Seven Survival Strategies for Job Seekers

The current job market is unlike anything in the past. AI has corrupted the application process. Fake companies, fake jobs, fake recruiters are everywhere. Applicants are being hunted by data brokers’ AI bots who seek only to steal their intellectual property, their voice, image, and likeness. ATS systems are discriminating en masse. And, companies are doubling down on 1990’s hiring practices and RTO mandates making the pool of talent increasingly smaller.

Capital and Labor are at a stand-off, and I do think that companies are going to blink. Here’s seven ways you can help move the blink along and maintain your privacy and sanity:

Don’t Apply to Companies that Use Workday

If you’re Black, Asian, Disabled, Female, have a weird name, have more than 10 years experience, are over 45 or have a gap of any kind in your employment history, you are kicked out immediately from Workday’s ATS. No one will ever see your application. Worse, not only are you kicked out from that company, it’s becoming clear that any company using Workday (See: Class action suit Mobley v. Workday) will reject your application — they’re all using the same Saas.

Do company’s know this is happening? Yes, yes they do. It allows them to discriminate en masse rather than 1:1. (wink-wink) That’s exactly who they are, that’s their culture, that’s their values….don’t work for them….

NEVER Talk to an AI Bot

I’ve written on this extensively. NEVER allow your interview to be recorded by these LLMs….If you’ve received an “invitation” to interview with a Bot, or to take an AI assessment hit delete. If your interviewer is recording you, end the interview.

The potential for damage to you, your career and your reputation via these LLMs is HUGE. You turn over your words, image, voice, experience, education to an AI data broker. It’s parsed, scraped “evaluated” and that AI slop follows you around FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

You have NO access to the recording or data or findings. No ability to delete it, no ability to challenge the findings, no insight into the algorithm being used to “evaluate” you. You have NO RIGHTS. You don’t know with whom or for what purposes your voice, words, and likeness is shared.

If there even is a job there (and most of the time there is NOT as many of these AI Interview jobs are fake) the AI bot is designed to lure unsuspecting applicants into their data trap by making them believe they’ve actually been shortlisted for a real job, when in fact, there’s no job at all. They’re scraping people for IP to use for LLM training.

Given recent developments in the Workday case, and the Stanford study, as well as legislation that has been passed in Colorado, Illinois, New York, I fully expect that AI interviews and assessments will be illegal, and if not illegal, their use will be killed by company’s legal department and data governance team.

Don’t Do Projects, Don’t Write Essays, NEVER Provide Videos

People asking for unpaid shit are looking for ideas (very common in marketing/social media/creative positions), or they’re just too lazy to evaluate talent themselves, so they tell the applicants to make notes and do all the work for them. In either case, you’re getting a lazy, shitty employer…

Have your own on-line portfolio – blog, GitHub, YouTube, even your FB.

Be aware that all your good ideas, all your great answers are fed into an LLM, and then provided to another candidate who is cheaper or off-shore, or a nepo hire. Corruption is rampant in TA. Don’t think people are above stealing interview answers from you for their deep fakes. They’re not.

Don’t Apply to Jobs without Salary Posted

I used to feel like, WTF, I’ll throw my resume in the ring even if it’s not posted. I’ve changed my mind.

Not only is the application process exhausting, but 100% of the time you’ll get a call offering you the position at a pay rate that is so ridiculously under market that you could not afford to pay your rent and commute to their (100% on-site) location five days a week.

Oh, BTW, it’s a contract job with no benefits…they “forgot” to post that, too…

Don’t Apply to Reposts, Repeated Posts, or Jobs More than 2 Weeks Old

Ghost jobs are everywhere. It’s estimated that approximately 30% of all job posts are fake.

If you see a job “reposted” don’t bother to apply. It just means the lazy recruiter didn’t pull down the ad. If you see jobs you’ve applied to re-posted, don’t bother, either. It’s likely a ghost job or the company is window shopping (to keep current employees “on their toes” or the hiring manager gets off on unicorn hunting).

