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    How To Beat Burnout For Managers: 3 Habits For Stress Relief

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    Are you feeling overwhelmed as a manager? Studies show that managers face a higher risk of burnout compared to individual contributors and executives. Managing stress is crucial for your well-being and effectiveness in leading your team. Here are three simple habits to help you navigate the pressures of your role and maintain balance:

    1. Strategic planning for productivity

    Efficiency is key to reducing stress and boosting productivity. Plan your week meticulously to make the most of your time. Start by listing your tasks for the week or day, and delegate as much as possible. Hold yourself accountable for delegation by involving your direct reports.

    Organize your day like a marathon, scheduling activities in intervals to optimize your energy. Consider tackling routine tasks like emails in the morning, reserving afternoons for more creative or strategic work. Alternatively, prioritize tasks based on importance to feel empowered and productive throughout the day.

    2. Could this meeting have been an email? Or Slack? Or asynchronous doc?

    Unnecessary meetings can drain your time and energy, especially during busy periods. Politely decline meetings that aren’t essential to your role, or delegate attendance to team members when appropriate. Consider HBR’s guidelines for determining whether a meeting is necessary or if alternative communication methods can suffice.

    Schedule meetings in blocks to minimize context-switching between tasks. Designate a “no meetings day” each week on your calendar to focus on deep work without interruptions.

    For those meetings you need, set conditions to make them as productive as possible. Require an agenda or a comparable document. Task someone as a “scribe” to take notes and identify action items or next steps. If someone asks for a meeting with you, ask that they provide an agenda and/or any prep materials ahead of time. Choose what that needs to be. Is the morning of the meeting sufficient? Or to prepare do you need it three business days prior to the meeting?

    3. Prioritize self-care

    Caregivers are frequently told they need to put themselves first. This is hard to hear for those caring for others due to employment or necessity. The reality is, that it’s hard to give when your “cup” is empty. It’s like the instruction given at the start of a flight – put your own oxygen mask on first so that you may help others.

    Investing in your well-being is crucial for managing stress effectively. Make time for nutritious meals, quality sleep, and regular exercise, as these activities directly impact your performance and resilience.

    Consistent exercise boosts stamina and mental clarity while reducing stress and negative emotions. A balanced diet is essential for optimal brain function, with foods like berries, walnuts, and spinach enhancing cognitive abilities.

    Do you ever feel sluggish after working through lunch and think you need more coffee? Bad move. Coffee is fine in moderation, but the caffeine gives it diuretic effects, contributing to dehydration. Soft drinks? The sodium and sugar in them add to the issue. Also, did you know that being dehydrated by as little as two percent impairs your ability to perform tasks needing attention, psychomotor, and immediate memory skills? You don’t need a Stanley tumbler, per se, but try to keep some water close by.

    Remember, while pressure is inevitable in any role, it’s essential to recognize the signs of burnout and prioritize self-care. By implementing these daily habits, you can better manage stress, maintain productivity, and lead your team effectively.

    Are you questioning whether you’re a good fit as a manager?

    Sometimes businesses or individuals make the mistake of taking someone away from something they’re great at (and happy doing) and promoting them into management. Sometimes they forget that, for example, a top salesperson isn’t automatically a top sales manager. Managers are tasked with all sorts of responsibilities. Some may be new and in which they need training. Some may be so outside their comfort zone it grinds them down into burnout.

    If you’ve ever wondered which path to follow, read this interview with Hired Engineering Manager Prakash Patel (or watch the video) exploring Engineering Manager or IC? Which Tech Career is Best for Me?

    If your burnout is due to hiring, we can help!

    At Hired, we know engineering managers would rather be working on projects than thinking about recruiting or hiring, but we make it easy to find the right person for your team. We offer solutions for hiring managers including an easy-to-use platform, a tech skills assessment product, and technical sourcing services. These services are available short or long-term and handle tasks including sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and more.

    Request a demo to see how our products and services can help you focus on your primary goal.

    This blog was originally written by Whitney Ricketts in 2016, and updated by the Hired Content Team in February 2024. More

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      in Talent Acquisition

      System Design Interview Survival Guide: Tips to Navigate Interviews

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      System Design Interviews are challenging for many developers because they aim to test not just technical knowledge but critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well. The focus is not on your coding proficiency. Rather, your success in a System Design Interview depends on your ability to reason through and defend trade-offs in your design. 

      We asked our partner Educative to give software engineering jobseekers a look into what they should know about getting prepped for their next System Design interview. Here’s what Educative advised.

      Preparing for the System Design interview

      When preparing for a System Design Interview, you should focus on mastering three key areas: 

      Start with the basics of System Design, like data durability, replication, and partitioning. Then, study web architecture topics like N-Tier applications, HTTP, and caching. Finally, apply this knowledge to design real-world systems. 

