Field notes on hiring people for frontline work.
Hire smarter with our best articles, case studies, tips and tools.
The 8 priorities separating high-performing talent acquisition teams in 2026
Based on research with 200 talent acquisition leaders and analysis of more than 200,000 candidate assessment journeys. The hiring conversation in 2026 has been dominated by AI. But when ThriveMap surveyed 200 talent acquisition leaders, a more grounded picture emerged. The highest-performing teams aren’t chasing speed. They’re investing in hiring accuracy: improving quality of hire, […]
Why your pre-hire assessment isn’t working
Nobody invests in pre-hire assessments because they enjoy adding steps to the hiring process. They invest because they want better hires. Better retention. More confidence in decisions. Less of that sinking feeling six months in. And yet many organisations never stop to ask the most important question: is our assessment actually improving quality of hire? […]
How Berkeley achieved 100% graduate retention by optimising their pre-hire assessment
Most hiring teams optimise for speed. Time to hire.Application conversion.Assessment completion rates.Offer acceptance. These metrics are easy to measure and easy to improve. They also tell us very little about whether hiring actually worked. The real test of hiring success happens months later, when new employees decide whether to stay. Across early careers hiring, this […]
Steps in the candidate selection process: 4 examples you can use.
The modern candidate selection process is having an identity crisis. On one side, speed. Automation. One-click apply. AI screening. Funnels that look more like e-commerce checkout flows than human decisions. On the other, reality: real jobs, real people, and real consequences when a hire goes wrong. Hiring teams are under pressure to move faster than […]
The Candidate Expectation Gap: Why Filtering Faster Is Not the Same as Hiring Better
Why Most Hiring Systems Measure the Wrong Things Modern hiring processes are built to move people through a funnel. Applications in. Screens out. Interviews. Offer. Start date. Most of the metrics that define success sit at the top of that funnel. Speed to hire. Time to shortlist. Cost per hire. Interview to offer ratio. Those […]
The 10 Best Recruiting Podcasts for 2026
Hiring is changing fast. AI, assessments, candidate expectations, tighter regulation, and constant pressure on time and quality mean recruiters need more than recycled tips and shiny tools. They need clear thinking, real-world insight, and perspectives that challenge how hiring actually works. Podcasts remain one of the best ways to stay sharp, especially for in-house recruiters […]
Rethinking Validation: How to Know If Your Hiring Assessment Is Actually Working
Let’s get one thing clear upfront: yes, you can measure whether a hiring assessment is working. But the way most organisations try to do it is completely backwards. There’s a dangerous obsession in modern hiring: the belief that every decision must be justified by a tidy line on a graph. Nowhere is this more common […]
Is your pre-hire assessment predictive of performance?
Most hiring assessments claim to be science-backed. But how many truly predict performance? From personality profiles to gamified puzzles, pre-hire assessments have exploded in popularity. But for all the bells and buzzwords, most have a fundamental problem: they aren’t actually predictive of on-the-job performance. And if they’re not measuring what success looks like in your […]
How ThriveMap’s new reasonable adjustments feature is setting a new benchmark for inclusive hiring
Fear, unfair practices, and a lack of transparency – these are just a few of the reasons candidates with disabilities often hesitate to apply for jobs. Despite increased awareness around workplace diversity and inclusion, the recruitment process itself remains a significant barrier for many. Few assessment platforms offer clear pathways for reasonable adjustments, and even […]