaluation methods, embrace blended teams, and focus on the real capabilities that drive business success.

Mallory Smith serves as an expert at Robert Half, specializing in recruiting and staffing for administrative and customer support roles. She is an active board member with the local chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and has served on many Chattanooga-area boards in the past. more

HR & Recruitment

3w

'Promoted, burnt out, or quit quietly?': Gen Z candidate's question on job interview gives HR a reality check on modern hiring

Gen Z employees are changing workplace culture. They seek work-life balance and mental health support. They question toxic environments and demand transparency. A Gen Z candidate's interview question revealed high turnover in a role. This generation assesses employers critically, prioritizing long-term career sustainability. Companies must adapt to these evolving expectations.

Gen Z employees... are rapidly reshaping modern workplace culture with a mindset that differs significantly from millennials and older generations. Unlike millennials, who were often associated with hustle culture, job loyalty, and climbing the corporate ladder, Gen Z professionals prioritise work-life balance, mental health, flexibility, career growth, and meaningful work environments.

They are more vocal during job interviews, unafraid to question toxic work culture, burnout, unrealistic expectations, and leadership transparency. This shift is forcing companies and HR teams to rethink traditional hiring practices and employee retention strategies in today's competitive job market.

Career coach Simon Ingari recently shared a similar hiring experience on X, highlighting how a Gen Z candidate's perspective offered a striking glimpse into the changing expectations of the modern workforce.

As per the post, the interaction began with a job interview question from an HR representative, who asked the candidate why they had left their previous job role. However, instead of offering a conventional response, the Gen Z applicant reportedly turned the conversation around with a question of their own. The candidate calmly asked what had happened to the person who previously held the position.

Caught slightly off guard, the HR interviewer reportedly sought clarification, only for the candidate to continue by asking whether the former employee had been promoted, experienced burnout, quietly resigned, or simply disappeared from the organisation altogether. The unexpected counter-question reportedly created a moment of silence in the room before the HR representative admitted that the role had experienced considerable turnover over time.

According to the viral post, the candidate simply nodded before remarking that the answer itself was enough. The exchange soon sparked wider conversations online about how Gen Z approaches employment very differently from previous generations. Unlike older employees who were often trained to justify gaps, exits, or career changes, Gen Z professionals are increasingly focused on identifying unhealthy work patterns, toxic workplace culture, and long-term career sustainability before accepting a role.

The post further suggested that this behaviour is not driven by arrogance, but by awareness and risk assessment, reflecting a generation that evaluates employers as critically as employers evaluate them. more

1

HR & Recruitment

4w

Gen Z is right about the job hunt -- it really is worse than it was for millennials, with nearly 60% of fresh-faced grads frozen out of the workforce

Gen Z is slammed for complaining about how tough it is to work five days in-office, or even get a job in the first place -- but their suspicions may be true. Research has confirmed, their older millennial critics had a far easier time locking down a gig to begin with.

About 58% of students who graduated between 2024 and 2025 were still looking for their first job, according to a report from... Kickresume last May.

Meanwhile, just 25% of graduates in previous years -- such as their millennial and Gen X predecessors -- struggled to land work after college.

It may be tempting to think Gen Z just isn't as hungry for work as previous generations, like Whoopi Goldberg and Judge Judy espouse. However, the study suggests previous generations really could walk straight into a job much more easily than young people today.

In fact, nearly 40% of previous graduates managed to secure full-time work in time for their graduation ceremony -- but just 12% of 2024/2025 Gen Z grads could say the same, making those young job hunters three times less likely to have something lined up out of school.

"The journey from classroom to career has never been straightforward," the researchers wrote. "But it's clear that today's graduates are entering a job market that's more uncertain, more digital, and arguably more demanding than ever."

Today's young job-seekers are up against AI agents and a tightening white-collar job market -- to the point where they're handing in donuts and waitressing to try and jump-start their careers in unconventional ways.

It's no secret that landing a job in today's labor market requires more than a fine-tuned résumé and cover letter. Employers are putting new hires through bizarre lunch tests and personality quizzes to even consider them for a role.

It's undeniably a tough job market for many white-collar workers -- about 20% of job-seekers have been searching for work for at least 10 to 12 months, and around 40% of unemployed people said they didn't land a single job interview in 2024. It's become so bad that hunting for a role has become a nine-to-five gig for many, as the strategy has become a numbers game -- with young professionals sending in as many as 1,700 applicants to no avail. And with the advent of AI, the hiring process has become an all-out tech battle between managers and applicants.

Part of this issue may stem from technology whittling down the number of entry-level roles for Gen Z graduates; as chatbots and AI agents take over junior staffers' mundane job tasks, companies need fewer staffers to meet their goals.

Skyrocketing tuition costs and a bleak white-collar job market have made Gen Z's situation so bad that 4.3 million young people are NEETs (not in education, employment, or training). And while things look tough in America, it's become an international issue, with the number of NEETs in the U.K. rising 100,000 over the 2025 alone. The age-old promise that a college degree will funnel new graduates into full-time roles has been broken.

"Universities aren't deliberately setting students up to fail, but the system is failing to deliver on its implicit promise," Lewis Maleh, CEO of staffing and recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, told Fortune last year.

The Kickresume researchers advised young people to just get on the career ladder as soon as possible, instead of holding out for that dream job in their field of study: "We often tell graduates not to stress too much about their first job. It's just a starting point, not a life sentence."

While baby boomers may have chased a job by walking into an office and handing over their résumés directly to a hiring manager, Gen Z are having to get crafty to gain employers' attention.