      Educative offers comprehensive courses to help you build these skills, including our popular Grokking Modern System Design Interviews for Engineers & Managers, which was developed by former systems engineers from Facebook and Microsoft. With focused preparation, you can approach these interviews with confidence.

      Top System Design interview questions

      Here are some tips to help you answer questions during System Design Interviews:

      Start by listing required features, expected problems, and traffic estimates to show your planning skills.

      Discuss trade-offs at each decision point and ask clarifying questions when asked vague questions.

      Highlight your awareness of emerging technologies like machine learning and emphasize your understanding of modern microservice architectures.

      Try answering these top questions:

      Design a chat service

      Design a ride-sharing service

      Design a URL-shortening service

      Design a social media newsfeed

      Design a social message board

      Design Instagram

      Design a file-sharing service

      Design Google Docs

      Design a video streaming service

      Design an API Rate Limiter

      Design a web crawler

      Design a proximity service

      Design typeahead

      Design Google Maps

      Need a handy template to approach System Design problems? Let’s use “Design a ride-sharing service” (i.e. “Design Uber” or “Design Lyft”) as an example.

      An Uber System Design question focuses on creating a ride-sharing service. The system should have a plan for scaling to accommodate growth.

      Key functional requirements include location tracking for drivers and riders, displaying nearby drivers, initiating payments, and providing real-time ETAs and trip updates.

      Non-functional requirements include system availability, reliability, scalability, and consistency.

      Challenges include minimizing latency, efficiently pairing drivers and users, handling lost connections, and storing cached location data.

      Tools like the S2Geometry library can help in location-based calculations, and distributed storage can help you manage user locations.

      Recommended resources

      Worried about your upcoming System Design Interview prep? Or just want to build a working knowledge of foundational System Design concepts? Educative is a great place to get hands-on with System Design fundamentals for interviews and beyond.

      Educative’s interactive courses are designed to show you how to solve real-world System Design problems. Created by industry experts, this course provides detailed walkthroughs of essential System Design concepts and example questions you will likely encounter in interviews.

      If you are ready to invest in System Design prep, here are some helpful resources: More

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      in Employer

      Productivity Monitoring in the Workplace: Best Strategies for Managers

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      15 guidelines and strategies for leaders to employ

      Implementing productivity monitoring tools to complement good management practices rather than replacing them requires a thoughtful approach. Here are 15 strategies and guidelines for achieving this balance as a people leader.

      1. Set clear objectives

      Clearly define the objectives and goals of using productivity monitoring tools. Ensure that these tools align with the company’s broader mission and objectives.

      2. Transparency and communication 

      Communicate openly with employees about the purpose and use of these tools. Make it clear that the goal is to enhance productivity, not to spy on employees. Encourage feedback and address concerns.

      3. Focus on employee development 

      Use the data collected to identify areas where employees may need additional support or training. Encourage managers to provide coaching and resources to help employees improve their skills.

      4. Collaborative goal setting 

      Involve employees in setting performance goals and targets. When employees have a say in their goals, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in achieving them.

      5. Privacy and data security

      Ensure that the tools comply with all relevant privacy and data security regulations. Protect employee data and provide transparency about how data is collected, stored, and used.

      6. Regular performance reviews 

      Continue to conduct regular performance reviews and one-on-one meetings between managers and employees. Productivity monitoring tools should complement these discussions, not replace them.

      7. Customization 

      Tailor the monitoring tools to the specific needs of different teams or departments. What works for one group may not work for another, so flexibility is crucial.

      8. Training and education 

      Train managers and employees on how to use the tools effectively and ethically. Ensure that they understand the purpose of the tools and how they can benefit from them.

      9. Avoid micromanagement 

      Encourage managers to use productivity data as a high-level overview rather than a means to micromanage employees. Trust your employees to manage their time and tasks effectively.

      10. Aim for continuous improvement 

      Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring tools and adjust them as needed. Seek feedback from both managers and employees to make improvements.

      11. Balance quantitative and qualitative metrics 

      While quantitative data is valuable, don’t overlook the qualitative aspects of employee performance. Encourage managers to consider factors like creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.

      12. Recognize and reward productivity 

      Implement a system for recognizing and rewarding employees who consistently perform well. This can motivate employees to maintain or improve their productivity levels.

      13. Regularly review policies 

      Ensure that company policies related to productivity monitoring are up-to-date and aligned with best practices and legal requirements.

      14. Ethical use 

      Encourage ethical behavior among managers and employees when using monitoring tools. Emphasize that these tools are meant to foster productivity, not to create a culture of surveillance or mistrust.

