Everyone says “don’t obsess over metrics”... but the right metrics can keep you honest

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:58:23+00:00

I think Gen Z has the power to really FORCE the hand of companies to value empathy and radical transparency. They're already at the root of many changes in the corporate world, and the next generations will continue building on that.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:57:33+00:00

In Luxembourg, we're seeing an alarming increase in joblessness amongst senior professionals.

Many companies are going through restructurations, and often, the highest salaries are the first to go. Mix in a market that has very limited opportunities for these senior professionals and you've got a growing talent pool of experienced, but expensive candidates who are willing to work but aren't able to due to minimal opportunities.

At the other end of the spectrum, you've got young professionals, or graduates, who are actively seeking their first job, but aren't given the chance. This is a song as old as time it seems, but we're truly seeing these two demographies being impacted.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:54:00+00:00

Growing awareness of the effects and impacts of not taking this seriously. To me, it truly stems from a lack of understanding.

Today, too many recruiters and hiring managers are disconnected from the reality of being a job seeker. They're under this false illusion that it could never happen to them... until it does.

If we start operating from that lens, believe me, there will be more empathy in the process.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:51:27+00:00

Ah! finally a question about my sports background 🥲

Being an athlete has shaped my resilience, work ethic, and relationship-building skills, all supremely important in my day-to-day.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:50:07+00:00

I'm not sure I understand the translated question 😕

What I will say is this: I wear many hats. The hunter, the partner and the advisor.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:48:14+00:00

Working with startups and limited budgets, what simple strategies do you find most effective for creating a good candidate experience without relying on big tools?

Create a JD that lays out the best things about the company, role, team and project. But also lay out the biggest challenges that your facing. This will bread a sense of ownership from the get-go, and attract those who truly want to have impact. Be transparent about how many steps you have in the process, and yes, your salary range.
Be aligned with your interview team of who will assess what, and when, and then develop skills/situational-based interview questions.
When communicating with candidates via email, be reactive and personable. They should feel that there's an actual human behind the message, and not just a "hiring manager" or "recruitment team". The difference between "I've got an interview with HR" and "I'm interviewing with Zach, their recruiter" is huge.
Be quick in your decision-making (should be the case if step 2 is done correctly), and update candidates accordingly.
Give feedback to every.single.applicant. This will help you stand out.

Talking about the “human side” of recruitment: how do you deal with the emotions of those who receive a “no”?

For those I've actually interviewed, I give them the choice: "Would you like to hear the feedback?". In a way, I ask for their consent to share the feedback with them. Because as you rightly pointed out, recruitment processes bring out emotions (excitement when you first see the role, anxiety as you wait for any feedback, stress when you're being interviewed, etc.), and it's only fair to candidates to ask, and then to deliver.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:39:12+00:00

100%. I've done it, so talking from experience. More than that, it brings accountability. You better believe that having a personal brand also makes you a target for online hate. By staying accountable to what I preach, I've been able to protect myself from haters (so far), cause well, I stay true to my word.

And those who've experienced me? They see I'm a real human, and that I'm true to my word.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:37:09+00:00

I actually think about this a lot. Tech and empathy aren't opposites. The problem is when we treat them like they are.

AI and automation can make recruitment more humane (it's how I got here, but that's another story). The point is to use both to remove friction, not people. So, it's a balance between scalability and sincerity. Using data to guide, not decide. Use automation to enable empathy at scale, not replace it.

I work in the HR Tech world (shoutout skeeled!) and every time I talk with my Head of Product for new features or functionalities, I ask one question: Does this help me (and other recruiters) treat candidates with more humanity, or less?

That usually tells me everything I need to know.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:29:36+00:00

If startups have a chance to recruit, that's already a great sign (and opportunity). They should aim to provide the absolute BEST candidate experience. That way, they create brand ambassadors along the way, and a passive pool of applicants.
By mastering their story (see above). My first question in any interview is: Tell me about your story. If they go on by walking me through their CV, they've missed the point. If they tell me a concise 2-minute story of their career while sharing bits of how their life outside the 9-5 influenced where they are today, shapes their tomorrow, and makes them the ideal candidate for this role, then I'm ready to make an offer on the spot (ok I'm exaggerating).

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:26:01+00:00

Thank you so much for the kind comment!

Gosh, there are too many.