One young Silicon Valley marketing hopeful, Lukas Yla, knew he wouldn't get far handing over his cover letter in-person, so he hatched a plan. When he was 25, the job-seeker posed as a delivery driver, handing over boxes of donuts with a secret memo attached on the inside. The note read: "Most resumes end up in trash. Mine -- in your belly," along with his résumé and LinkedIn profile. He won over some employers, landing at least 10 interviews from the stunt.

Another Gen Z job-seeker took to waitressing at a marketing conference after failing to land a job through traditional methods for six months. Basant Shenouda couldn't find work after graduating from a top university in Germany, so she volunteered to clean up glasses at one of the most well-known marketing and sales events in the country.

During her breaks, she'd float her CV by at least 30 to 40 people, asking for feedback, but hoping for an opportunity. Shortly thereafter, she landed a job at LinkedIn.

"When you're a graduate, you think everyone's going to say yes to you and things are going [to] work out. But it's a matter of building up resilience," Shenouda told Fortune in 2024. "You need to keep reassessing your process so that every no gets you closer to that next yes."

more

HR & Recruitment

3w

HR leaders split on how to handle AI use by candidates in job interviews

AI tools now feed real-time answers to job candidates during live interviews, undetected by recruiters. Over 72% of hiring leaders have moved some interviews in-person to counter it.

AI Co-Pilots in Job Interviews Are Forcing HR Teams to Rethink How They Hire

Candidates appearing composed and articulate in remote interviews may have invisible help. AI tools like Final Round AI and Interview... Copilot feed real-time answers to job seekers during live hiring conversations - prompts the interviewer never sees. The problem has grown widespread enough that over 72% of recruiting leaders now conduct some interviews in person specifically to counter it.

Shawn Gibson, Chief People Officer at Info-Tech Research Group, encountered this firsthand. "What we're finding is that sometimes we get a sense that candidates are using AI right in the actual interview with the recruiter," he said. "And that's just not acceptable. It's not evaluating the candidate properly."

The mechanics are simple

An AI tool receives the interview question and immediately generates an answer. The candidate reads it aloud while the recruiter remains unaware anything unusual is happening.

For distributed organizations, the problem compounds. Info-Tech operates across six countries with recruiters based in North America, making it difficult to detect AI assistance when hiring in places like Singapore. Gibson proposed one workaround: a hybrid model where a senior leader meets candidates in person while a recruiter joins virtually. That physical presence can catch behavioral cues a screen cannot.

Christine Vigna, Chief People Officer at Dejero, said experienced hiring managers spot the pattern. "There are long pauses. They will give an extremely well-articulated answer - and then you ask the next question, there's a pause and then they go again," she said.

The hypocrisy question

Vigna raised a counterpoint: employers themselves use AI extensively in hiring. Resume screening tools, candidate response evaluators, and automated scoring systems are now standard. "So many employers are now using AI in the hiring process themselves," she said. "It's a tad hypocritical that employers can use AI for all of their processes, and yet we're saying that employees should not be using AI in that hiring process."

This logic is shifting how some companies evaluate candidates. Rather than disqualifying applicants who use AI, Dejero digs deeper afterward. The company asks candidates about their prompts, how they used the tools, and what they might improve. This tests both AI fluency and underlying knowledge - skills increasingly relevant to actual job performance.

"If we have candidates who are comfortable using AI, it's a bonus," Vigna said.

AI screening AI

Gibson flagged a broader tension: "Candidates are applying with AI, but then recruiters are using AI to look at it. So, you literally have AI to AI issues being created."

Recent data underscores the scale. A survey found that 22% of job seekers admit to using AI during live interviews - a figure HR consultant Bryan Driscoll suggested is likely much higher. Separately, 70% of candidates were never informed that AI would evaluate them during the hiring process.

Both Gibson and Vigna stressed the same principle: governance must precede adoption. "The pace of adoption gets ahead of the governance around it," Gibson said. Info-Tech paused a planned AI-powered HR assistant when it recognized privacy guardrails needed closer attention first.

What HR leaders should do

Vigna recommends treating AI literacy as a measurable competency, not a disqualifier. Build interview structures that require candidates to demonstrate reasoning, not just output. Ask them to walk you through how they used a tool and probe for the thinking behind answers.

Gibson's advice is structural: reconsider whether remote-only hiring still serves your needs. Where can human presence - virtual or in person - restore judgment that AI obscures? "Where can we have employees interject? Where do we really need human scrutiny, human touch?" he said.

Vigna concluded: "There needs to be a world in which our hiring practices are thoughtful and inclusive about the fact that candidates are using AI." Organizations that get there first won't just find better hires. They'll build the kind of candidate trust that a purely algorithmic process never can.

For HR teams navigating these shifts, resources like AI for Human Resources and the AI Learning Path for CHROs offer structured guidance on implementing AI responsibly across recruitment and talent management. more

1

HR & Recruitment

1mo

The real reason people stay at their jobs

Knowing how to retain talent is just as important as knowing how to attract it. In today's competitive job market, companies wonder how to make their employees want to stay. While attractive pay and perks such as free snacks is important, these are rarely the only factors.

According to recent employee retention statistics, culture, work-life balance and career development are responsible for 69... % of departures. Let's take a look at some of the main considerations affecting whether workers stay with their companies or not.

The fundamentals of staff retention

Fair compensation and benefits may not be the only thing an employee considers when deciding whether to stay or leave, but let's face it, it's hard to keep staff who know they're being paid below market rates or getting inadequate benefits.

