Is hiring broken? 3 reasons why we should rethink our approach to Talent Acquisition.

Recently, I attended a networking event in Toronto, where 90% of participants were actively job-seeking. Most had been searching for opportunities in the IT sector for over six months. To diversify their strategies, they decided to attend events like this, hoping to connect with potential employers in person. While speaking with them, a few key challenges stood out:

1. The Overwhelmed Talent Acquisition Process

Talent Acquisition teams and hiring managers are inundated with applications. The sheer volume - often hundreds per posting - makes it difficult for the best candidates to stand out. Many job seekers at the event expressed frustration, realising that their applications were often buried under 100 or more submissions.

Without advanced screening technology or efficient processes, corporate recruiters and hiring managers have little chance of spotting the right talent amidst irrelevant applications. This disconnect not only demoralises candidates but also risks companies missing out on exceptional potential.

2. The Quest for the "Perfect Candidate"

Many employers focus on finding candidates who tick every box on the job description, believing this guarantees success. However, this cautious approach may be holding them back.

I reflected on my own career: I was once given a chance as a recruitment consultant despite not being the obvious match. I came from a commercial background, and Thomas Thor, my former company, saw potential in my resilience and logical problem-solving skills. That leap of faith paid off - for 10 years, I thrived in that role.

I encouraged several job seekers that evening to apply for roles even if they didn’t meet all the criteria. Yet, their responses were laced with doubt. And they’re not wrong to feel this way - employers today seem increasingly hesitant to take risks on “outsider” profiles.

But this raises a few critical questions: Is it truly the outsider profile that’s harder to train and integrate?

Or have companies become too rigid in their ways, making adaptability a challenge?

Could it be a lack of inclusion and retention focus that makes any new starter’s beginnings difficult anyway?

3. The Disconnect Between HR/Talent Acquisition and Hiring Managers

I’ve witnessed it countless times throughout my career in recruitment: the relationship between Talent Acquisition/HR teams and hiring managers is often strained, if not outright broken.

From the HR/Talent Acquisition perspective:

• Hiring managers are often untrained in selecting the right candidates and slow to respond, leading to the loss of good talent due to delays or lack of feedback.

• Needs frequently change, roles get canceled, and decisions are postponed, resulting in a poor candidate experience and leaving Talent Acquisition teams frustrated.

• Managers may also focus too heavily on technical skills overlooking candidates' potential to learn, or resist taking risks on unconventional candidates, further slowing the process and creating tension.

From the manager’s perspective:

• Middle managers are often overwhelmed, juggling hands-on responsibilities with constant pressure from above. Many feel that being a manager comes with more constraints than rewards.

• They rarely have the time - or the energy - to fully articulate their hiring needs or engage deeply with the Talent Acquisition team.

• This lack of communication leads to misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, and a frustrating cycle of blame that leaves everyone running in circles.

And they end up either not hiring at all or making poor hiring decisions...

New starters, as a result, don’t experience a well-structured recruitment process or onboarding. They often feel caught in the middle of a disconnect between HR teams and managers, who may shift the blame onto each other when things go wrong.

Conclusion

Hiring feels broken - and maybe that’s a good thing. Sometimes, things need to break before we can rebuild them, fix them, and make them better.

Do I have all the answers? No. But I have ideas - at least, from a talent management and employer branding perspective. Want to hear them? Let’s talk (got ya!)

This reminds me of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, where the cracks become part of its story and make it even stronger. Maybe hiring needs the same: to face the flaws, learn from them, and come back better than before.