Finally, anything that’s more than two weeks old is just too old, and they already have people in the pipeline.

Don’t Do Business on What’sApp

This should seem obvious, but anyone who contacts you via text or wants to pull you into What’s App is a scammer. Never, ever download anything to your phone or computer either…

Don’t Be Afraid to End the Interview

I’ve talked to sooooooo many people who found themselves in horrible interviews behind closed doors with some rude, disrespectful ass who is clearly using you for his narcissistic supply or using you to “check the box” for HR’s requirement to interview outside talent or a “minority.”

When I ask “Why didn’t you cut it short and leave?” there’s inevitably a silence, and then a reluctant admission that it never really occurred to them that they COULD leave!! Worse, they were afraid to leave because the interviewer (!) might think they’re rude! This is how f-d up our culture is when it comes to work….

Ending an interview is a little like cutting short a bad date. It’s a last resort, but you should not hesitate to end an interview if you’re being ignored, disrespected, or if someone is asking you personal and inappropriate questions.

You end the interview like this…

(Inappropriate question | Interviewer rude/dismissive | Interviewer distracted)

Pause – 5 sec…long enough for them to notice the pause.

“I’m troubled that …

~ this line of questioning feels personal and invasive.”

~ you seem distracted and unprepared.”

~ your tone is aggressive and argumentative.”

Note: Do NOT engage in an argument, do not elaborate, do not plead your case, do NOT complain about how much time/effort you put into prepping for this, and they’re not even listening. Don’t argue. Any argument will get you nowhere.

Any interviewer behaving like this tells you everything you need to know. You’re NOT getting this job – you were NEVER going to get the job. Even before you showed up, you were NOT getting the job! And, this is a TERRIBLE job!!!

If you get pushback like “Well, it seems like YOU’RE not prepared to discuss YOUR background”…. or an “I’m sorry YOU feel that way….” or a ” I’m not doing that, I’m just asking about YOUR………” Do NOT respond to the DARVO deflection.

Finish with:

“I’m going to pass on this opportunity, and respectfully end this call.”

Then hang up!

Circle back with (HR/Agency/Recruiter) to provide feedback if you feel appropriate. Otherwise, it’s a bad date. Red Pill Entitlement is rampant in corporate America these days…. Move on…

Here’s the Sad Reality

None of these things has anything to do with YOU – personally. The fact that this stuff effects you personally is annoying AF, but it’s important to remember that you are not the cause of any of these dysfunctional and illegal behaviors, nor do you deserve them.

We are in late-stage capitalism. MANY companies are putting on a brave face, but they ARE dying…

Inside these dying companies are the people who are interviewing you and those people are scared and in deep stages of denial. They’re scared of losing their jobs. They’re scared of hiring anyone who is better or cheaper. They’re scared they cannot compete in the current job market (which is why they’re petrified of losing their job). They’re scared of confronting a spouse with their job loss. They’re scared of losing their homes. They’re scared…..

Scared people act out.

The climate of fear in corporate America is being stoked by AI FOMO propaganda. Even in big tech companies, once thought to be the country’s most financially healthy sector, the undercurrent of fear is palpable. The top line is declining; CapEx cannot be obtained from outside sources; Cutting labor is the only strategy they know to keep the company “profitable” and the venture capitalist vultures from eating them alive.

Exercise hyper-vigilance before you jump into another job. It’s OK to say no….

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July 8, 2026 0

Recruiters: Clean Up After Yourselves!!!

The world is full of tips and tricks for the job seeker. No shortage of self-proclaimed coaches, HR Professionals, and any number of “leaders” who’ve got something to say about the way applicants need to change, mold, and brand themselves. But, when it comes to recruiters (outside of the ubiquitous complaints about ghosting), there’s not much out there. Let me change that…

If your goal is to attract top tier talent to your organization, note the following behaviors:

You Don’t Pull Your Posts

Pink Pill Alert: Not pulling your posts is akin to leaving your dishes in the sink because someone else will (eventually) put them into the dishwasher or wash them for you. How’s that helping your marriage?

