Candidate Recruitment Steps

Louder for the people at the back 🎤 Many organisations today seem to have shifted from being institutions that develop great talent to those that primarily seek ready-made talent. This trend overlooks the immense value of individuals who, despite lacking experience, possess a great attitude, commitment, and a team-oriented mindset. These qualities often outweigh the drawbacks of hiring experienced individuals with a fixed and toxic mindset. The best organisations attract talent with their best years ahead of them, focusing on potential rather than past achievements. Let’s be clear this is more about mindset and willingness to learn and unlearn as apposed to age. To realise the incredible potential return, organisations must commit to creating an environment where continuous development is possible. This requires a multi-faceted approach: 1. Robust Training Programmes: Employers should invest in comprehensive training programmes that equip employees with the necessary skills for their roles. This includes on-the-job training, mentorship programmes, online courses, and workshops. 2. Redefining Hiring Criteria: Organisations should revise their hiring criteria to focus more on candidates’ potential and willingness to learn rather than solely on prior experience or formal qualifications. Behavioural interviews, aptitude tests, and probationary periods can help assess a candidate's ability to learn and adapt. 3. Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Companies can collaborate with educational institutions to design curricula that align with industry needs. Apprenticeship programmes, internships, and cooperative education can bridge the gap between academic learning and practical job skills. 4. Lifelong Learning Culture: Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning within organisations is crucial. Employers should provide ongoing education opportunities and support for professional development. This includes continuous skills assessment and access to resources for upskilling and reskilling. 5. Inclusive Recruitment Practices: Employers should implement inclusive recruitment practices that remove biases and barriers. Blind recruitment, diversity quotas, and targeted outreach programmes can help ensure that diverse candidates are given a fair chance. By implementing these measures, organisations can develop a workforce that is adaptable, innovative, and resilient, ensuring sustainable success and growth.

📱 My phone’s been blowing up lately—colleagues on both sides of the hiring game are venting about the same thing. Job seekers can’t land roles, and hiring managers can’t find people who actually stay. About half of my network who were job-hunting have found something, but the other half are still stuck in the grind. Meanwhile, companies tell me that even when they do make a hire, retention is a nightmare—new employees are bouncing within six months. The disconnect is real: companies are hiring, candidates are applying, but something is clearly broken. Traditional hiring—bloated job descriptions, ATS black holes, and never-ending interview rounds—is failing everyone. So, what needs to change? 🔄 Here’s what I’ve seen work: ✅ Ditch the ATS Dependence – Get back to human recruiting instead of relying on keyword filters. ✍️ Fix Job Descriptions – Make them clear, real, and relevant—cut the jargon. 🤝 Prioritize Personal Connections – Hiring managers should actively engage instead of passively posting. 🎯 Focus on Skills, Not Just Titles – Look at what candidates can actually do, not just where they’ve been. ⏳ Speed Up the Process – The best talent won’t wait around for a four-week approval cycle. 💬 Improve the Candidate Experience – Give real feedback and make the process transparent. Here’s a real-world fix I put in place: At a previous company, the hiring pipeline was a mess—ATS filters blocked great candidates, and the process dragged on. I introduced a referral-first hiring approach, tapping employees’ networks before posting publicly. We also replaced multiple early-stage screenings with a 30-minute call with the hiring manager. 📉 Time-to-hire dropped 35% 🎯 Quality of hires improved—better fits, fewer regrets 📈 Retention rates increased—candidates knew exactly what they were signing up for 🔑 Bottom line: Hiring is broken, but it doesn’t have to be. The best hires come through real connections, not algorithms. What’s been your biggest hiring (or job search) frustration lately? Drop a comment 👇 #Hiring #Recruiting #JobSearch #TalentStrategy #HR #FutureOfWork

I’ve reviewed 1,000+ LinkedIn profiles over the past 5 years. Here are 8 tips to turn your LinkedIn profile into a job-generating machine: 1. Upgrade Your Profile Picture Like it or not, your profile picture is your first impression. Make it a good one: - Upload your PP to Photofeeler .com - Analyze the feedback - Reshoot/edit your picture based on the data Repeat until your scores are good! 2. Leverage Keywords The right keywords help you show up in more searches. Here's how to find them: - Find 5+ job descriptions for target roles - Paste them all into ResyMatch.io's JD scanner - Save the top 15 skills Weave them into the rest of your profile! 3. Write A Killer Headline I like to use this headline formula: [Keywords] | [Skills] | [Results-Focused Value Proposition] Example for a data scientist: Data Scientist | Python, R, Tableau | I Help Hospitals Use Big Data To Reduce Readmission Rates By 37% 4. Write A Killer About A great About section has 3 parts: - A short paragraph that speaks to your job, years of experience, and value prop. - Five "case study" bullets that showcase specific results. - Your email w/ a CTA for people to connect with you. Include keywords! 5. Leverage Your Featured Section It’s hard to convey your value on a resume or in an About section. This is your chance to show people what you’ve done on your terms. Include things like: - Case studies of your work - Content you’ve created - Posts you’ve written 6. Skills Matter LinkedIn uses profile Skills sections to rank candidates. Here’s how to boost your rank: - Add every keyword from your ResyMatch scan - Choose the top 5 most relevant skills - Ask colleagues, friends, family, & classmates for endorsements (aim for 5) 7. Engage & Support Others Comments can generate tons of profile views! Here’s how: - Find 10+ thought leaders in your target space - Bookmark their post feed - Check their feeds daily - Leave a supportive, valuable comment on each new post Repeat for a minimum of 30 days 8. Create Content! Content is networking at scale. One post can reach more people than your entire connection base. It also allows you to showcase value in your own words, on your own terms. It can feel scary, but only 1% of people do it—and the returns are huge.