      15. Employee feedback loop 

      Establish a feedback mechanism where employees can express their concerns, suggest improvements, or report any misuse of monitoring tools without fear of retaliation. Understanding the current status informs your plan and inspires confidence. You can use surveys to collect employee feedback. In your messaging, be clear of your intent to listen thoughtfully and action on the data as needed.

      Conclusion: productivity monitoring is an exercise in trust

      By following these strategies and guidelines, a company can ensure that productivity monitoring tools are used as a supportive tool to enhance management practices rather than a replacement for them. It promotes a positive and collaborative work environment where productivity and employee well-being can coexist.

      If you have roles to fill in tech or sales, we’re ready to help you with better ROI! Request a demo and see the products and solutions Hired offers to help talent acquisition teams, people and DEI leaders, and hiring managers stay on target. More

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      in Talent Acquisition

      3 Ways to Stay Relevant as an Experienced Software Engineer

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      Hint: Learning System Design is key for software engineers

      Software engineers who have been working in the industry for a while can still take steps to staying “fresh,” while leveraging their applied work experience. In this blog, we share three ways an experienced software engineer can stay relevant as a job candidate in a competitive job market. Our partner, Educative, shares the third and crucial key to maintaining that competitive edge.

      1. Highlight the valuable skills you already have

      Most employers would rather hire an expert in the field than spend time and money training someone much less experienced. Companies of all sizes, particularly large corporations like Amazon and Google, are always in need of software engineers who are Java experts. This is actually an area where young college grads are at a disadvantage. Often, these companies would rather hire a candidate with at least 5 years of core Java experience over more junior software engineers who haven’t had exposure to the language in a professional capacity.

      Perhaps you’re positioning yourself as an expert in Java. Make sure you brush up on the basics to show your full breadth of knowledge. Next, make your Java experience stand out on your resume, LinkedIn, or Hired profile in the skills and work experience sections. 

      In the skills sections, list your skills in order of proficiency with Java at the beginning if applicable. List all the languages and tools you’ve used, your workflows, and your achievements in each position in the work experience sections. Companies often use hiring software to detect certain keywords. So, a candidate who mentions the languages they’re looking for more frequently may have better luck advancing to the next stage.

      2. Consider leadership roles

      If you’ve worked as an individual contributor for a while, you may want to consider taking on a leadership role as a team lead or engineering manager. Generally, a team lead reports to an engineering manager and guides the other engineers on the team. An engineering manager has often shown experience leading others, has multiple engineers reporting to them, and can provide technical guidance as needed.

      Related: Engineering Manager or IC? Which Tech Career is Best for Me? (Video) 

      Have an affinity toward leading and managing others? Update your resume and career profiles accordingly and start looking at open roles. If you’ve had several roles at the same company, think about separating and fleshing out each role as a distinct item in your work experience. Hiring managers like to see a candidate’s progression from being a Software Engineer to a Lead Software Engineer or an Engineering Manager, as well as the accompanying responsibilities.

      3. Learn System Design

      Continually learning new languages and skills makes you a more valuable candidate. Experienced software engineers in particular can stay ahead of the curve by developing a working knowledge of System Design. In this section, Educative explains how a solid working knowledge of System Design can help you stand out in interviews and beyond.

      Understanding large-scale system architecture is a necessity. System Design is the discipline underpinning our entire modern software landscape. It’s critical for making any application scalable, fault-tolerant, and more efficient.

      Every app or service we use daily — from YouTube and Instagram to Amazon and Spotify — is a scalable system. These apps must be designed to handle large amounts of traffic and data and to scale with spikes. That’s because the number of people simultaneously accessing these systems is massive.

      What is System Design?

      Coding is about creating individual bricks; System Design is about deciding how those bricks will form a complete structure. It’s the art and science of defining the architecture, components, and data flow for large-scale applications. It sets the groundwork for how a system will operate, ensuring efficiency, scalability, and reliability.

      Essentially, System Design is the blueprint guiding developers in building software that meets specific requirements and constraints.

      Some key considerations in System Design include:

      Architecture: The overall structure of the system and how its components interact with each other

      Components: The individual building blocks of the system. This includes servers, databases, and application servers

      Interfaces: How the system interacts with its users and other systems

      Non-Functional Requirements: This includes things like performance, scalability, reliability, and security

      Role of System Design in modern software

      System Design is indispensable to the modern software landscape — from initial planning to implementation and maintenance. It provides a blueprint that software engineers, TPMs, and engineering and product leaders can refer to throughout a product’s life cycle. Its principles guide decisions about database structure, user interface, networking protocols, and more.

      For experienced software engineers, this offers a leadership opportunity — with an understanding of System Design, you’re not just following instructions, but are instead actively participating in shaping the vision and functionality of a project.