The constant complaints by recruiters of how many applications they received, how difficult it is to review them all, how they must have AI/ATS systems to help them, how their world is full of woe. A lot of this could be avoided if your JD was posted and pulled quickly. “No Longer Accepting Applications” is an option USE IT!!

I advise everyone not to apply to “reposts,” and not to apply to anything more than three (3) days old. If you’re leaving your posts up longer than that, you are doing a disservice to job applicants AND yourself.

You Lie about Hybrid/Remote

Please stop lying!! Stop posting the role as remote “for visibility.” Stop posting the role as remote, but you need to live within 30 miles of Philly. Stop posting the role as remote, but “you might have to come in a few days a week as needed.” Stop posting the role as hybrid when you need to be on-site Monday-Thursday. Just stop!

Lying about on-site time has become commonplace. Why: Because people who are employed in either on-site, hybrid or remote roles are seeking remote-only work. Everyone knows that if you can support remote workers, you’re going to have more and better-quality talent from which to choose. If you want someone on-site, you’re going to have fewer options. And, if the role could be hybrid or remote, know the person you hire will be short term, even if they live fairly close.

The days of employees subsidizing their employers’ “culture” with commuting costs and travel time is ending. If someone is seeking a remote role, s/he will find one. On-site will ALWAYS be a temporary option for high-end talent.

You Post State Information at the Bottom of the JD

“This job is available to applicants located in the following states: NY, NJ and CT… ” is at the very bottom of the JD, but you posted the JD as remote USA, ya know, for “visibility” and didn’t bother to move that requirement to the top of the post.

Only thing worse is finding this at the end of a JD is finding it at the end of a Workday application!! Ugh!

Your Parsing Is Horrific

There’s no shortage of companies that offer parsing services, but you’ve chosen the cheap, shitty option, or better yet, your “leader” decided to save the cost, and he had Dinesh write a few parsing scripts (I mean, how hard could it be?). As a result, your resume parsing sucks, and your “leadership” thinks that filling out a form is the “first test” for your principal architect applicants. Second test: Ask them to breakfast and see if they pepper their eggs before tasting them.

SMH. Sadly, these dinosaurs still exist…

On the bright side, MANY companies have gotten better with their on-line application. I see customized Workday instances to remove form fields. Greenhouse is a breath of fresh air. And everyone loves of good Easy Apply.

Your application process tells me a LOT about you – bad parsing (bad UI), tells me that your living room and dining room is dirty. As an technologist, I know that the back of the house is even worse. I will exit out of these applications, and I encourage others to do so as well. Nothing good is coming from cheap and shitty companies like this.

You’re Too Lazy to Customize the Post with Salary

I mean, lazy is lazy. It’s all about you! So, you either leave salary out (even though you’re required by law in the majority of states to post it), or you put your 30% under market salary at the very bottom of the JD because you’re sure your JD will be sooooo compelling, we’ll forget about the shitty pay and apply anyway???

Don’t tell me that you pay differently for different markets. That’s why you post a RANGE. I routinely see comments from applicants who say that absolutely will not waste their time applying to jobs that don’t post a range. I’m inclined to agree…

You Lie about Compensation

This is very, very common. Posted range 100-140K. When you pull up the corporate site to apply, the JD clearly states Salary Range 75-110K DOE. Stop, stop, STOP!!!!