A junior I referred for a role reached out to me recently. He had gone through multiple interviews, waited for weeks, and heard absolutely nothing. No update. No closure. No feedback. I eventually had to follow up myself to get an answer for him. And honestly, this is becoming far too common. There are organizations - where candidates keep interviewing and waiting endlessly, only to be met with silence. Sometimes I genuinely wonder: 1. Are hiring teams too busy to respond? 2. Are companies building pipelines without real intent to hire? 3. Or have we simply normalized ignoring people after using their time and effort? Recruitment is not just about filling positions. It’s about how respectfully you treat people who trusted your process. A rejection may disappoint someone for a day. Silence can damage confidence for months. And no employer branding campaign is strong enough to hide a poor candidate experience. #hiring #recruitment #candidateexperience #leadership #HR #employerbranding #interviewfeedback

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Recruitment is known as a fast paced industry, but there’s one part of our role as recruiters that can’t be rushed; building relationships. In my experience, creating long-term relationships with our clients, candidates, and colleagues is invaluable. Not only does this approach lead to better hiring decisions, but it also shapes careers, fuels business growth, and creates networks of trust that last for years. Here’s why long-term relationships should be the foundation of any great recruitment strategy: 𝟏. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞  The best partnerships – whether with clients or candidates – aren’t built in a single conversation. They develop over time, through consistency, honesty, and delivering results. When businesses work with recruiters they trust, they gain a true partner, not just a service provider. The same applies to candidates. Many of the strongest hires come from professionals we’ve known for years and placed more than once. 𝟐. 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 One of the most rewarding aspects of long-term relationship-building is seeing how careers evolve. Many candidates we’ve placed early in their careers have gone on to become hiring managers or senior leaders, and when they need to build their own teams, they often return to the recruiters they trust. A single placement can turn into a lifelong professional partnership. 𝟑. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬  Understanding a company’s culture, leadership style, and long-term growth strategy takes time. The deeper that understanding, the better the hires. Clients who treat recruiters as strategic partners rather than short-term vendors see the biggest return on investment – not just in speed to hire, but in quality and retention. 𝟒. 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬  In today’s job market, candidates expect a personal, transparent process – one where they feel valued beyond a single application. A recruiter who stays in touch, offers advice, and provides genuine career guidance builds relationships that last. And when candidates have a great experience, they refer others, expanding the recruiter’s network even further. 𝟓. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  The recruitment industry is built on trust and reputation. The most successful recruiters are the ones known for honest, long-standing relationships that create value for both businesses and professionals over time. At the end of the day, recruitment is about people, not transactions. The strongest partnerships aren’t measured in placements but rather in careers built, businesses grown, and trust earned.

Recruiters can be gatekeepers, or we can be door openers. We can dutifully take orders from hiring managers, or we can offer guidance and advice to help them expand their idea of a great candidate. We can put out job postings with biased criteria like degree requirements or preferences for employed candidates, or we can point out biases and help HMs reflect on what's behind those biases so they don't hold this criteria against candidates. We can be focus on all the ways an applicant doesn't meet the mark, or we can look for all the ways that they do. We can closely guard information about the hiring process because we believe that the best candidate can navigate whatever comes their way, or we can freely share information because we believe that it's our job to help every candidate shine. We can follow outdated practices around not sharing compensation or offering the least a candidate is willing to accept, or we can advocate to change these practices in our work place and keep equity at the forefront of our compensation practices. Gatekeepers see their role as taking orders from hiring managers and executing them effectively. Door openers see their role as true partners and owners of the hiring process, and often that's what's needed to evolve outdated practices in the workplace.