      As software systems become increasingly complex, involving multiple technologies and serving global audiences, the role of System Design has never been more critical. It informs choices that can make or break a software’s performance, user experience, and overall success. For seasoned engineers aiming to stay competitive — it’s a career imperative.Let’s review this summary of System Design fundamentals:

      Horizontal and Vertical Scaling: Horizontal scaling involves adding more machines, while vertical scaling involves adding more RAM, faster processors, or additional storage to a single machine. Both are essential for handling an increased load.

      Microservices: Microservices break down applications into small, independent services that communicate via APIs. This enhances modularity and scalability.

      Proxy Servers: These act as intermediaries, forwarding client requests to servers. They can improve performance and security.

      CAP Theorem: This theorem states that a distributed system can’t simultaneously provide all three of the following: consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. You have to pick two.

      Redundancy and Replication: These ensure that backup resources are available, improving reliability and fault tolerance.

      Storage: It’s crucial to evaluate the data storage methods. Different storage strategies can be employed based on the system’s specific requirements.

      Message Queues: Enable asynchronous communication between different system parts, improving scalability and decoupling components.

      File Systems: File systems oversee data storage and retrieval on disks, handling tasks like file naming, storage allocation, directory structure, and access permissions. With file systems, file identification and access control become easier.

      Why is System Design important to know?

      Due to the growing complexity and scale of web applications, it’s important to know how to handle large-scale challenges. System Design offers both theoretical knowledge and practical skills for real-world applications.

      Investing time in learning System Design can provide both immediate and long-term advantages for your career. It can make you a more versatile and sought-after professional in the tech industry.

      In an interview setting, a strong understanding of System Design can be an important difference-maker. Most developers will be expected to demonstrate at least a working knowledge of System Design in their interviews. Depending on their specialization, software engineers typically receive 1-2 design interview loops as part of the hiring process, of which System Design is the most common focus.

      Ultimately, candidates who perform well in System Design Interviews will boost their chances of being hired, as well as increase their starting level and salary. (At Meta, for example, a strong System Design Interview can mean the difference between starting as an E5 rather than an E4 — an advantage worth tens of thousands of dollars).

      Looking for System Design prep? Here are some helpful resources:

      Stay relevant, stay ahead

      Use these tips to position yourself for better alignment with top job opportunities out there. Showcasing what you already have to offer, advancing to leadership roles, and mastering System Design are some of the best ways to adapt and progress as a software engineer today. 

      Originally published in June 2018 by Brittany Curran. Updated by the Hired Content Team and Educative in December 2023. More

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      in Employer

      Need a Better Recruiter Capacity Model? Here’s How to Build One

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      In the fast-paced world of tech and sales recruitment, understanding and optimizing your recruiter capacity is crucial for hiring success. Firms are grappling with the twin pressures of speeding up hiring timelines and upholding the quality of hires. It’s about striking the right balance, and ensuring your team is fully utilized without being overwhelmed. So, how can you craft a better recruiter capacity model that hits the sweet spot for your team?

      Use our eBook and checklist to ensure you don’t miss a step and unlock your recruitment team’s potential. But first, let’s review what’s involved in the recruiter capacity model, including what it is.

      What is a recruiter capacity model?

      A recruiter capacity model is a data-driven approach to determine the optimal number of requisitions (open positions) a recruiter can handle within a given timeframe effectively. It takes into account various factors such as the complexity of roles, hiring process duration, candidate sourcing channels, and recruiter workload. By establishing a well-defined capacity model, organizations can enhance their recruitment strategies, improve candidate experience, and ensure efficient resource allocation.

      Why is a recruiter capacity model important?

      Enhanced efficiency: By understanding their capacity, recruiters manage their workload more effectively. This leads to quicker and more efficient hiring processes.

      Quality hiring: It reduces recruiter burnout and ensures each candidate and role receives the attention it deserves, leading to higher quality hires.

      Data-driven decisions: It offers a framework to make informed decisions about staffing their recruitment teams and allocating resources.

      Scalability: Organizations can better scale their recruitment efforts in line with business growth. This ensures the recruitment team’s size and capabilities are always aligned with company needs.

      The impact of recruiter capacity on hiring success

      Managing recruiter capacity is a balancing act that directly affects your hiring outcomes. An overloaded recruiter can find themselves on a fast track to burnout, compromising their well-being and the caliber of their work. On the flip side, an underutilized recruiter may not be tapping into their full potential, leading to operational inefficiencies and potential delays in filling roles.

      Finding the right balance is key. At Hired, we’ve seen how this balance can transform the recruitment process, resulting in faster hires with longer tenures, satisfied recruiters, and a smoother workflow.

