How to Improve Entry-Level Hiring Strategies

📱 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

Let’s talk about hiring and how we treat people in the process. There’s a lot going on in the world right now. For many, the job search only adds more stress and uncertainty. I’ve been thinking about how we can show up for our communities, and in my own work, that means prioritizing how we support candidates. In the progressive movement, we talk a lot about liberation, equity, and justice. But those values don’t always show up where they should (in our hiring practices). Whether we’re building campaigns, nonprofits, or foundations, *how* we hire is just as important as *who* we hire. The process is wicked important. It’s a window into how we operate, how we value people, and how seriously we take our commitments to equity. Here’s what it looks like to treat candidates well in the hiring process, especially in movement-aligned spaces: 1. Transparency & Respect ➡️ Post the salary every time. It’s not radical anymore, it’s baseline. ➡️ Share your timeline and stick to it. If things shift, update candidates about that shift. ➡️ Respond to everyone who applies or interviews. Even if it’s a no, it matters. ➡️ Share interview questions with your candidates ahead of time. This helps them prep and show up as their best selves to the call. 2. Remove Barriers ➡️ Ditch the cover letter and use clear application questions. Or, just ask for a resume and send a short written questionnaire as the first step in the process. ➡️ Again, be upfront about salary and benefits. It saves everyone time and builds trust. ➡️ Be mindful of time. Many strong candidates simply can’t afford to spend 10+ hours on interviews. Keep the process streamlined, focused, and as efficient as possible. ➡️ Compensate finalists for exercises. It shows you value people’s time and helps dismantle unpaid labor culture. 3. Consistent Process & Reduced Bias ➡️ Standardize your interviews. Same questions, same format = less bias, more fairness. ➡️ Use blind grading when appropriate. I like doing this especially for written exercises. A clear rubric helps us focus on key competencies.  ➡️ Make it collaborative. Final stages should include buy-in from both leadership and peers or direct reports the hire will work closely with. 4. The Candidate Experience Is Movement Work ➡️ Share your mission, values, and team vibe throughout the process. Candidates want to know what they’re stepping into. ➡️ For interviews, give candidates a heads-up on who they’ll meet and what to expect. When we treat candidates with dignity and transparency, we build stronger teams and stronger movements. We’re not perfect, and we don’t expect anyone else to be either, but we love partnering with clients who are willing to do the work to get better together. 🔍🔍 What would you add? What have you seen that works (or doesn’t) in progressive hiring? Drop your thoughts below. #EquityInHiring #NonprofitJobs #DEI #WorkplaceCulture #CandidateExperience #HiringEquity #PayTransparency 

On Hiring // Interviews // Projects: I have learned that I am not always good at making hiring decisions based on interviews alone. I easily get excited about candidates, which leads me to overlook red flags (a lesson I've learned the hard way) or instances of a fit/skills mismatch (in more commonplace scenarios). As a result, I have switched up the order of my hiring process. For me, this has been game changing. Rather than starting with an interview, I typically now do the following: 1. Request information for the role in a very specific format (ie: please send an email with XYZ title with your resume attached). —This often weeds out a large initial batch of candidates if: a) the candidate does not follow this format, or b) the candidate sends a templated email, or c) the candidate sends an email, applying to the position, that says something like, "what do you do?" and hasn't looked at the website or job description. 2. Start with a small, paid project. This is usually 1-2 hours of work, compensated at the person's normal rate (or, if this hasn't been established yet, at a rate that feels joyful and fair to the candidate). —For me, this is the single most helpful thing we can do during the hiring process. This allows us to see not only the work product, but how the candidate thinks about the project; how they present it; and how they communicate about it. 3. Then, move to references and an interview. —I typically check 2-3 references per candidate, and am currently experimenting with moving the interview to the *end* of the process. While this order of events might sound a bit radical, I'm finding that it is leading me to much better hiring decisions, and it puts a process in place that solves for my own tendency to want to hire everyone I interview because I like them. Research has shown that most of us are actually not very good at making hiring decisions based on interviews alone, and that we bring all sorts of personal biases into the process, even if we try not to. For example, it has been proven that we are more likely to hire someone who is perceived to be "like us." Incorporating a project (a real project that relates to work you're currently doing) is a way to align hiring decisions with skills, competencies, and quality of work, rather than simply on "personality" —which does not tend to correlate to fit. This also respects the candidate's time, because they can get a sense of whether the type of work aligns with what they most want to be doing. I know that this process isn't possible in all environments, but it works great within the context of my own business. Has anyone else experimented with an alternate hiring process along these lines? #hiring #interviewing #culture #leadership #teamculture #HR

