Field notes on hiring people for frontline work.
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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 […]
Pre-hire assessment completion rates & candidate drop-off by industry
What 200,000+ candidate journeys reveal about how hiring performance changes across sectors Why do candidates complete nearly every assessment in some industries — but never even start them in others? At first glance, the explanation seems obvious. Different sectors have different candidates, different expectations, or different hiring challenges. But analysis of more than 200,000 pre-hire […]
72% of Candidates Say They’ve Been “Job Catfished”
What is ‘job catfishing’ “Job catfishing” describes a specific hiring failure: when the lived reality of a role materially differs from what a candidate expected when they accepted the offer. It’s not about ghosting. It’s not about poor communication during interviews. In fact, most candidates report that information during the hiring process is broadly consistent. […]
AI Detection: A Small Feature That Solves a Growing Problem in Hiring
One of the biggest shifts in hiring over the past year hasn’t been a new tool, it’s been behaviour. Candidates are increasingly using AI to help them prepare, practise, and sometimes even complete pre-hire assessments. It’s understandable. The tools are accessible, the pressure to perform is high, and the line between “preparation” and “assistance” is […]
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 […]
Traditional vs Realistic Recruitment
Most hiring teams are under pressure to improve time-to-fill.That makes sense, open roles create real operational pain. But speed doesn’t tell you whether the person who accepted the role will still be there in three weeks. And when candidates aren’t a good fit, it shows through early attrition, retraining costs, frustrated managers, and leadership asking: […]
21 ideas to build a strong remote work culture
How to build remote work culture More than half of employers now offer remote work. Yet over a third are actively pulling people back to the office, citing drops in productivity and culture. The problem isn’t location. It’s design. Most companies are still running office-era systems in a work model that no longer has an […]
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 […]