      Making projections based on previous recruitment funnel numbers allows for the construction of a recruiter capacity model that can prescribe the ultimate number of hires. More than just informing your team on the numbers they need to hit to reach their goals, it’s ammunition for dealing with hiring managers making unreasonable headcount requests.

      What are the key aspects of a recruiter capacity model?  

      In a past episode of Talk Talent To Me, Director of Talent Acquisition at Tanium Jeff Schlosser outlined key components of crafting a recruiter capacity model and how having one can get talent acquisition leaders the proverbial seat at the table.

      Analyzing the role complexity

      Certain positions may require a higher level of expertise, involve intricate skill sets, or demand specialized industry knowledge. By categorizing roles based on complexity, recruiters allocate their time and resources accordingly. This ensures the most critical positions receive the necessary attention.

      Collaborate with hiring managers for a deeper understanding of roles. By examining job descriptions, conducting role-specific interviews, and reviewing past hiring experiences, you identify the level of complexity associated with each position. This info serves as a foundation for determining the number of reqs you can effectively handle.

      Determining the hiring process duration

      Some positions might require extensive screening, multiple interview rounds, or specialized assessments. By analyzing historical data and evaluating the average time it takes to fill different positions, you allocate resources more effectively. This ensures timely hiring while maintaining the quality of candidates.

      By examining the time taken at each stage, such as resume screening, phone interviews, in-person interviews, and background checks, recruiters identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement. This analysis helps set realistic expectations for the number of requisitions you can handle without compromising the quality of the hiring process.

      Understanding recruiter workload

      Analyzing metrics such as time spent per requisition, the number of candidates screened, and the average time per interview provides insights into recruiter productivity. This data allows for a fair distribution of workload among the team. It also helps identify potential areas where additional resources might be needed.

      Regularly track and monitor workload metrics for a clear understanding of capacity and efficiency. By evaluating workload, you identify areas where you might need additional support. That may be through hiring additional recruiters or implementing tools like Hired to streamline tasks. A balanced workload not only enhances productivity but also enables recruiters to focus on building relationships with candidates to deliver a positive candidate experience.

      Start developing your recruiter capacity model

      Ready to craft your recruiter capacity model? Use this eBook and the checklist inside to:

      Navigate recruiter capacity in the tech recruitment scene

      Decipher the nuts and bolts of your recruiter’s capacity

      Get a step-by-step tutorial on building a recruiter capacity model

      Decode and gauge the efficiency and impact of your recruiter’s work More

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      in Employer

      Relationship Building in HR, Interview Styles, & More: Talk Talent to Me November ’23 Recap

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      Keep up with the November episodes of Hired’s Talk Talent to Me podcast. We’re sharing insights from founders and talent pros with insights into the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. 

      Relationship building with Karen Weeks, CHRO at Obviously

      Working with earlier-stage clients with Lorraine Buhannic, Head of Talent at Juxtapose  

      The evolving importance of DEI with Gary Davis, Sr DEI Business Partner at Adobe

      The four interview styles with Anna Papalia, Founder of Interviewology 

      1. Karen Weeks, CHRO at Obviously

      In this episode, Karen discusses the changes she hopes to make to Obviously’s onboarding process, why she prioritizes relationships above all else, and how she builds them in a new environment. She also shares how to gently rock the boat at a new job while “proving yourself” as a new employee. Karen also believes you can’t be interviewed without asking questions. She outlines some of the top ones that potential recruits should be asking. 

      “I always want people to be running towards something, whether that’s an internal opportunity, staying where you are and re-engaging, or changing jobs. Doing it before you’re at the breaking point is actually the healthier time to do it.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      2. Lorraine Buhannic, Head of Talent at Juxtapose  

      Lorraine shares why she loves working with earlier-stage clients, how to be more deliberate in career decisions, and what her career planning coaching process is like. She also discusses what people going through career transitions ask most often before explaining the Juxtapose model. Finally, Lorraine dives into the challenges she expects talent leaders to face in the future.

      “Hiring needs to be priority number one because, at the end of the day, if you don’t have the right people, it’s going to be really hard to scale the organization.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      3. Gary Davis, Sr DEI Business Partner at Adobe

      Gary discusses the evolving importance of DEI, what it means to shrink gaps in equity and inclusion, and how to determine the way people experience your company culture. You’ll also hear Gary’s thoughts on the two-way street of recruitment, valuing transparency, and why it’s important to solve problems specific to Gen Z.

      Related: Revolutionizing Recruitment: Walking the Tech Hiring Tightrope (VIDEO)

      “The throughline for any work that I’ve ever done has been about designing programs and products that create spaces for people from excluded groups; women, people of color, and folks with disabilities.” 