You Bury the REAL Requirement

Must speak Mandarin. Top Secret Clearance. Only able to hire in seven states. Must be available for after-hours phone calls. Must have some specific, microscopic domain experience (very popular in public sector posts), ex: ” Five years experience supervising the reproductive cycles of green slider frogs….” All buried at the bottom, when it should be the first line or in the title…

The specific domain experience is usually listed as “preferred” but it’s a clear tell that they have an internal candidate identified, and are only interviewing because they’re required to do so. While recruiters can’t do much about this (except please spare anyone who is already employed), for applicants, I advise not to waste time applying to these custom JDs that were clearly tailored to an internal applicant.

You Expect Essays, Videos, and Love Letters

I’ve grown weary of lazy Mean Girl recruiters who expect applicants to provide them essays and love letters. Ya know, so they can “make the funnel stickier” or “separate signal from noise.” These are the same recruiters who are just too busy to read my resume, haven’t looked at my website, haven’t looked at my blog, my book, my white papers, my reels, or my publications. But, I’m going to write an essay for you about my last team’s Agile transformation, the roadblocks, challenges I encountered, and how I was able to overcome them and drive the team and project to a successful outcome.

F-off.

Even more entitled, are those who request you provide them a MP3 video explaining “Why Should You Hire Me?” Short format, of course, and try to be original and compelling.

Stop trying to make “Fetch” happen….You are NOT special! For applicants, there’s absolutely nothing to be gained by participating in these recruiter auditions. Be assured that your intellect is funneled into an LLM. Your words, thoughts, image are shared with “partners.” You have zero rights to the data, cannot delete it, and any good ideas you have WILL be given to another (cheaper, younger, better looking, or off-shore) candidate.

Recruiters Aren’t the Problem; They’re at the Door

Recruiters aren’t the problem in the Talent Acquisition (TA) process, but they are standing at the front door of the club deciding whether or not you are good looking enough to get in. Unfortunately, many don’t fully understand their actions negatively effect the supply chain, and are shocked to see that people are simply skipping the audition and hitting the sports bar down the street for the $5 buck wine and beer specials.

If you’re guilty of any of the above behaviors, reconsider if your actions are helping or hindering the flow of talent into your organization. It’s not about what’s easiest for you – it’s about finding the best and brightest for your organization.

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July 1, 2026 0

Five Signs You’re NOT Getting that Job

(and they have nothing to do with you!)

There’s no worse feeling than realizing that you’re wasting time at an interview. Here’s five ways to tell (early on) you’re not getting the job:

Your Interviewer is Late and/or Distracted

Yeah, I get it. I’ve been on the other side. You’re short staffed, overworked, AND trying to backfill. It’s tuff to come to an interview with full focus on the candidate…

Anyone interviewing you in this frame of mind is never going to choose you – why? Because they’re not really listening, they’re not engaged. They’re not confident in their choice because (in their mind), you’re a distraction, not the main event.

When I’m confronted with these types of interviews (and sadly, there are far too many of them), I’ll acknowledge the distractedness with an “I’m happy to reschedule this….” I’ve had a few people respond with a “Whew, yes! That would be wonderful…!” (My kinda people). Others who choose to power through? I know that absolutely nothing will come of it, so I see them as batting practice….

You’re More Qualified than Your Prospective Boss

Earlier in my career, this wasn’t a problem. As I’ve grown and sharpened over the past decades, it’s become a much bigger problem in getting hired – especially as an FTE – because there are few people who are able (and willing) to manage talent greater than their own.

There is no one “type” of boss who purposely hires less-than talent, but if I were to cast a big net, I’d say you’re going to encounter this with any person who is a single parent, and definitely any man with kids and a trad wife. They’re not going to do anything to jeopardize that meal ticket, and you showing up with your Master’s degree, industry certifications and “great ideas” is never going to get you hired.

The Place is a Dumpster Fire, and You Have FU Money

Similar to the above, there’s no shortage of interviewers who know the turnover is horrendous, so they’re sniffing around for signs of financial distress because slaves are less likely to leave. Be careful how you answer seemingly innocent questions, “Did you do anything fun this weekend?” “Do you have any vacations planned?” or even questions about “gaps” in your resume. You may think it makes you more desirable to tell you recruiter that you spent three months in France cultivating your Pino pallet, but what he’s going to hear is “He’s not ‘hungry’ enough…” and isn’t going to hang around for very long (and maybe they’re right).

