Introduction

Imagine you’re going on a first date.

The first impression counts. You arrive well ahead of schedule to show you’re punctual and respect the time of the other person. You’ve dressed up to the nines in a newly purchased outfit, spent an hour perfecting your hair in front of the mirror, and even got around to making your nails look presentable. On your journey over you ran through some of your finer qualities in way of a last-minute confidence boost. Having overcome the first few seconds of small talk, you sit down and take a breath. You’re ready to enjoy the time ahead. Then comes the first question: “So, what makes you good enough to be my partner?”

And so begins a barrage of queries and clarifications. Your strengths. Your weaknesses. Your habits, good and bad. Any explanations for leaving past relationships. After the interrogation is over, they give you thirty seconds to recover yourself and ask any questions you might have for them.

Of course, your mind goes blank. What questions are you supposed to ask someone who has just conducted a post-mortem on your past relationship history? How do you begin to learn more about someone who has already assumed you want to become their partner?

Deciding to give them a second chance, you reach out the next day to thank them for their time and to see if they’d like to meet with you again. You never hear back. The whole experience was utterly confusing, frustrating, and disappointing, making you question your sense of worth.

Now re-read the above and replace the word ‘date’ with ‘interview.’

This scenario would be utterly frowned upon in the world of dating, and yet, it’s the same approach that defines many hiring processes. The power is weighted heavily in favour of the recruiter, with the employee left to defend their worth and justify their value before they even know if they are interested in the role, team, or company, only to never hear back from the recruiter.

From ineffective interviews to incomplete processes, longstanding problems with the execution of talent acquisition not only leave candidates frustrated but also result in hiring teams wasting time and resources only to hire the wrong candidate for the role.

We know our hiring processes are broken. How can we fix them?