r/interviews • u/SuspiciousLog5554 • 1d ago
Recruiter here, What would actually make the hiring process better for you?
Hi everyone,
I’ve been recruiting in the tech industry for about 5 years now, mainly for mid-to-senior engineering and product roles across the U.S. and Europe. Over time, I’ve realized that while we recruiters see things one way, candidates often have a very different experience.
I’d like to hear from you directly:
– What’s one thing you wish recruiters would stop doing?
– And what’s one thing you’d like to see more of in the hiring process?
I’m genuinely looking to better understand where we can improve, communication, transparency, interview prep, or even the way we reach out. Honest, constructive feedback is very welcome.
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts. I’ll be reading through all the comments and replying where I can.
Appreciative recruiter trying to do better
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u/OnlyThePhantomKnows 1d ago
1) Please re-enter ALL your job data into our web form. I am a consultant/startup person. 40 years of 3 month to 2 year jobs. You want dates? Some were part time and I'd work 2 and 3 at the same time. Sometimes there'd be a month or two between work with a particular client. I'd be one of the founders of a company and need to work as a consultant while we drummed up money. Some companies I founded lasted 15 years, but never were able to pay us consistently, so I consulted and that is twenty years ago.
I literally walk away from companies that do this.
2) Mismatched agenda. This is mainly on the body shop, but I got an interview with a company, they thought they were interviewing for full time. I was contract only at that point. Follow on: Reaching out three months later to hire me as contract. Uncool. It implies that I am going to take that long to find a job.
3) Not being honest with timelines. If you are going to take a month to get through the resumes to start interviewing, TELL ME. It may be okay. It may not. If not, we can save a lot of time.
4) Not being honest about the number of rounds, especially face to face. An interview means a half day of PTO or more. "It's only an hour zoom call" No. It is an hour of prep. And hour of call. And an hour afterwards. I don't care if it is a phone screen and 4 hour gauntlet if it is one and done. I won't do more than 3 rounds, even interviewing for C class positions.
5) Have a "we got your resume", "you passed/failed automated", and "a human said yes/no" emails. Understanding why we failed to get interviewed is critical. Sometimes top talent people have shitty resumes. As someone who has hired plenty of engineers, it is more typical for the elite engineer to have a shitty resume. Follow on: Have a "we have received too many resumes. Yours was received after cutting off" email.
6) DON'T post false reqs. I've been handed a resume, told we are going to hire this person, but the company has a policy of open recruitment. My task was to write a job req that fit him perfectly that no one else would qualify for. (Someone other than the hiring manager/friend had to write it) WHY? It wastes people's time. When people meet 95% of the false req, and don't even get an interview, it depresses people. I had a friend of a friend ask me about that req. They applied and wondered why. My answer since I was a company officer was, "We ended up hiring someone who fit it perfectly."
7) DON'T ASK for more years of experience than the position. Entry level with 3 years job related experience in ... Come on! That's not entry level. 5+ years of team management for an individual contributor (engineer) role.
8) DONT ASK THE IMPOSSIBLE. An example. A company posted we need 5 years experience in <language> The author of the language applied and said, "I am sorry I don't have 5 years of experience in <language>, I only invented it 3 years ago. This is not an urban legend. I got the story over a beer from the author.
9) Don't list remote if it isn't. Hybrid is not remote.