You are V-E-R-Y Employable

Falling under the “more qualified” and “over qualified,” low-tier employers seem to fret constantly about being left at the alter. It’s interesting how small shops are the ones who complain the most about “spending all my time” hiring and then training someone only to have them leave in a year or two for $2-3 dollars an hour more. Oh, the ingratitude!

The majority of employers I speak with are happy to consider applicants with strong software skills, communication, organization abilities and the like, but like marrying a beautiful women or a very handsome man, there are those whose egos and insecurities simply cannot manage those relationships – so they choose (consciously or not), the C+ student who doesn’t have as many options…

They’re Only Window Shopping – Wow Me.

Whether the result of our swipe-left culture or just the old-fashioned hubris of “I’m PAYING you…” there’s no shortage of folks who just like to interview – sorta like those folks who just l-o-v-e shopping for cars – just in case they find something they might want to buy.

These folks are easy to spot because they have done zero real work to actually hire someone. There’s no JD, only a working title, and a Frankenstein wish-list of skills cobbled together by the “team.” The answer to the question of what they’re looking for is an arrogant, “I’ll know it when I see it…” because, of course, everyone and everything has its price, and everyone and everything is for sale (should they choose to purchase it).

Window shoppers are the most entitled of all interviewers. These narcissists use these interactions (steepled hands, 1:1, behind closed doors, no notes required), as their “feed.” They get off on watching people sweat, squirm, prostrate. They’re often rude, dismissive, and enjoy watching nervous applicants stumble to “Wow Me” while they interupt you with comments like, “I don’t care about that…” or “Your education mean nothing to me because your degree is in <humanities> (eye roll)…”

When you encounter a window shopper, don’t despair – step back, understand you’re only there for them to F with, and then use these interviews as practice F-ing with them. Lean in. Answer their “Wow me,” questions irreverently. Note how far you can push them – note their facial expressions, criticisms, and behavior. Store this experience for a time when you really do want to wow someone …..

Final pointer: When the Wow interviewer gives you the obligatory, “We have a minute or two left, do you have any question for me?” (Note: They don’t GAF about you or your questions – your questions are only for them to evaluate how “good” your questions are) smile, and politely say no – no questions – this isn’t a fit for me, thank you for the time, and my best wishes to you in your search. They’ll choke, and look on their face will make all the BS condescension worth it, I promise.

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March 19, 2026 0

Job Applicants: Do NOT Permit Yourself to Be Recorded!

My recent LinkedIn post cautioned applicants to NOT permit themselves to be recorded during interviews. The post drew the expected responses (80%=Yes, I agree, it’s a gross invasion of privacy, I’m not feeding an LLM, and 20% = Dance little monkey! You WILL do whatever the “company” tells you. That’s what I did, and that’s what I expect everyone to do, you’re just spoiled :).

(I’ll let you guess at the demographic breakdown of these responses).

Consider the following:

You are a hiring manager, and you are meeting a job applicant IRL. Perhaps at your office, maybe at a coffee shop or other public place. You sit down, introduce yourself, and then the applicant pulls out a tri-pod, sets up the camera phone, and says, “I hope you don’t mind if I record this…..”

What would you say?

I’m sure you would be shocked by the audacity.

You might respond with something like, “Ohh, err, I’m not comfortable with that….” or even “I don’t consent to being recorded,” to which the applicant responds…

“Ohhh, this is my policy to record all interviews. It’s used for training purposes. This is very common now. And, it’s really for YOUR benefit. In this way, I can focus on you, and our discussion, and not on taking notes! Plus, I’ll be able to review your questions and answers later, at my leisure, and I’ll be able to share the video with my advisors, so that we can all better understand the role, you, and your company.”