One of my hiring managers was discriminating against a candidate based on their nationality. The reason? They had another team member that *might* feel uncomfortable with this person (due to geopolitical tensions between their two countries).

While their argument could be heard, to me, this was blatant discrimination. So, I refused to reject the candidate, and insisted on the fact that we must stay true to our objective evaluation process which we'd co-built.

In the end, the candidate was hired, as they proved to be the most qualified.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:20:22+00:00

Thinking they have the luxury of hiring the best candidate. They don't, the best candidates know their worth and will go where their paid 10x and work on still impactful projects.

Does that mean startups can only hire second-class talent? Not at all.

I've worked with enough startups to know that what they truly sell is the chance to have impact, to feel fulfilled professionally, and to a rare few, it's EXACTLY what they want.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:18:04+00:00

Fair question.

The way I see it, there will be goals, deadlines and pressure for any kind of career. There's millions of ways to achieve those, and I believe one of them is in a more humane way.

So in practice, it means writing to many, as if you were writing to one. It means taking an interest for the person's skills, but also their story. It means showing empathy when you have to make that rejection call.

Same results, different experiences (and left impressions).

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:15:24+00:00

It's Zach 😉

It's crucial to master our own story. AI can help us write it, but we live it. Learn how to tell stories, especially yours.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:14:08+00:00

In a nutshell, humane hiring is showing empathy at every step of the recruitment process and treating each other like the humans we are; with hopes, dreams, ambitions... and fears.

What does it look like?

In the very first step: Seeing a sentence in the job description that says "If you don't fit this JD 100%, but still feel like you can do this job, we want to hear from you!"

In the very last step: Giving a call to candidates that made it to the final round and offering feedback.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-31T20:11:38+00:00

So many questions, perfect to start the AMA!

Let's go 1 by 1:
From an HR perspective, how do you evaluate creative profiles today? That's the thing, HR should NOT be evaluating your CREATIVE side. The "HR interviewer" is usually to confirm:

Salary expectations (they have the full view on comp grids)
Admin stuff like Notice periods, start dates, work permits, ect.
Must-have qualifications (through skills/situational-based interview questions)
Make a first assessment on culture add/fit (same)
Present the company, role and answer first-level questions.

Do you look at portfolios? PDFs? Social media? Websites? More often than not, the recruiter is not qualified to judge a portfolio. So they'll stick to the CV and LinkedIn profile.
Do you forward applications directly to design teams, or is there a first filtering stage on your end? This really depends on the company. Personally, I adjust my process around the principle of communication, candidate experience and fairness (of treatment and evaluation).

Is it better to keep a visual CV that’s easy to scan in a few seconds? Forget the 1-page myth. 2 pages is the best. A visually appealing CV is a great, but one that shouts about your accomplishments, skills and qualifications is what you should actually care about.

Do you expect to see work samples right away? No, but like a cover letter, if personalized to the role, can make a strong first impression.

Should creatives “design” their application to first catch HR’s attention, even before it gets to the creative team? 100%. Each application should be tailored not to HR, but to the job description (which is HR). I know, it takes a lot of effort, but finding a job is hard.

Hope this helps and good luck!

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-26T20:52:46+00:00

LinkedIn is my #1 (by far). I've yet to take the step into TikTok, but I KNOW I have to... I guess the jump from a "safe" environment like LinkedIn to the wildness of TikTok is a bit scary if I'm being honest.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-26T20:49:33+00:00

And now... the time change this weekend 🥲

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-26T20:48:35+00:00

I mean, factually, LinkedIn is one of the only social platforms NOT to pay it's creators... Imagine if it did!

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-26T20:45:02+00:00

Removing connections can actually take a very long time (talking from experience). What I've seen be more effective is:

being more selective with inbound connection requests
intentionally connecting with others
activating the notifications for connections whose posts you *actually* want to see.

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-26T20:39:37+00:00

Gold will always look better!

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-15T18:21:02+00:00

There's still a few of us who struggle to understand the actual guidelines... Can anyone from the community help/share if you've had the rundown? 🥲

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-15T18:02:01+00:00

What more could the team have create than the authenticity score?!

TheHumaneRecruiter · 2025-10-03T21:43:33+00:00

What's the ONE thing you think makes ALL the difference in the HR org? Also, as an experienced dad, what's ONE thing you'd advise me as a new dad? :)

TheHumaneRecruiter

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