In all the talk about automating the hiring process using AI, there’s a question nobody seems to be asking: who advocates for the candidate?

More than 50% of companies now require four or more interview rounds — up from the traditional two or three. Before you add an interview, ask this question.

I sat in on a presentation recently where a very smart, very respected voice in HR technology made the case for fully automating talent acquisition. The argument was compelling, the data was real, and by the end, I was simultaneously impressed and unsettled. Some thoughts…

I hear some version of this from leaders regularly: All I do is meet about doing. When do I actually get to do? Or another one, I need “think time.” Organizations that protect focus time are sending a message: we trust you to work. Organizations that fill every hour with meetings about the work are sending a different one.

If you’re a job seeker in 2026 and you’re applying to 300 jobs, I have some bad news — and some good news.

The bad news: the volume strategy isn’t working, and it’s not going to. The good news: the thing that still works is the thing everyone abandoned.

Most internship programs default to one of two failure modes: the intern becomes free labor for the tasks nobody wants, or they become a guest who is politely ignored until August. Both send them back to campus with nothing to show and nothing to say about you. Here’s what an intern needs from their summer assignment.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about hiring in 2026: the automated tools have gotten faster for both employers and job seekers. The thinking has gottone lazier on both ends. And the result is a system drowning in noise.

The World Cup officially arrives in Kansas City on June 16, and we’ll host six matches between now and July 11. A few thoughts about the strange and wonderful chance to host the world.

The unemployment rate for young workers is about twice the national average. AI is changing how hiring happens. But the answer to isn’t a better bot.

The AI-enhanced candidate isn’t going away. Stop asking, how do I catch them? Start asking how do I see past the polish to the actual person? Read on for three types of questions worth adding to your next interview.

You probably think your hiring process sounds professional and respectful. But, how would candidates describe it? The newest generation of candidates is calibrated differently from the candidates of 2015. Here’s what they expect.

We’re hiring and being hired by a generation that grew up watching the gap between filtered images and real life — and they’ve gotten very good at spotting the difference. Here’s a quick look at what’s authentic.

Every week brings another version of the same headline: Company X cuts Y thousand jobs, citing AI.

It feels like a wave. It feels inevitable. It feels like the entire labor market is being rewritten by automation in real time. Here’s what’s true.

For most of the last decade, recruiting drifted into a transaction. But, time-to-fill is up. Quality of hire is down. Everyone’s frustrated. A better ATS isn’t the fix. Remembering that recruiting has always been a relationship business is.

Whether it’s a 5,000-person reduction in force, a department restructure that eliminates two positions, or a single performance termination, saying goodbye to an employee is one of the hardest things any organization does. And one of the things organizations are most consistently bad at.

Friction between recruiters and hiring managers is real and expensive. Recruiters are measured on speed and funnel efficiency, while hiring managers are often paralyzed by the fear of making a bad hire. Different games, different scoreboards. After watching this dance for two decades, here’s what actually fixes the friction.

There’s a tension in recruiting right now between two realities. Some roles demand volume. Other roles require a high-touch approach. Here’s what I see too often: organizations pick one approach and apply it to everything.

Think about a sophomore in high school. They’re figuring out who their friends are, whether they like chemistry, how to parallel park. And we’re asking them to narrow down a career direction? What if we gave them space to explore instead?

We talk a lot about pipelines in recruiting. But a pipeline assumes there are people in it. If students don’t know a career exists, they can’t pursue the education or training to get there. It’s that simple.

Spring cleaning isn’t just about throwing things out — it’s also about deciding what’s still earning its place. Your hiring process deserves the same honest look.