Would you shrug, agree, and continue? I don’t think so…..

Stop asking job applicants for one-way video interviews. Stop recording them. Stop bullying them into surrendering their words, image, and ideas for the privilege of applying for a job, stop shaming people for wanting to protect their privacy, and their IP from being consumed by an LLM, and stop pretending that your company isn’t complicit in this surreptitious LLM training when you’re insisting on recordings and “personality assessments.”

If you found yourself offended by the audacity of an applicant taping you and your interview, and the idea that the video would be circulated, distributed, and stored without your knowledge and consent, be assured the applicant feels EXACTLY the same way!

If you’re serious about bringing talent into your organization, this is NOT the way to do it!

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February 18, 2026 0

How to Spot a Fake Job

They’re everywhere, and their purpose is to collect your Personal Information (PI) and and Intellectual Property (IP).

Here’s how to tell:

I Have to Accept your Cookies

Being able to opt-out of cookies is a legal requirement, but like most legal things these days is ignored because there’s no one actually enforcing civil law (happy to collect a list of these sites for any interested attorney).

You Ask for PI, like SSI or DOB to Apply

Amazing to me how many people simply offer this up. Note: If you feel you just cannot say no to the webpage, for God’s sake, please input some phoney numbers!

Essay Questions

Clearly data scraping. Nope.

Bots and More Bots

Oh, they “prefer” to be called “Virtual Recruiting Assistants.” IDGAF what the Bot prefers! I’m not permitting my voice to be recorded by some “spam” number that comes into my phone. Click.

Same Bat-Job, Same Bat-Time

If you’re looking at the boards, you can clearly see the same “companies” advertising the same BS jobs every day. You know these jobs: general JD, above average salary, need immediately. Fake, Fake, Fake.

Reposted

Don’t bother…

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February 13, 2026 0

Things I Hope NOT to See on LinkedIn in 2026

My yearly update of things I hope LinkedIn users will resolve NOT to do in 2026:

Bitching about Ghosting

“Don’t call us, we’ll call you…” has been around since the 1900s. Ghosting isn’t going away no matter how many annoyed applicants end their posts with “do better.”

#livinginthepast #boomerbitching

“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but….” Intros

IDK who started this intro line, but I’d like to hunt him/her down and explain what a target demographic is. If you don’t know who needs to hear this, WTF are you doing a vid for???

#makemehurl #annoyedAF

What the Applicant is Doing Wrong (In your Interview)

No shortage of people offering BS advise on how to lie your way into a job you cannot do. Two things are problematic with these 20-something sages. 1) The wanna be “influencer” content is trite-GPT-drivel everyone’s heard 1000X. (The “twist” is the mid-screen boob shot.) And, 2) Few talk about the outrageous behavior of hiring managers, and how employers are killing their reputation and brand with bad hiring practices.

#noonewantstoworkanymore

“Fear” Adverts from “Career” Coaches and Outplacement Firms

Similar to the above, the only thing more obnoxious than a 28-year-old wanna-be influencer touting her three years of insight and experience on how to navigate today’s “incredibly challenging” job market is a 32-year old bro touting his superior networking skills. (Daddy and/or your frat bro hooking you up with a gig isn’t the flex you think it is.)

#nepobaby #cronycapitalism

Laid-Off Sycophants

Laid off? Been there. What I completely do NOT get is the need to post some sappy eulogy for a company that doesn’t GAF about you. All this BS about how proud you are, all your great loves and losses, and how you’re “ready for your new chapter”?? Gag…

These types of posts tell me that waaayyy too many people see their job as their #1 relationship, and #1 purpose in life. I’m sorry to inform you: Employment is transactional. Like buying bananas at CostCo, or a beer at the bar. Six months from now, they’re not going to remember your name….

