Strategies for Reducing Time-to-Hire Without Sacrificing Quality

While leading TA at Going, we implemented a search-based cohort hiring model, and it became one of the most impactful shifts in how recruiting operated. We’d open a role with a defined application window, move candidates through the process on a shared timeline, and make decisions with structure and clarity. It wasn’t rigid. We stayed flexible. Sometimes the right candidate wasn’t in that first cohort, or timing didn’t work out. When that happened, we’d reset and run the search again. But even with that, it was still far more effective than managing candidates in five different stages with no shared context or end in sight. Here’s what this approach unlocked: ✅ Aligned timelines and expectations Everyone knew what was happening and when. It gave hiring teams space to plan, focus, and reduce context switching — which led to faster, sharper decisions and a more cohesive process. ✅ Faster, more confident decisions Evaluating candidates side by side helped patterns emerge more clearly. Strong alignment stood out. Misalignment did too. ✅ Less recency bias When everyone moves through at the same pace, decisions become more objective. You’re not relying on memory from weeks ago. ✅ More consistent feedback When interviews happen in a tight window, feedback loops actually work. Interviewers stay engaged and hiring managers don’t lose context. ✅ Better candidate experience Candidates had clear expectations and timely communication. No wondering where they stood or what came next. ✅ Cleaner, more actionable data Because the process was consistent, the data meant something. We could identify drop-off points, optimize pass-through rates, and actually learn from the search. And the results spoke for themselves: 📉 We reduced time to fill by 41% ✅ We saw a 100% offer acceptance rate. ⭐ And a 5/5 QoH rating within the new hire's first 90 days. Was it perfect? No. It takes planning. It takes alignment. And yes, sometimes you’ll need to rerun a search. But in a fast-moving org, the clarity, speed, and quality this model gave us made it more than worth it. Hiring doesn’t need to feel reactive. With the right structure in place, it becomes focused, fair, and far more effective. Have you tried something similar? Would love to hear how it worked for you. 👇

📱 My phone’s been blowing up lately—colleagues on both sides of the hiring game are venting about the same thing. Job seekers can’t land roles, and hiring managers can’t find people who actually stay. About half of my network who were job-hunting have found something, but the other half are still stuck in the grind. Meanwhile, companies tell me that even when they do make a hire, retention is a nightmare—new employees are bouncing within six months. The disconnect is real: companies are hiring, candidates are applying, but something is clearly broken. Traditional hiring—bloated job descriptions, ATS black holes, and never-ending interview rounds—is failing everyone. So, what needs to change? 🔄 Here’s what I’ve seen work: ✅ Ditch the ATS Dependence – Get back to human recruiting instead of relying on keyword filters. ✍️ Fix Job Descriptions – Make them clear, real, and relevant—cut the jargon. 🤝 Prioritize Personal Connections – Hiring managers should actively engage instead of passively posting. 🎯 Focus on Skills, Not Just Titles – Look at what candidates can actually do, not just where they’ve been. ⏳ Speed Up the Process – The best talent won’t wait around for a four-week approval cycle. 💬 Improve the Candidate Experience – Give real feedback and make the process transparent. Here’s a real-world fix I put in place: At a previous company, the hiring pipeline was a mess—ATS filters blocked great candidates, and the process dragged on. I introduced a referral-first hiring approach, tapping employees’ networks before posting publicly. We also replaced multiple early-stage screenings with a 30-minute call with the hiring manager. 📉 Time-to-hire dropped 35% 🎯 Quality of hires improved—better fits, fewer regrets 📈 Retention rates increased—candidates knew exactly what they were signing up for 🔑 Bottom line: Hiring is broken, but it doesn’t have to be. The best hires come through real connections, not algorithms. What’s been your biggest hiring (or job search) frustration lately? Drop a comment 👇 #Hiring #Recruiting #JobSearch #TalentStrategy #HR #FutureOfWork

Last quarter, Mission Cloud came to us with a recruiting problem: their tech stack hadn't changed in nearly a decade, and they needed to make 40+ hires fast. Their Head of TA, Tony, was brutally honest about their situation. His team was stuck coordinating interviews "like playing Tetris all day" while sifting through floods of applicants to find the qualified ones. "Most ATSs have become fancy file cabinets that eventually get devalued in organizations," he told us. With just 2 recruiters, they faced a seemingly impossible task in today's volatile market. We implemented our AI-powered recruiting platform, focusing on four core components: 1. AI candidate evaluation that surfaces the best matches 2. Automated interview scheduling that eliminated manual coordination 3. Self-service hiring manager access for real-time pipeline visibility 4. Data dashboards that replaced spreadsheet exports Within 90 days, their 2-person recruiting team had made 43 hires. Their recruiters now handle 3X more open requisitions with the same effort. Time-to-fill dropped from 65 days to 57 days, and interview scheduling became 30-50% faster. But the most telling transformation came from their hiring managers. Those constant "where are we with this candidate?" questions disappeared completely. Instead, managers started proactively identifying candidates themselves: "I went into your pipeline and saw three or four people who ranked pretty high—let's get them in the mix." Tony summed it up perfectly: "I haven't seen any other platform that has enabled speed and quality like Gem has." We've packaged the entire Mission Cloud transformation framework in this carousel; exactly what they implemented to achieve these results. Swipe through to see how your recruiting team could achieve these same outcomes (even in today's crazy hiring market):

Most hiring teams waste 70% of their time on the wrong candidates. Here’s how the best operators cut that down: 1) Define “must-haves” in writing. Not 20 bullet points. Three non-negotiables. If a candidate doesn’t meet them, don’t interview. 2) Move the work sample forward. Stop waiting until the final round. A 30-min project upfront saves you hours of interviews with the wrong people. 3) Track candidate velocity. If your process takes 30+ days, you’re losing A-players. Build dashboards that show where candidates stall — and cut bottlenecks. 4) Scorecards > gut feel. Every interviewer rates skills against pre-set criteria. No “I just liked them.” No bias. 5) Onboard before you celebrate. The best hires fail when onboarding fails. Treat the first 30 days as part of the hiring process, not the end of it. Here’s the truth: Hiring isn’t about picking talent. It’s about building the system that attracts, closes, and ramps them.

How to cut your interview-to-hire ratio in half: Most hiring processes waste enormous time interviewing candidates who were never right for the role. Here's how to fix that: 🎯 Create a structured pre-screening process that tests for actual job requirements, not just resume keywords 🎯 Have candidates complete a small, paid sample project that mirrors actual work 🎯 Involve team members in early screening calls to assess cultural fit The standard approach is fundamentally flawed - reviewing dozens of resumes, conducting multiple rounds of interviews, only to start over when no one fits. Instead, focus on quality of assessment over quantity of candidates. A well-designed 60-minute technical assessment will tell you more than five generic interviews. We've seen companies reduce their time-to-hire by 40% simply by reimagining their screening process to focus on demonstrated skills rather than claimed experience. Quality at speed isn't a contradiction. It's a methodology that transforms expectations in technical recruiting. #RightfitAdvantage #HiringEfficiency #TechRecruitment #TalentAcquisition #InterviewStrategy