      Listen to the full episode.

      4. Anna Papalia, Founder of Interviewology 

      Anna discusses the evolving world of interviewing from both sides of the table. In her recently published book, Interviewology: the New Science of Interviewing, Anna explains four different interview styles and how to get the best out of each. Get a sneak peek of pertinent insights from her book in this episode, especially if you’re looking to improve the interview process. 

      Anna also details her own career and how she made the leap from a comfortable role at an insurance brokerage to a career in empowering candidates and interviewers through the hiring process. She tells listeners how to know when it’s the right time to make a change and what typically keeps people from listening to their intuition.

      “If you’re trying to build an organization that’s diverse – in gender, race, and thought, it starts at the interview table.”

      Listen to the full episode.

      Want more insights into recruiting tips and trends?

      Tune into Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, to learn about the strategies, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry—straight from top experts themselves. More

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      in Employer

      Evaluating Recruiting Metrics: “Time to Fill” vs. “Speed to Hire”

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      Are you tracking time to fill or speed to hire? Well, you should be tracking both. Together they provide insights into different aspects of hiring – from the broader view of the recruitment lifecycle to the specifics of candidate engagement. Tracking these metrics is key to developing an efficient and candidate-friendly hiring process.

      Hired’s Senior Internal Recruiter Jules Grondin says, “Determining which metric to look at more closely depends on what matters most to the company at that moment. 

      Do you want to look at time to fill to determine the cost per req for recruiter hours? 

      Do you want to know the efficiency of their processes when the right candidate does entire the pipeline? 

      Are recruiters interviewing the right talent? Are market trends affecting the pipeline?”

      In this blog, we differentiate speed to hire and time to fill, why both are essential to a strategic hiring process, and when one might be more relevant than the other. 

      What does speed to hire mean?

      At Hired, we define speed to hire as the total time the candidate spends in the hiring funnel from initial sourcing to offer acceptance. It’s the average time it takes you to hire an individual candidate. Viewing the candidate lifecycle in terms of this window is important primarily because it’s the part of the hiring process where the recruitment team can have the most impact.

      Speed is key because it:

      Considers how quickly candidates are actioned and scheduled for interviews

      Proves delivery of great fit candidates who are bullish about the organization

      Illustrates a streamlined offer letter composition and negotiation process

      Lowers the likelihood of losing top talent to competitive offers

      Speed to hire matters to candidates too

      Jules adds, “Candidates like speedy processes. It shows a company’s process is tightly kept and they are in full alignment for what they want in a hire. It’s a good statistic to share with active candidates because they will likely be more eager to engage in your process.”

      The metric as a measure of success: 

      During Hired’s webinar, Raise the Bar in 2023: Strategies from Top Employers Winning Tech Talent, Reece Batchelor, R&D Talent Manager at Tray.io weighed in on hiring metrics. He says:  

      “It depends on what your company’s goals are. You need to find the right balance. When you only track [speed to hire], it could push you toward neglecting other metrics. We track time to hire because as a recruiter you want to fill a role as quickly as possible. But it’s not the most simple metric. We would rather hire someone exceptional in three months than someone okay in one month. That’s what we really value. 

      I think a better metric to track when you’re trying to determine how efficient the process is the time spent in each stage of the interview process. That drives us to book people in quickly, gain feedback, and give feedback as quickly as possible. If you prioritize something like that to ensure your process is efficient, you understand what great looks like for your hiring managers. Then, you give an excellent candidate experience and time to hire comes naturally.”

      How to optimize speed to hire recruiting metrics

      On board with speed to hire, right? Swell! Time to optimize this puppy. Toward the end of the hiring cycle, as candidates start to look better and better, there’s an opportunity to compress steps together in the interest of saving time.

      For example, start conducting reference calls as soon as a candidate makes it to the final round of interviews. Scheduling and completing these calls sometimes drags, so getting a head start often shaves a few days off your total speed to hire. For extra credit, use these conversations to uncover material for your interviewing team to follow up on as they make their final assessment.

      To further cut down on speed to hire, set reasonable timelines for offer evaluation. Ask your candidate how long they think they’ll need to make a decision.

      What is an exploding offer? 

      An exploding offer is one with an expiration date, typically short, within a few hours or days. It’s designed to force a quick decision, without the opportunity to compare options, procure counsel, or engage in negotiation.

      Avoid having offers floating in limbo and perhaps agree on three to five days maximum. Be proactive when talking about offer evaluation: ask the candidate what they need to consider before making a final decision. This allows you to tweak the offer if necessary, and in some cases, may help them realize they’ve already made their choice.

      Related: 3 Ways You Should Use C-Suite to Recruit Tech Talent (+ Free Templates) 

      What does time to fill mean?