To further illustrate the ridiculousness of these jerk-tear posts, consider the following: Would you post on social media how much you loved your ex-spouse, how you’ll treasure the great times together, and now that you’ve been kicked to the curb, you’re ready for “your next chapter”?!?! No, no you wouldn’t. Why: Coz it’s f-n WEIRD!!! That’s why!

#lookingforloveinallthewrongplaces

Employed Sycophants

Your off-site was productive? Great. You’ve got a new CEO? Congrat’s. Your BFF was promoted? Nice. LinkedIn doesn’t need another obsequious corporate sycophant tearfully proclaiming how they “couldn’t be more proud to be associated with such an outstanding group of individuals.”

Unless your ass-kissing is one of your KPIs, spare us.

#embarrassed4U

CEOs, Recruiters, Founders, et al “humble brags”

You’re fully remote? Good for you! You hired someone who had a 2-year gap in his/her resume? I’m sure they were eminently qualified. You hired a fresher/woman/minority/disabled individual who didn’t have the perfect resume, but you…with your tremendous leadership and magnanimous character … saw their potential?

Stop sniffing for public praise and accolades for the most basic levels of decency.

#needy

Open to Work Banner

Si o No? Stop talking about it!

#NoOneCares

Age Discrimination

You’re a white, Anglo-Saxon male, over 50, and now, for the first time in your ENTIRE life, you’re finding that you’re not the preferred demographic? WOW, what must that feel like!?! Tell me more about how unfair corporate life is! Twenty-five years in tech, I’m sure I don’t know what it feels like to be marginalized, dismissed, or passed over in favor of some crony C-Student bro or a cheap H1b…

PS: Maybe it isn’t your age? Maybe the field has leveled and you’re just “entitled”? Try working “twice as hard,” for half as much. You know, like the rest of us…

#whiner #equalityisoppression

WFH v. RTO

If you don’t want to work on site, don’t. If you want to go into an office, go. Stop trying to convert the heathens. You’re as likely to convince a MAGA supporter that tariffs are inflationary.

#snore

“Behold” my Achievement

Unless you just won the Nobel Prize, no one is interested in your Udemy, Coursera or company-training certs. Add them to your profile and move on with your life.

Your Wedding, Your Kids, Your Holidays

#facebook

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December 29, 2025 0

Stupid Essay Questions

Below is a sample of the ridiculous essay questions I’ve been asked to provide answers to as part of my program/project management applications (all 100% real!):

How do you balance Agile principles with the need to meet business deadlines and stakeholder expectations?
What Agile metrics do you find most valuable for tracking delivery performance, and how do you use them to drive improvements?
How to you handle cross functional dependencies and coordination in an agile environment?
What does a healthy Agile culture look like to you?
Please briefly describe how you keep projects on track?
What is the most significant challenge to scaling a business, and how did you overcome this challenge in your prior position(s)?
Can you provide an example of a workflow automation or API integration project you have led?
How have you handled risk mitigation and problem-solving in past projects, particularly in data conversion or integration scenarios?
How has good project governance helped you to ensure a project stays on track?
Describe your approach to leadership
Describe your approach to clearing blockers for technical personnel on your agile team.
Can you provide a specific example of how you implemented service management discipline within a project or organization? What were the measurable results?
Provide a detailed overview of your experience managing B2B commerce projects. Please include the platforms used, the types of customers (industry/business), the total project scope, and your role as PM.
How do you ensure stakeholders are engaged and supportive of new processes and tools? Can you share a successful change management strategy you implemented.
How would you approach understanding the current project landscape and identifying the most pressing needs?

The TA process is broken, but expecting applicants to provide you written answers to make “the job easier,” isn’t going to bring talent into your organization.

Applicants: Take a hard pass on anyone asking you for free work. Your intelligence and experience is what you sell. If you are foolish enough to answer questions like this, be assured that every answer, every insight will be stolen, re-used, and shared with another candidate. One who is cheaper, or off-shore, or a nephew of the hiring manager. After that, it will be processed by a LLM. The payout for for all your work: Zero.