The way we hire is broken. Here's what I would do instead: 1. Have the hiring manager write what are the 3 main functions of the role and the 3 most important skill sets they are looking for. 2. Fill out information about what kind of hours are expected in the role and what kind of characteristics and qualities would make a person thrive. 3. Share a salary range within $30K spread and be up front about the total compensation package. 4. Write the job description in human voice that speaks to painting a picture of the day to day with all the information above. 5. Set a specific deadline of when to apply by and 1-3 quick (no more than 10 minutes spent total!) qualifying questions to assess candidate's capabilities to do the actual job. Example: (for a marketing manager: how would you go about creating a title for a SEO blog post ranking for keyword: interview). 6. Put position on hold and don't accept any more applications. Review all submissions and select 3 that are most closely aligned with what hiring manager is looking for. 7. Interview top 3 in Zoom interview with specific set of questions. Share notes with hiring manager to decide who top 2 are. 8. Bring top 2 contenders in for on-site or Zoom panel; no more than 3 interviewers. Important questions should be flushed out ahead of time and have a scorecard to be objective about overall fit. 9. Update each candidate that took time to prepare for interviews on status and when they can hear a response back. 10. Extend offer. If accepted, close requisition, and let everyone who applied know the position has been filled. What did I miss? As a in-house recruiter and headhunter, I know this is easier said than done with the volume of candidates - but feel strongly if employers have clarity in the beginning of what the non-negotiables they are looking for, recruiting would be more smooth sailing! #happilyhired #interview #recruiting

"We need to hire fast!" is hurting your startup. I work with founders and hiring leaders scaling their teams. I keep seeing the same pattern: The pressure to fill a role quickly leading to surface-level hiring. → A few quick interviews. → A gut decision. → A rushed offer. Speed matters. But speed without strategy is expensive. And here’s what happens next: → 6-12 months of wasted runway You hire someone who looks great on paper but doesn’t deliver. → Team morale declines Your best people pick up the slack—until they burn out or leave. → Market momentum slows Mis-hires don’t drive results, and now you're playing catch-up. → Customer trust fades Inconsistent execution leads to missed deadlines and dropped deals. Then reality hits: You spend 3X more time and money fixing the mistake than you would have spent hiring the right way. Here’s what to do instead: 1. Define the win before opening the role.      What must this hire achieve in 6 months?      If you can’t answer that, you’re not ready to hire. 2. Cut through the fluff.      Structured interviews > generic Q&A. 3. Assess real-world ability.      Forget the “culture fit” trap.      Can they actually do the work at the level you need? 4. Get buy-in early.      Alignment upfront means fewer roadblocks later. 5. Move fast—but never reactively.      Hiring with urgency is smart.      Hiring out of panic is expensive.      Hiring with a STRATEGY makes the magic happen. When the right person is in the right seat, everything moves faster and smoother. Your business THRIVES. What strategy do you implement to hire quickly the right way?

Your slow hiring process could be costing you the best candidates, think sprint vs marathon. (Okay let’s make it 800 meters because it’s not quite a sprint.) "You want quality? Then take your time!" Not Exactly.. Honestly....the leaders I've worked with both as internal HR and 3rd party recruiter don't "take their time" thinking it will increase quality. Here's what I've learned on my own and from leaders I've worked with.. 1. It's not about just moving faster - it's about doing the work before and having a system in place. 2. Get your team on the Same Page Before you start interviewing...this is possibly the biggest issue I see. ➡️ Hiring leader wants this… ➡️ the Hiring Leader Manager thinks X… ➡️ Each party interviews candidate, 'calibrate' to find out they are not calibrated on what they are looking for.. The job description is a laundry list of requirements sometimes from old JD's and now from AI If you list out the real requirements showing which ones are priorities and have that as part of selection process, it will save you a lot of time.  Yes...priorities may change as you get going but you have a foundation to work from. Here's what you can do..it's not easy I get it but if you take an hour upfront..you'll get hours if not days back in time.. 1. Get Ruthless with Your "Must-Haves" 🎯 Take a good look at your team. What skills do you actually need? I mean REALLY need. 🎯 Stop copying old job descriptions and get real. 🎯 Trust me - you don't need 15 requirements. Pick 3-6 that actually matter. Game changer! 2. Get Your Team on the Same Page - 🎯 If your team isn't aligned on what you're looking for... you're gonna waste time. 🎯 Nothing kills hiring speed like five different people wanting five different things. Hash it out first! 3. Create a Simple Rating System Look, we all have biases (yep, me too!). 🎯 Having a clear way to evaluate candidates keeps everyone honest and moving quick. 🎯 No more "gut feeling" hires that we regret later... I’ve seen leaders take months finding the right candidates. With some preparation you can get it to several weeks, spend less time and higher quality. What's the biggest factor impacting the speed/quality of hire? #Hiring #RealTalk #Leadership #Recruitment