What if recruiting efficiency and effectiveness came down to one principle? After decades in this industry, I believe it might: exert predictive control over as many critical matching variables as possible, as early as possible. Here are six critical candidate-to-job variables that determine every successful recruiting match: 🔸 Skills - Can they do the job? 🔸 Opportunity - Is this the right next career step for them? 🔸 Logistics - Do location/schedule/travel work? 🔸 Availability - Are they actually recruitable right now? 🔸 Remuneration - Can you reach alignment on comp? 🔸 Closability - Will they actually accept an offer? These variables work like a slot machine. Miss ANY single one of them - even with the other five perfectly aligned - and you've got nothing. Here's what's interesting about predictive control: ▪️ Skills? Technology helps a lot here. ▪️ Logistics? Partially searchable on some platforms. ▪️ Availability? Some signals exist - resume updates, "Open to Work." ▪️ Remuneration? Sometimes captured, often inferred. ▪️ Opportunity? Resumes show what people did, not what they want. ▪️ Closability? May be impossible to predict before a conversation. The recruiters who consistently deliver results aren't necessarily better at "closing" at the end. They're better at exerting predictive control from the beginning and throughout the process - ensuring alignment across all six variables before they ever get to an offer. Check out my full article for a deep exploration into these variables, including a direct call to HR tech providers: build solutions that help recruiters predict across ALL six variables, not just skills. And please let me know - did I miss any critical variables? What would you add or change?

What You Need to Do with Your LinkedIn Profile In a market this competitive, every small detail counts. No single change will land you a job, but refining your materials once and focusing on outreach, relationships, and applications makes all the difference. More than half of the profiles I see need cleanup. Here is what you should do. • Have a custom banner and profile photo that stand out. Your banner is the first thing people see. Choose something personal and relevant to your work that reflects your professional identity. • Make your portfolio or website link easy to find. Add it in your Featured section, profile header, and About section. Do not hide it. Recruiters should reach your work in one click. If you have a premium account, use the custom link field at the top. If not, place your link at the start of your About section. • Keep your profile clean and readable. Simplicity shows professionalism. Avoid long paragraphs. Use short sentences and white space. Open your profile on your phone and ask yourself whether you would keep scrolling. • Write a headline that draws attention. Your headline is not just your title. It is a quick snapshot of who you are and what you bring. You can keep it simple or make it more human, such as “Game Producer helping teams build unforgettable worlds.” Think of it as your first line of connection. • Craft a concise, human About section. Summarize what you do, your main skills, and the impact you create. Do not just list tasks. End with a line that shows what drives you or what you love about your field. People remember people, not job descriptions. • Structure your Experience section for clarity and impact. Group related roles under the same organization and keep your total list to around ten entries. Use one or two short bullets for each position describing what you did and the results you achieved. Use action verbs and quantify where you can. Older roles can be summarized briefly once they are more than ten years old. • Avoid empty entries. Every role should have at least one line that explains what you did and why it mattered. Even short or contract roles deserve a description that shows your contribution. • Feature your strongest work. Use the Featured section to highlight up to ten items that best represent you. This can include projects, portfolios, or posts. Keep it focused so viewers leave your profile with a clear sense of your strengths. DON'T FORGET THESE LAST 2: • Show education, awards, and volunteer work. These details make your story complete and reveal values beyond your job titles. • Add relevant skills. Include the skills that match your target roles. This improves search visibility and helps recruiters understand your strengths. Do these things and your profile will instantly stand out in the crowd. Because remember, the person reading it is not just reading yours. They are reading hundreds, maybe thousands. Make yours memorable, efficient, and real.

We just lost the best candidate we interviewed all year. Not because we paid too little. Not because our culture was a bad fit. Not because they did not want the job. We lost them because we took three weeks to make a decision, and our competitor took three days. The candidate had already passed a screening call, a technical interview, and a culture fit round. I told the team I wanted just one more quick chat with them to be absolutely certain before we sent the contract. While I was busy trying to schedule a fourth call to make myself feel comfortable, another founder simply picked up the phone and made them an offer. I was frustrated at first. Then I realized the failure was entirely my own. That experience forced me to completely audit how we evaluate people. I realized that adding more interview rounds does not actually increase the quality of the hire. It just dilutes the accountability of the hiring manager. If you cannot figure out if someone is right for the job after two conversations and a look at their past work, a third conversation is not going to save you. It just means you are afraid to make a decision. Top tier talent does not sit around waiting for a company to overcome its own bureaucracy. They go to the teams that value them quickly and decisively. We cut our entire hiring process down to two steps the very next day. Stop dragging candidates through five rounds of interviews just to make your internal process feel thorough. Speed is a competitive advantage in hiring. As a job seeker, what is the longest interview process a company has ever put you through?

AI is an enabler, not the hero of recruitment. A few days ago, I called a candidate for a leadership role. Before we even got into the details, he said, “Charlie, thanks for calling. I’ve been getting messages from other recruiters that seem AI-generated, and it feels like a template." That moment reminded me why human connection matters. AI can help us work smarter, it can screen profiles faster, analyze trends, and predict hiring needs. But it cannot replace empathy, trust, and the genuine conversations that make candidates feel valued. Recruitment is about people, not just processes. In a world where technology evolves rapidly, candidates expect authenticity, not a chatbot or a generic AI response. Let’s use AI as a tool to enhance efficiency, while keeping the heart of recruitment where it belongs, with people. #Recruitment #AI #HumanConnection #TalentAcquisition