Another major factor is work-life balance. People want to be able to get their work done and also have enough time to enjoy other activities that make life worth living. Sending employees late night messages and constantly assigning tasks after hours and at weekends is a sure way of causing burnout - and ultimately losing staff. Employers wanting to improve work-life balance among their workers should offer flexible work arrangements and respect employees' time off. This not only reduces burnout, it also increases loyalty.

Employees stay where leaders recognise their contributions. Bonuses, 'Employee of the Month' awards and professional development rewards can go a long way in making workers feel valued. But sometimes a timely 'Well done! You nailed the project!' can motivate employees just as much as formal recognition.

Career development is another key reason for staying with a company. Without growth prospects, sooner or later employees will look elsewhere. Training and mentorship programmes, upskilling to help workers adapt to evolving industry demands, moves into new roles that broaden employees' skills, and clear career plans are all strategies demonstrating to employees that their professional growth is supported.

For many workers, the values a company upholds are much more important than salary. When their personal values align with their employer's goals, the pride and sense of belonging they feel can outweigh offers of higher compensation from other companies. But talk is cheap. To earn employee loyalty, these shared values have to be visible in the day-to-day running of the company.

A healthy work environment based on trust, respect, collaboration and inclusivity among peers can be a strong reason to stay. Employers can build a positive workplace culture by organising team-building activities, giving employees the opportunity to share their ideas and making sure every employee - no matter their gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic background - feels that they belong.

Ultimately, it's all about good leadership - communicating openly, recognising employees' contributions and showing that you genuinely care. Who wouldn't want to remain with a company where they are valued, respected and treated fairly? more

1

Mzamo Mzie
1mo
This highlights one of the biggest challenges organisations face today — employee retention is no longer driven by salary alone.

Culture, leadership,... career growth, work-life balance, and employee experience have become critical factors influencing whether people stay or leave.

This is exactly why we developed the Optiserve Talent Intelligence System™ (OTIS).

OTIS is designed to help organisations move beyond traditional recruitment by assessing both:
The organisational environment
The behavioural and motivational alignment of employees

Through OTIS, organisations can identify:
Culture mismatch risks
Burnout indicators
Leadership alignment gaps
Career development expectations
Workforce retention risks before they become resignations

The reality is:
A highly skilled employee placed in the wrong environment will eventually disengage — regardless of compensation.

By aligning people with environments where they can thrive, organisations can significantly improve retention, engagement, and long-term workforce performance.

The future of talent management is not just hiring people.
It is building intelligent workforce alignment systems.

#OTIS #TalentIntelligence #EmployeeRetention #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #HRStrategy #FutureOfWork #Optiserve
more
Richard Love-Obeng
1mo
Indeed, these are real and I relate. I am particular about Appreciative Inquiry, which has to do expressing how valuable an employees is no matter... their weaknesses. Creating the kind of environment that seeks to transform them and giving them the needed opportunities to grow. But sometimes organizations really don't have time for that. They focus on attractive salaries and leave the growth to the employees. These often misalign career focus and the employee may just feel the need to pursue growth in another organization where developments are imminent. more

HR & Recruitment

1mo

We just launched a new email finder browser extension for recruiters (with free credits available for our users).

It helps you quickly find contact details directly from LinkedIn profiles, making it easier to reach out to potential candidates or prospects and speed up sourcing.

Check it out...

In our internal tests, it outperformed other tools we compared against in finding verified email addresses.

It’s free to try, and as a thank-you to our existing users, we’re giving the first 100 users 500 free credits.

Once installed, just contact support and we’ll add the credits to your account. Optional feedback is always appreciated.

more

1

HR & Recruitment

1mo

Most 1:1s Are Career Drift Meetings

He looked me in the eye in a 1:1 and asked, "What do I need to do to get to the next level?" He was hungry, driven, and teachable ... and had no clear road to run on. That is when I was reminded that most 1:1s fail because they pretend to be development conversations while operating like status meetings.

A strong engineer came to me and asked a direct question. "What do I need to do to get to... the next level?" He had drive. He was faithful, approachable, and teachable. He was not missing hunger. He was missing a road, and that detail matters more than most managers want to admit. The lazy leadership answer is "stop waiting for a roadmap and build one." It sounds empowering, and it is also nonsense when someone is trying to get to a place they have never seen clearly defined. If you do not know what the destination looks like, you can run hard and still run wrong.

I have watched this happen more than once. High-agency people do exactly what you ask them to do, then get frustrated when "doing everything right" does not translate into growth. They are not usually missing effort. They are missing signal quality.

The pivotal line in that 1:1 was simple. "I have your back, and I will help create the road" ... not "I will carry you," not "you are on your own." Support first, clarity first, then ownership.

We partnered with HR and built a role matrix across engineer, senior engineer, tech lead, and manager. We defined what each level looked like in behavior, scope, and delivery expectations. Then we mapped where he stood, where he needed to grow, and what evidence would count as real progress.

Within a year, he moved into a senior role. Within 2.5 years, he replaced me. That is one of the proudest moments I have had as a leader ... replacing yourself on purpose.

You are not mentoring when you say "figure it out" without defining what "it" looks like.

Most managers do one of two things in 1:1s. They do status updates, or they do emotional reassurance. Neither one builds growth by itself.

Status-only 1:1s train people to report, not to level up. Reassurance-only 1:1s train people to feel seen, but not necessarily challenged. You need both care and clarity. Without clarity, care turns vague. Without care, clarity turns cold.

The reason this gets missed is predictable. Status updates are measurable and immediate. Career development is slower and messier. It is easier to ask, "Any blockers?" than to ask, "What behavior is holding you back from next level right now, and what are we both doing about it?" One question protects the sprint. The other question changes a career.

This is why your 1:1 should function like a career contract.