      Time to fill measures the total time between an opened and closed req. It’s vital to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment process. While time to fill gives a broad overview of the hiring cycle, speed to hire offers a more focused insight into the candidate engagement phase.

      Time to fill is key because it:

      Helps organizations understand how quickly they can fill positions and adapt their recruitment strategies accordingly

      Supports in planning and forecasting future hiring needs and timelines

      Improves candidate experience (as a prolonged hiring process might deter top candidates)

      Allows organizations to benchmark their hiring efficiency against industry standards or past performance

      When to use time to fill vs. speed to hire

      It’s important to keep your finger on the pulse of time to fill as it can provide some organizational insights. For example, total headcount projections will be important to your finance team. Further, time to fill is a good measure of how strategic your team is about opening new requisitions. Roles should be opened in the interest of being closed, and if reqs go unfilled for a lengthy amount of time, there is most likely a misalignment of priorities.

      Even in these cases, time to fill isn’t as simple as the average number of days from job open to job close. Break it down both by department and level of seniority, as the variation here can be so vast that a single high-level metric isn’t illustrative of an organizational hiring rate.

      When this metric is applied to clusters of employees more likely to have reliable times to fill, it provides a more accurate projection of when executives can expect desks to be filled.

      As far as calculation goes, you may have to roll up your sleeves to get granular. Find the relevant dates in your ATS, plug them into an easy calendar tool like this one, and you’re all set.

      Jules explains, “Time to fill is an effective metric to see how well recruiters are performing, if they’re recruiting the right talent, and how the market may be affecting this statistic. 

      The longer a role is open, the more a company may need to dig into:

      Which recruiter is running the search

      If you’re recruiting candidates who don’t align with the role

      How your compensation resonates and compares to market rates

      How many inbound applicants you’re getting from the first opening to engagement from the recruiter to process/offer”

      Balancing time to fill and speed to hire

      Both time to fill and speed to hire are crucial for a successful recruitment strategy. The key is to find a balance. A rapid hiring process is desirable, but not at the expense of hiring quality. By tracking and optimizing these metrics, you’ll speed up the hiring process and improve the quality of hires. 

      Originally written by Matt Hughes in July 2017. Updated by the Hired Content Team November 2023. More

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      in Employer

      Difficulty Keeping Your Top Tech Talent? This Could Be Why (& What to Do About It)

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      Do You Employ the 65% of Tech Workers Who Plan to Look for a New Job in 2024?
      Are you concerned about tech employee turnover and retention? You’re not alone. If you’re concerned with keeping your top tech talent and employee tenure, you’re in the majority. Hired recently surveyed more than 250 engineering hiring managers, recruiters, talent acquisition professionals, and tech executives and found retention was one of their top three concerns in the next 12 months. In fact, 63% said the cost of vacancy was a key concern for them.
      So, how do you make employee satisfaction a part of your employer branding? How do you lay the foundation for a strong employee tenure early, whether you’re responsible for staffing a startup or enterprise hiring?
      We’ve got you covered in our eBook, Difficulty Keeping Your Top Tech Talent? This Could Be Why (& What to Do About It).
      In it, we’ll explore:

      The real pain points behind the tech industry’s retention challenges. Why traditional interviewing might be the Achilles’ heel of tech hiring.
      The transformative power of reverse interviews in ensuring job role satisfaction and longevity.
      Practical insights on executing reverse interviews effectively and addressing the retention conundrum head-on. More

