r/ModernHiring

As a recruiter, the uncomfortable truth is most drop-offs aren’t about compensation or competition. It’s the slow replies, unclear feedback, extra interview rounds that don’t change anything, and hiring managers who aren’t aligned but keep wanting to see one more candidate. Good people read that as hesitation and move on.

Then we say that they took another offer like it was out of our control. It wasn’t. We just showed them exactly how we make decisions and they decided they didn’t want to be part of it.

I had a call with someone who was giving advice on the job search, as I have been looking for awhile. I've literally tried everything I can think of. I've been in the final rounds, flown out for interviews, and many other opportunities but nothing has landed.

That person did say something about how someone out there needs my expertise. But how would I find it? I have done so much research on my position and industry, I feel like the expert now. But how can that company tha needs me? Because looking back, all of those interviews were passive and not fully aligned internally on what they were looking for.

I’m dealing with a bit of a challenge right now, team engagement feels really low.

It’s not anything dramatic, just this general vibe that people are a bit checked out. Work is getting done, but there’s no real energy behind it. Feels like people are just going through the motions. I’ve been trying to figure out what actually helps, not just surface-level fixes.

So I’m curious:

Has anyone implemented something that genuinely improved engagement on their team? Not just for a week or two, but something that actually stuck?

Could be anything, from processes, to rituals, changes in management style, even small tweaks that made a difference.

Open to ideas, because right now it feels like I’m missing something obvious.

There’s been some talk on our team about running a virtual hiring event, and I’m a bit on the fence about it. I get the idea, bring in a bunch of candidates, let them meet the team, maybe run some sessions, get a feel for each other beyond just resumes.

But I’m trying to understand what they actually do in practice. Are they:

• a top-of-funnel thing to attract candidates?
• a screening step?
• or more of a branding play?

And after the event, what happens next? Do candidates still go through the usual interview process, or does the event replace a few stages? Does it actually help you get to know people better, or just create more work later?

Feels like one of those ideas that sounds great in theory, but I’m not sure how it plays out in reality.

Interested in y'all opinions

Insider information for you as a job seeker, it’s hard to take high standards seriously when they clearly move. One week candidates are rejected for small gaps, the next week someone weaker gets hired because the role has been open too long. Same team, same role, different bar.

That’s not about talent, it’s about pressure. When there’s time, companies nitpick. When there isn’t, suddenly good enough is fine. At some point you realize hiring isn’t just about being qualified, it’s about timing your application to when the company is tired of searching.

I had a situation recently that’s still bothering me a bit. We were trying to hire a front-end developer, cause our last guy left really abruptly and we had a good number of people we could pick from, in the pipeline. But it became funny how we took longer than expected after doing face-to-face interviews with more than 100 people. If I could paint a picture, we spent almost a month trying to get the right person.

It almost seems like the tech space is getting saturated and it becomes a case of option paralysis.

I have noticed that some teams are moving away from starting from scratch every time they hire. So, instead of opening a role and going through the full sourcing and screening process again, they’re leaning more to outsourcing companies with pre-vetted talents. Basically skipping the part where you’re guessing who might be qualified and starting from people who already meet a certain bar.

I've seen platforms like Rocketdevs and Toptal offer this kind of service. They outsource pre-vetted developers to companies. But if they can do it though, I should be able to figure out their approach. If my company decides to use them instead of me, their internal recruiter, I will be out of a job.

Still trying to figure things out, but I would love to know if you guys are using these 3rd party outsourcing platforms or you still have the tech roles handled.

I might sound crazy but sometimes during an interview, I imagine a whole other universe where I'm talking to the candidate like a long lost friend. Someone I can tell all my troubles to and know that it's kinda safe cause I don't really know them like that.

It gets exhausting sometimes. I wish I could just share jobs to everyone freely too.

I’m wondering what experienced teams look at beyond the obvious. Do you focus more on positive response rates or how fast you can get a candidate from interview to full hire?

I’m currently trying to clean up how we evaluate candidates across the team, because right now, it’s a bit all over the place. Some people go off gut feel, others focus on specific questions, and it’s not always consistent.

So I’m curious what’s working for you guys.

Do your hiring managers use any kind of structured system? Like scoring candidates against specific skills or competencies? Or is it more flexible depending on the role/interviewer?

Also, if you’ve ever tried to standardize this across a team, how did you roll it out without people pushing back or just ignoring it?

Would love to hear what’s actually worked in practice.

Hello!

I've been working with small service businesses (barbers, masters, etc.) and noticed many still use notes or messengers to manage clients.

So I built a simple app called ClientFlow:

- client management

- appointment scheduling

- reminders before bookings

- income tracking

The goal was to keep it as simple as possible, without CRM complexity.

It's live on the App Store as ClientFlow.

Would love feedback from people who actually run small businesses.

I'm currently focusing more on solo service providers (barbers, nail masters, etc.), not all SMB.

The goal is actually to test if simplicity works for that niche.

Curious - what specific workflows do you think are missing for, say, barbers?

I run a hiring automation platform and weighing whether to include psychometric assessments as an optional module. Before going further, I wanted to get perspective from people who've dealt with this.

A few things I'm trying to understand: What are the legal and compliance considerations for including psychometric tests in a screening workflow? Does this vary a lot by region (US vs EU vs UK)?

If questions are AI generated rather than drawn from a validated inventory, do they still need sign-off from a certified occupational psychologist to be defensible, or is that only required for certain test categories (cognitive, personality, etc.)?

For recruiters and TA folks: do you actually value psychometric results from general screening platforms, or do you prefer dedicated providers like SHL, Hogan, or Criteria? Trying to figure out whether this is a responsible feature to build in-house or whether it should stay with specialist providers. Any experience, cautionary tales, or reading recommendations appreciated.

Hi, a little about me, I work in the business solutions and development space. Primarily, I staff for companies, but I offer other services as well. This isn’t a promotion, just a reflection.

Recently, someone reached out via my sales and company lines, not our recruiting side.

They were asking about project management opportunities and how we might be able to help. I gave them a call and let them know I don’t currently have those kinds of roles available. However, I offered to ask around within my network and potentially share their information. Part of that was to connect with more diverse clients, but also because I genuinely appreciated their energy and felt their candidacy was strong. It seemed worthwhile to present them to a few contacts and see if anyone would be open to a conversation.

They have a degree in architecture, years of experience as a project manager in the architecture space, and they come across very well. They’re also honest about their skill set, which is something I really value when placing someone.

Here’s where I’m struggling and could use some guidance. I reached out to several hiring managers and decision-makers in relevant fields. Despite recent job postings, I’ve been hearing things like: “We’re not hiring right now,” “We’re just collecting candidates,” or “We’re not actually hiring for that role.”

Since I haven’t worked much on the project management side of recruiting, I’m trying to understand if a lot of these roles are essentially ghost jobs? And more importantly, how do I support candidates who are asking for help when I don’t have direct openings, and many of the roles posted online don’t seem to be real or active? Is this what the market has been dealing with, ghost jobs and gatekeepers? I don't know if you post a job 3 days ago and then say the position isn't available despite multiple postings. Why spend the money on advertising a role you aren't hiring for?

ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ME TRYING TO ADVERTISE ANY OF MY SERVICES. I WILL NOT PROMOTE MY COMPANY. I just need advice if someone can weigh in and give me some pointers.