If any of those are missing, the contract is ambiguous, and ambiguous contracts create frustrated engineers.

And frustrated engineers do what adults do when the system is vague ... they start running experiments in political survival.

Ambiguity also creates politics. When growth criteria are unclear, people optimize for whatever gets attention. They present harder. They perform confidence. They play proximity games. None of that builds the capability you actually need as an organization.

There is a sequence that works.

That sequence is the difference between mentorship theater and real development. Leaders who skip Step 1 usually blame motivation. It is rarely motivation. It is missing architecture.

You would not ask an engineer to ship a complex system with no requirements and then call them weak when they miss. Yet that is exactly how many leaders run career growth.

If your instinct is "they should just figure it out," ask yourself a harder question ... would you use that same standard for a production migration with real customer impact? If the answer is no, do not use it for someone's growth path either.

The same leadership logic applies.

Career development is architecture work with human consequences.

In fast teams, especially AI-assisted teams, output can hide growth gaps for longer than it used to. Someone can look productive while stalling in judgment, influence, or leverage. If your 1:1 is only about updates, you will miss that drift until it gets expensive. Career clarity is leadership infrastructure, even when HR paperwork makes it look like a side process.

When people know the road, they can self-correct faster, ask better questions, and build confidence that comes from progress, not posturing.

When people do not know the road, they optimize for visibility because visibility is the only signal left. That is how you accidentally build a culture of performative growth. People learn to narrate progress instead of creating it, managers start rewarding confidence instead of capability, and then everyone wonders why the same succession gaps keep showing up.

This is also why your 1:1 quality predicts retention more than most leaders think. People can tolerate hard problems. They do not tolerate feeling stuck with no credible path forward.

There is one uncomfortable part here that leaders love to avoid. Your side of the contract. Most growth plans fail because they are written as employee commitments with manager encouragement. That reads like cheerleading. It is delegation, not something both sides can inspect.

Your side should be explicit.

If you do not write your side down, people stop trusting the process because it looks like another "work on these things and we will see" loop. Trust grows when progress is inspectable for both sides.

This cadence sounds basic, and that is the point. Leadership systems should be boring enough to run consistently and sharp enough to change outcomes. If this feels too formal, good ... informal growth systems are usually where ambiguity and bias hide, and formality is not bureaucracy when it creates fairness and clarity.

If you want to know whether your 1:1 system is real, ask one question at the end of the conversation ... "What changed in your growth plan from this meeting?"

If the answer is vague, your 1:1 was probably morale support plus project updates.

Useful for feelings. Useless for promotions.

If the answer is specific and behavioral, your 1:1 was leadership work.

I started using this question because I got tired of walking out of meetings that felt productive and then watching nothing actually change. We had good conversations. We had trust. We had positive sentiment. We did not have movement. That is a brutal thing to admit as a manager, because it means your intent can be strong while your system is weak.

When this question is built into your cadence, it exposes the exact gap:

And when those are missing, your team usually fills the gap with performance language. You get cleaner updates, better optics, and stronger meeting energy ... but no durable growth.

One practical upgrade that helped me was adding a 3-line closeout doc after each 1:1:

That tiny artifact made the contract inspectable. People stopped guessing what mattered. If you cannot point to a changed behavior contract after a 1:1, you did not run a growth meeting. You ran a conversation.

Take one high-drive engineer and run one contract-style 1:1.

Then hold yourself accountable to your side first.

A 1:1 is where you either build a growth system or build attrition.

If this post lands, pair it with Your Team Doesn't Need a Buddy. It Needs a Coach. for the feedback side of the same problem.

The people on your team are not waiting for another update meeting. They are waiting for a leader who can define the road and walk it with them until they can run it alone. That is the real 1:1 job. Everything else is admin.

One email a week from The Builder's Leader. The frameworks, the blind spots, and the conversations most leaders avoid. Subscribe for free. more

HR & Recruitment

1mo

10 Best Applicant Tracking System (ATS) 2026

It's difficult to choose which applicant tracking system (ATS) is best for you when there are so many options accessible. You want tools to help you source, track, and organize candidates, as well as automation to help you recruit faster, but you must first determine which product is ideal for you. In this article, I'll simplify your decision by giving my opinions on the 10 best applicant tracking... system!

What is an Applicant Tracking System?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software tool that allows businesses to manage and streamline their recruitment processes. It acts as a consolidated location for managing the entire hiring process, from advertising job positions to managing resumes and communicating with candidates.

Key features of an Applicant Tracking System

* Job Posting: Recruiters can generate and post job vacancies straight from the ATS to multiple job boards, career websites, and social media channels.

* Resume Parsing: Automatically extracts key information from resumes, including contact information, work experience, education, and abilities, making it easier to organize and search candidate data.

* Candidate Management: Offers a database for storing and managing candidate information. Recruiters can follow candidates' progress, take notes, and engage with team members.

* Application Workflow: Defines and automates the recruitment process workflow, ensuring that each candidate completes all required phases, from application submission to final hiring decision.

* Communication: Facilitates communication among recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates. Many ATS platforms feature email templates and communication tool integration to help with interaction efficiency.

List of Applicant Tracking Systems

1. Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a recruiting management program that assists you in identifying, categorizing, and nurturing talent. You can use it to create a strong candidate pipeline and identify the best prospects for each open position.

One noteworthy aspect that truly distinguishes Greenhouse is its organized hiring capabilities. Their systematic hiring workflow is intended to provide a consistent and equitable interviewing experience by identifying the qualifications, experience, and characteristics that a successful candidate must possess for an open position before the job is advertised.

* Easy tracking with the help of candidate scorecards.