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      in Employer

      Restart Recruitment Guide: How To Reboot Tech Hiring Post-Freeze

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      Have you paused tech recruiting? Persevered through a hiring freeze or slowdown? When it’s time to restart recruitment, where should you start? Keep reading to kickstart your tech hiring after challenging economic times with this guide.
      1. Before you restart recruitment, reassess the current circumstances
      Start by re-evaluating hiring needs. Review the roles that were initially put on hold. Are they still relevant or have your business needs shifted? You’ll also need to understand the new market conditions for a better idea of the employment landscape. 
      Which industries have bounced back and which are still lagging? Are you in a candidate-driven market? How have candidate priorities and expectations changed? 
      Resources like Hired’s 2023 State of Tech Salaries offer detailed insights to adapt and keep moving forward in the current hiring market.
      Related: Less Competition, More Talent: Here’s How to Recruit in an Economic Downturn 
      2. Re-engage with past candidates
      Take inventory of the connections you might already have. Check the availability of past candidates and get back in touch with those who were in the interview process before the freeze. Hopefully, you maintained a feedback loop and shared feedback from previous interviews with candidates. This is an effective way to foster goodwill even if you didn’t hire them.
      3. Review your employer brand and employer value props, or EVPs
      After shaky economic times, people – understandably – may become more cautious when it comes to employers and their stability. Post-downturn, rebuilding trust in your company’s stability and growth is a priority. Be transparent and highlight recovery plans and growth potential in your employer branding.
      It’s also a great time to showcase company culture. This is especially true if your organization’s culture includes supportive elements like mental health initiatives, flexible working options, and employee development programs. 
      Related: 2023 Survey Results: Top 3 Benefits Ranked by Engineers (Besides Salary) 
      4. Invest in training and development
      Sometimes the best hires are internal. Consider investing in training programs to upskill existing employees for new roles, promoting internal mobility. Not to mention, supporting internal mobility and upskilling are great ways to retain talent, support internal candidates, inspire loyalty, and provide professional growth.
      Related: How to Support Internal Candidates When They Don’t Get the Job 
      Offering continuous learning and development opportunities will also attract jobseekers looking for long-term career growth. Our 2023 State of Software Engineers report revealed development and career growth as top priorities for an ideal company culture and work environment according to surveyed engineers.
      Related: How to Nurture Innovation, Strengthen Retention (Use Professional Development) 
      5. Revise your recruitment strategy
      Think back to when you re-evaluated hiring needs. What shifts can you make to your recruitment strategy given the new circumstances? From revising your candidate messaging to rethinking how you conduct interviews, we have a suite of resources to help employers make these updates a little less overwhelming:  

      6. Re-evaluate your recruitment tech stack
      Now is also the time to consider new platforms or tools to support your hiring revamp. Hired, for example, connects employers to a curated pool of experienced and responsive tech talent seeking their next role. The platform also integrates with applicant tracking systems to fully streamline your hiring process. 
      Related: How to Secure Approval for New Tech Tools (Free Template) 

      Restart recruitment lessons learned from Laura MacKinnon, VP of People at Clari
      On Hired’s podcast, Talk Talent to Me, Laura shared learnings from a massive hiring freeze. She gave a few tips on what she would do differently when ready to restart recruitment:  
      “One of the things we did up front was make sure not to bring our recruiting team down to a skeleton crew. We knew these things usually do have a bit of an up-and-down cycle. If we were to have brought our recruiting team down to the need we had at the moment, we would not have enough people respond to the demand. Luckily, we kept our scheduling, sourcing, and recruiting teams around with the hopes the downturn would be short. Being a cloud-based company, we accelerated back to needing to hire engineers along with other people to help lead the business forward. 
      As you can imagine, the head of people is involved with finance, the head of engineering, and the CEO requesting the board to fund additional resources. What I would do with 20/20 hindsight is make sure we also included asking for the increased spending needed to spin up that machine because it was idle. That means not just the recruiters, but money in place for proactive talent sourcing and time with the marketing team to help get the word out that the company is recruiting.”  
      Laura’s tips: 

      Don’t bring the recruiting team down to a skeleton crew
      Get on board when you hear about other teams requesting funds

      Related: Need help talent sourcing? Hired’s got you covered with temporary or ongoing help. 

      6. Secure funding before you restart recruitment
      Laura MacKinnon emphasizes the importance of collaborating with other teams to ensure the recruiting team has a seat at the table. 
      She says, “If you notice a team talking about potentially adding headcount, that’s the time for your Head of Talent to jump in. They should ask to include two recruiters, a sourcer, and a scheduler. The earlier you hear that coming up, the faster you want to jump in so you have funding. If your company is proactive, you can even onboard those people before the official big ask gets approved.”
      Partnership with finance is especially critical because a lot of what recruiting does has a cost. Laura illustrates this with example from Clari: “Diversity and inclusion are such an important part of how we’re going to grow as a business. As opposed to waiting until we’re a thousand people, the needle-moving time is when the company is at its smallest. 
      We want to have a diverse team of men, women, people of color, and any underrepresented groups. Starting with that helps build because a lot of our hiring – probably one-third – will probably come from referrals. Those initial efforts to spin up the machine and make our commitment to that community clear come with a need to fund. It could be through innovative internships for students or being present at events to show Clari wants to be an employer of choice for a diverse population. 
      You need financial support. The more HR can learn how to make business cases that make finance people happy and understand, the better we are at getting funding.”
      Restart Tech Recruitment Checklist:

      Reevaluate hiring needs
      Engage with past candidates
      Update online employer profiles
      Revise recruitment strategy
      Review salary benchmarks
      Plan for onboarding
      Measure effectiveness regularly

      Navigate the upturn
      Emerging from an economic downturn to restart recruitment and hiring can feel daunting. However, with a strategic recalibration and a systematic approach, it’ll be a smooth transition. 
      Restart recruitment for tech and sales roles with Hired! Get a free demo. More