* Developing tailored assessment strategies for interviewers to determine the appropriate skill set and capabilities.

* Customization of career pages, job boards, and email templates.

* Simplified report configuration.

* Best for mid-sized organizations growing quickly.

Also, you may read 10 Best Small Business HR Software

2. Jobvite

Jobvite ATS is a cloud-based, candidate-focused software that allows for social recruiting, the creation and management of mobile-optimized career portals, and onboarding functions. They also provide a mobile application for the tool. The software has features designed specifically for interviews, requisitions, and personnel referrals. This solution is best suited to medium and large-sized businesses.

* Easy employee referrals

* Automated screening and interview-based candidate ranking

* Mobile-friendly application methods for candidates.

* The Smart Scheduler tool looks at the schedules of many interviewers and selects the optimal time to arrange a new interview.

* A single record is kept for all talks with a certain candidate across channels.

* Use this powerful search engine to find candidates by name, keywords, workflow, location, or date of application.

3. TalentReef

TalentReef's ATS and recruiting tools are designed exclusively for firms that hire hourly workers. In addition to staffing tools, it provides talent management capabilities such as performance, pay, and job management.

Further, the software allows you to follow applicants throughout the hiring process and manage the candidate experience. As potential new hires apply for your open positions, you'll be able to review their resumes and conduct assessments to improve screening.

Also, you may also create flexible processes to advance candidates through the phases in a way that works best for your company, and you can simply schedule interviews using the platform.

* Recruiting and talent management in one location

* Designed specifically for the needs of hourly employees.

* Customizable workflows and templates

4. MightyRecruiter

MightyRecruiter is a free application tracking system that can assist recruiting managers find both active and passive prospects.

MightRecruiter offers job vacancies to over 29 job boards, including LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and CareerBuilder. It also scans your social media networks for potential prospects, allowing you to maximize your network.

When applications begin to arrive, AI is used to identify the most qualified job seekers and guide them through the recruiting process.

* Source active and passive applicants from various platforms.

* Extract information about candidates directly from their social profiles.

* Integrate MightyRecruiter with your existing ATS.

* Send personalized, automated messages to prospects from within the system, keeping everything in one place.

Also, you may read 8 Best HR Software for Startups

5. Bullhorn

Bullhorn prioritizes the applicant experience and cultivates high-touch interactions. This is combined with cutting-edge automated technologies to assist place the appropriate individuals in the right roles.

This application tracking software, designed for staffing organizations, helps recruiters manage the entire recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to client billing. Its purpose is to streamline your operations and help you place more applicants, hence increasing sales.

With a centralized system for managing jobs, candidates, and tasks, you can always see where you stand in the process. You may also create reminders to perform activities at specific times, ensuring that you stay on schedule to meet your recruitment goals.

* The cloud-based technology is secure and available anywhere you are.

* The integrated CRM tool helps you remain on top of your clients' changing needs.

* There is an emphasis on customer assistance and helping clients get the most out of the system.

6. Recruitee

Recruitee begins by assisting you in creating a careers site featuring your company brand utilizing an easy-to-use editor. It then leverages a variety of sourcing tools, such as job sites, shareable social media links, and employee referrals, to find appropriate individuals.

The scheduler eliminates the trouble of interview scheduling, while interview formats and notes in the system maintain consistency and clarity. This also maintains everything in one place for quick access and encourages collaboration among the hiring team.

* Automation and templates simplify your workflow and save you time.

* You may personalize your reports and dashboards to track the process and easily see where optimization may be necessary.

* This applicant tracking software interfaces with a variety of services, including Google, Teams, Indeed, and Zapier.

Also, you may read 10 Best Employee Monitoring Softwares

7. Breezy HR

This applicant tracking system is ideal for small to midsize businesses that hire all year, such as recruiters, brick-and-mortar stores, and franchises.

Breezy creates a careers page for you and promotes your job opportunities on over 50 of the world's top job sites.

Each pricing tier of this ATS software provides additional functionality. While they all provide automated job posting and resume processing, the paid plans include automate candidate prescreening, interview scheduling via video meetings, and other repetitive chores.

The Business plan includes more advanced capabilities such as candidate comparison, job approvals, and offer administration.

* It's simple to use and personalize the system.

* The dashboard and analytics together provide plenty of information.

* The technology supports collaborative hiring, allowing all members of the recruiting team to participate.

8. BambooHR

BambooHR is a comprehensive human resource management solution that incorporates applicant tracking software. It works from a single, secure data source within the system to support hiring and onboarding, as well as employee performance, payroll, and benefits.

Throughout the employment process, this application tracking system manages all candidate data, including contact information. It also keeps track of the role's details, such as job title and description.

Status updates provide information on where the candidate is in the process as well as their current rating for the position. And, as an additional reminder of the status of their application, they can easily refer back to their most recent correspondence with that candidate.

* Automates tracking and managing candidate information to save you time.

* Allows you to communicate with the candidate at each level of the process, resulting in a positive experience for them.

* Allows for bespoke permissions, facilitating collaboration with stakeholders.

Also, you may read Top 15 Team Management Software in 2023

9. Rippling

Rippling enables you to recruit talent from numerous platforms and then set up hiring processes and workflows to manage the entire process effortlessly from start to finish.

This applicant tracking software simplifies every step, from designing interview stages based on seniority to scheduling interviews in calendars such as Outlook, Google, and iCal.

When you're ready to hire, it makes it easier to send offer letters and other necessary documents, such as job titles and descriptions, to your new employee. It also registers the new hire in all relevant systems, such as payroll and health insurance.

* It automatically uploads job posts to platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed.

* You can design reports to offer you the facts you desire, such as the time available to fill a position or feedback from candidates.

* Applicant tracking systems include learning management, allowing you to swiftly get your new hires up to speed.

10. JazzHR

JazzHR, aimed at midsize and enterprise-level enterprises, allows you to source from several job sites with a single click. Then it uses evaluations and interviews to help you rate the prospects based on your specific criteria.

You may also utilize the platform to gather feedback on candidates from everyone on the hiring team, resulting in a genuinely collaborative approach.

A digital offer management function automates and speeds up onboarding, while clear employer branding ensures that candidates have consistent and favorable experiences at all touchpoints.

* All pricing tiers support unlimited users.

* The technology enables you to design bespoke solutions to meet your hiring requirements.

* JazzHR interacts with various other comparable systems, including JobTarget, Criteria, and Recruiting.com.

Also, you may read 10 Best Knowledge Management Systems

Conclusion

When you are constantly recruiting new employees, it makes sense to identify the most efficient and effective method. An applicant tracking system allows you to manage your employment process from beginning to end.

It centralizes all of your candidate information, allowing you to sort through their profiles and collaborate with other stakeholders. An ATS also automates activities, streamlines your workflow, and enables you to make great hiring decisions for your organization. more

2

HR & Recruitment

2mo

How to find your next hire in the age of AI

How real estate agencies can adapt hiring practices for the AI era by testing real thinking, adaptability, and character - and using AI smartly to shortlist candidates without losing the human touch.

Everyone's CV looks amazing now. Here's how to find the actual human behind the prompt.

Thomas McGlynn nailed it a few years back when he said that a job interview has always been the meeting of... two lies: The employer exaggerates how great the culture is. The candidate exaggerates how great they are. Ninety days later, everyone finds out.

Now multiply that problem by AI.

Today's candidates are running their cover letters through ChatGPT. Their CVs have been polished by Gemini. Their LinkedIn summaries read like they were written by a professional copywriter - because, in a way, they were. And here's the thing: you can't really blame them. If you had a tool that could make you sound 30% more articulate, you'd use it too.

But it means the old hiring playbook could be a little broken.

Reading cover letters to "get a sense of the person" doesn't work when the person didn't actually write them. And dumping those AI-written applications into another AI to summarise them? Congratulations - you've just created a game of robot tennis where nobody's keeping score and the human wandered off to make a coffee.

So what do you do instead?

Change the medium, change the signal

If every candidate can produce a flawless written application, then written applications stop being useful as a filter.

You need to test for things AI can't fake - yet.

Build a smarter application form

Tools like Jotform or Tally let you go way beyond "upload your CV." Instead, create situational questions that reveal how someone actually thinks:

* A tenant calls at 4:45 PM on a Friday with a burst pipe. Walk us through exactly what you do in the next 30 minutes.

* A vendor disagrees with your recommended sale price. How do you handle the conversation?

* You've got three inspections, a settlement, and a staff meeting all on the same morning. What gets moved?

There's no ChatGPT template for your specific office scenarios. That's the point.

Test their AQ, not just their IQ

Adaptability Quotient matters more than ever. Ask candidates to rate how much they enjoy various tasks on a scale of 1 to 10. If someone rates admin a 2 but the role is 80% systems and data entry, you've just saved yourself a 90-day disappointment - no matter how polished their application looked.

Think of it as a compatibility test for your office. Tinder for task preferences, minus the awkward ghosting. (Actually, no - realistically there's probably still ghosting!)

Ask for video

A 60-second selfie video answering one specific question is worth more than a two-page cover letter right now. AI can write a script, but it can't fake warmth, energy, or the way someone's face lights up when they talk about something they actually care about.

Keep the question simple: Tell us why this role, at this agency, right now. You'll know within 15 seconds. Either they light up or they sound like they're reading a ransom note from a teleprompter.

Ask the questions that actually matter

Once you've filtered for real humans, the interview itself needs to evolve too.

The culture question nobody asks:

Most agencies advertise the same role. Same duties, same salary band, same "dynamic team environment."

Your culture is the differentiator - so test for it.

Ask candidates what they found when they looked at your socials. If they didn't look, that tells you something. If they did, what they noticed tells you more.

The future question:

If property management shifts from being mostly about maintenance to being mostly about asset advisory and client experience, how would they see their role changing?

This isn't a trick question: It's a genuine window into whether someone sees this as a job or a career.

The AI question:

Do you see AI as a collaborator or just useful for checking your emails? There's no wrong answer here, but the answer tells you a lot about someone's mindset toward growth, learning, and change. You want people who are curious, not threatened.

Profiling tools still work.

DISC, Kolbe Index, Wealth Dynamics - these aren't new, but they're more valuable than ever when the written application has become unreliable. Use them at the shortlist stage to understand whether you're hiring a Starter when you actually need a Finisher.

Use AI on your side (smartly)

Here's where it gets fun. AI isn't just changing how people apply - it can transform how you hire.

Use AI to help you build your application form in the first place. Feed it your role description and ask it to generate situational questions tailored to your agency.

Use it to create scoring criteria so incoming applications get flagged immediately against your shortlist requirements. Connect it to a Calendly link so high-fit candidates can book a meeting straight after they've finished the application.

The workflow becomes: application lands → AI flags the best fits → you get a cheat sheet of their responses → you walk into the interview prepared and focused on the human in front of you. You know, the bit you as a leader went into real estate for: talking to people. Not reading 47 variations of 'I'm a passionate self-starter.'

By the way: That's not replacing the human decision. That's giving the human decision-maker better information, faster.

The bit about staying legal

If you're using AI to help shortlist candidates - even if it's just a smart spreadsheet that scores responses - you need to know about the Privacy Act reforms landing in December 2026.

The short version: if AI "substantially assists" in deciding who gets an interview, that counts as automated decision-making under the new rules, and you have obligations around transparency.

Best practice right now is a simple three-layer approach:

A clear notice on your application form: "We use AI-assisted shortlisting to help our team process applications faster."

A brief explanation that AI helps rank candidates on skills and experience, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans.

An updated privacy policy that covers how you use applicant data - including which AI tools are involved.

This isn't something to panic about. It's something to get ahead of. And frankly, being upfront about using AI in your hiring process is a good look - it signals that your agency is modern, efficient, and transparent.

We'll be diving deeper into the compliance side in a follow-up piece. For now, the three-layer approach above will put you well ahead of most agencies.

Stop reading resumes. Start testing for talent

The job interview was always the meeting of two lies. AI has just given both sides a better script. Your job as a hiring manager hasn't changed - find the right person for your team - but your methods need to catch up.

Change the medium. Test for thinking, not writing. Ask the questions that reveal character, not credentials. And use AI yourself to work smarter on the back end.

The agencies that figure this out first won't just hire better people. They'll keep them. And maybe, just maybe, both sides will stop lying by interview two.

Ready to find your next team member? Post your role on Elite Agent Jobs - it's free to post and you can amplify to reach more real estate professionals who read The Brief.

For more on how to think AI first about other systems in your business, consider doing the AI Accelerator course where you will learn the AI first formula, how to win listings and more. more

1

HR & Recruitment

2mo

10 Practical Steps Employers Should Take to Mitigate AI Bias and Manage Workplace Risk

Artificial intelligence has become increasingly embedded in hiring, promotion, and employee management, which means that employers face heightened legal risks. From automated résumé screening to video interview tools and performance analytics, AI tools can amplify bias, create disparate impact, and expose organizations to regulatory scrutiny. Below are 10 practical steps you should consider to... mitigate bias and manage risk throughout the AI employment lifecycle.

1. Validate Before You Deploy

Before rolling out any AI tool, conduct rigorous pre-deployment testing. This includes bias and disparate-impact audits across protected groups (race, sex, age, disability) and job categories. Require vendors to provide documentation of their own testing, accuracy data, and bias audit results. Don't assume a high statistical correlation between a model's features and job performance means the tool is job-relevant. Always ask if the features logically relate to actual job duties.

2. Monitor Outcomes Over Time

Bias mitigation is not a one-time event. You should track demographic and performance data after hiring or promotion decisions. If patterns of bias or disparate impact emerge, adjust or retrain the model. Regular post-deployment audits are essential to catch "drift" as new data enters the system.

3. Establish Strong Governance

Implement clear policies for AI use, including documentation of all testing, audits, and remediation steps. Maintain records of how decisions are made, which features are used, and how human oversight is integrated. This documentation is critical for regulatory compliance and defending decisions if challenged.

4. Know the Model's Features and Filters

Demand transparency from vendors about which résumé factors or data points the model uses and which disqualify candidates. Understand the "disqualifying" features and ensure they are job-related and non-discriminatory.

5. Avoid Bloated Job Descriptions

Overly broad job postings that mix "must-haves" with "nice-to-haves" create data noise, making it harder for AI to identify true qualifications. This can lead to models weighing irrelevant factors (like education pedigree or résumé formatting), amplifying bias. The solution is to provide cleaner, more focused job data.

6. Strengthen Vendor Due Diligence

Vet vendors thoroughly. Require contractual assurances on data quality, explainability, audit access, and strict limits on data use and retention. Ensure vendors comply with privacy, notice, and consent requirements, especially when tools capture biometric-like data (e.g., voice, facial movement).

7. Comply with Emerging Regulations

Determine if the tool qualifies as an automated decision tool (ADT) under laws like NYC Local Law 144, California's pending ADMT regulations, Illinois's AI Video Interview Act, or Colorado's upcoming law. Complete required audits, notices, and candidate disclosures.

8. Maintain Human Oversight

AI should inform - not replace - human judgment. Someone in your hiring loop should review AI-generated scores or recommendations and retain authority to override automated decisions. Document when and why human intervention occurs.

9. Standardize and Accommodate

For tools like AI video interviews, standardize the experience: same questions, prompts, and instructions for all candidates. Provide technical guidance and offer accommodations for disabilities to avoid ADA risks.

10. Ensure Candidate Transparency

Disclose AI use to candidates and offer non-AI alternatives when possible. Transparency builds trust and is increasingly required by law. more

1

Tshepho Mosweu

HR & Recruitment

3mo

Many organizations say knowledge is their greatest asset but struggle to capture, share, and use it effectively. Silos persist, information gets lost, and employees often “reinvent the wheel. What practical strategies can companies use to improve knowledge management and ensure knowledge is captured, shared, and used across the organization?

Steward Tony Pacheco
69
3mo
“Knowledge Is Power” no longer proves to be a correct statement in today’s work environment. The true power is “Applied Knowledge” which is what... employer need call for. Once those levels of skill are recognized and hired, all other knowledge can be exhibited while climbing the food chain from the inside. more

HR & Recruitment

5mo

Good hiring holds the key to a company's success

It takes skill on the part of an interviewer to hire the right person.

As Hilt founder and CEO, Sinead English, says: "While initial screening is often carried out by HR specialists who are skilled at assessing applications, the task of interviewing can then go to individuals, who, while they may be heads of operations, finance, or marketing, may not have the skills required.

"Being a good... judge of people, or a good conversationalist, does not automatically make someone a skilled interviewer. Because that is a learned skill, and small mistakes can cost organisations the best talent, it makes sense to leave hiring to those who have trained for the task."

Nepotism and cronyism are just two of the factors that can influence hiring managers to hire the wrong person. Whatever the reason, it happens a lot. CareerBuilder research indicates it's something 75% of employers have experienced.

As for the cost of a bad hire, the jury's out. According to Business.com, it can be as much as 30% of an employee's salary. Separately, IBEC estimates that poor mental health can cost up to €2,000 yearly per employee.

While they might be more aware of it than most, trained interviewers are - like everyone else - prone to bias. Whether this is of the positive or negative sort, it's always unfair. Which is why, if you're in the market for a job, you're in a battlefield. One in which smarts, beauty and skills, battle bias, machines and error.

We're told that in the recruitment game, the beautiful, tall and male are professionally advantaged. What we're not told - and it's probably safe to assume - is that the aforementioned favourable bias is primarily reserved for cisgender men. Why? Because even in the unfairness battle, all is not equal, with workplace prejudices regularly impacting minorities more than others.

"Being aware of bias is important," says English. "It can creep in, even when interviewers believe they are being objective. Hiring managers often give more weight to a candidate's years of experience than to the quality of their skillset. Job adverts often specify a minimum of ten years' experience in a similar role.

"Yet, ten years on paper could be one year's experience repeated ten times. For this reason, it's advisable for employers to focus instead on what candidates can demonstrably do and on all they can bring to a role."

Asked about how employers view a frequent change of jobs, she replies: "When they see this on a CV, they often see it as evidence the candidate is a job-hopper. This can be the assumption, even though that individual might have been working on short-term contracts or rapidly growing their experience."

As for those who have spent decades in the same job, she says recruiters should not automatically deem them to be too set in their ways to take on a new role.

People favour people who share similar interests, backgrounds and experiences. Hiring managers are no different. "It's common for them to favour people similar to themselves," says English. "They think they are 'the same' and that because of this, they will fit in with their team. This sort of thinking can cloud their judgment."

To avoid this and to ensure a fairer and more objective comparison between candidates - one that minimises bias and allows for consistent data collection, she recommends structured interviews - the standardised assessment process under which every candidate is asked the same questions and evaluated against the same criteria.

While this interview tool has merit, English acknowledges its ability to predict job performance can be low.

Recruiters know they have to be careful with their words, with some being better at asking suitable questions than others.

On the wisdom of beginning an interview with a welcome, she says: "This can be followed by something along the lines of: 'Congratulations on getting to the interview stage for a role in which there was lots of interest'.

"That said, employers might next remark that the candidate's CV made interesting reading. They might then ask that person to use the next couple of minutes to share how they think their experience to date would be of benefit to the organisation."

Revealing how hiring managers can easily trip up, she gives the example 'Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?'.

"It's a good idea to avoid asking that at an interview," Sinead English says. 'Can you talk us through your CV?' is no better.

Explaining why, she says: "Questions like these can make candidates nervous. This may lead to them blurting out irrelevant personal information.

"At an interview, small details matter. Concise instructions and maintaining focus on relevant questions can make a positive difference. It's good to keep comments neutral. 'Nice day out there today,' is good. So too is avoiding questions about personal matters such as family, travel, or religion. At every touchpoint, employers should be aiming for a professional, respectful, and consistent approach."

Sharing that follow-up questions are essential to uncovering the depth of a candidate's experience and for distinguishing candidates who are genuinely capable from those relying on rehearsed or AI-generated responses, she says: "To get around scenarios of that nature, hiring managers might ask something along the lines of: 'You say you spent six months doing that. Tell us what else you had on your plate during that time.' Or: 'You mentioned resources. Tell us more about that."

She says that when interviewing, employers should pay attention to red flags such as excessive pauses, overly polished answers and inconsistencies between what a candidate's CV states and what they are saying at interview.

"AI tools have changed the recruitment landscape," she says. "80 per cent of candidates are using these platforms to prepare their CV. This is absolutely fine once they're not getting AI to lie for them."

Lying is as old as time. Interviewees answering questions online with real-time AI prompts, not so much. To manage this until recently unheard of scenario, hirers are pushing back. Some adopt policies such as 'camera on for the duration of the interview' and perform regular screen-sharing checks.

Using machines to generate replies at interview is not a good idea. It might give one candidate an unfair advantage over another. Worst case scenario it might facilitate lying about experience. But employers' responding by taking the liberty, at online interviews, to gawk while a nervous candidate obediently pans their camera around their room is invasive. Outrageously so. Whether they're sitting in a tiny studio rental, or aboard a yacht on the high seas - assistance dog at their feet - should be their business only.

Any good hiring manager should notice if an interviewee is attentive and speaking from memory, rather than making stuff up and relying on machine prompts to sound convincing. They should notice if they are repeating the questions asked, so as to instigate a typed response from AI, which they then read aloud.

There's much that employers can do to attract the best talent to their organisation.

As English says: "Because recruitment outcomes are impacted by candidate perception of the hiring process, hiring managers should think about how well written the job ad is and whether it reflects clearly what's required for the role. Sometimes the responsibilities list is four times longer than it should be and companies take too long to get back to people after they apply, or interview. Negative experiences can turn candidates away - even from senior roles." more

1

Steward Tony Pacheco
69
5mo
You Can Hire The Best People With The Most Qualified Skills But If Your Leadership Fails, They will Fail. Leaders Can Take Even RAW Talent & Build... Them Up To Be Great. "Respect For The Individual" more
3