Employers: This isn’t Costco. Stop asking for free samples.

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April 2, 2025 0

It’s Time to Remove “Hiring Managers” from the Hiring Process

The recruitment and hiring process is broken. Ask any applicant, any recruiter, and any company looking for talent. If you asked any one of those folks what the major problem was in the talent acquisition process, they all would quickly agree: “hiring managers.”

The only reason a hiring (or direct) manager is even involved in the modern hiring process is because “that’s the way it’s always been.” Well, times have changed, the nature of business has changed, and the way we hire needs to change, too.

Hiring managers need to be removed from the hiring process. Here’s why:

Hiring Managers Hire for Themselves, Not the Company

Back in the day, the HR representative actually had a say in who was hired for the company. The idea was that HR was partnered with the long-term strategic view of the company’s needs, and they had developed a “resource strategy” to enable the company to achieve those goals. HR was also there to protect the company from cronies and unqualified nephews.

Ask anyone in HR today, and they’ll tell you that might be what’s on Earnings Call PowerPoint slide, but in reality, HR is there for paperwork. The “hiring manager” is all powerful, and he will hire whomever he wants. And, if he can’t hire who he wants, he’ll just leave the job open, or rewrite the JD/SOW to exclude everyone except exactly who he wants to hire.

That’s how the game is played. Don’t hate the player….

Hiring Managers Tolerate and Foster Other Bad Managers

I’ve lost count of the number of interview prep sessions I’ve sat in on where the core competency of the applicant needed to be his ability to “Put up with <FirstName>’s shit….” I’d submit that is not a business case to spend $150K per year, plus benefits. Has anyone considered that we might get rid of <FirstName> and her shit….??

Hiring Managers Do NOT Hire “Threats”

If you have more education, credentials, and experience than the hiring manager, you can pretty much write off getting that gig. It’s not you, it’s them. They don’t want to hire someone “overqualified.” In other words: Don’t outshine the master….

Only in corporate America does this overqualified BS make any sense. Could you imagine saying, “Yeah, we passed on that neurosurgeon because he came from a top tier school, has multiple awards, and has been in practice for 20 years. I don’t need someone so overqualified cutting open my skull.”

Hiring Managers have ZERO Expertise in Hiring

There are three things we don’t have in this world: Bad Lovers. Bad Drivers. And, bad judges of character.

I’ve asked interviewers and hiring managers over the years if the company provided any guidelines or training on hiring (maybe a checklist, but not much more). I also ask how they prepared to on-board talent. Did they take any classes, webinars, read a book, blog, watch any videos on interviewing and recruitment? This is waved off with a “Naah, I’m a r-e-a-l-l-y good judge of character….” (Says the twice divorced, estranged-from-his-three-children manager with the 2.8 Glassdoor rating :/) Yeah, that’s the man who should be representing your brand and interviewing all prospective analysts….

Hiring Managers are TERRIBLE Brand Ambassadors

According to a recently LinkedIn Poll, approximately 64% of all job applicants have encountered rude, distracted, or disrespectful hiring managers during their job interviews.

I’ve been around long enough to know that one person in a global enterprise might not represent the entire culture; however, you can see why talented people walk away from a rude, distracted, disrespectful hiring manager thinking, “<CompanyName>! What a bunch of aholes!”

Worse, people are likely to retell their interview horror story to friends and family; Maybe even post about it on Glassdoor or Reddit or LinkedIn or X.

Hiring Managers aren’t-thinking about how their behavior and interactions with prospective talent might be damaging the company’s reputation and brand. CEOs need to start thinking about it…

Rude hiring managers are looking for fear, trembling, and complacency, and as long as they’re permitted to interview and hire unsupervised, they will continue to churn and burn through talent. Glassdoor ratings tumble, followed by the fake reviews posted by Finsta employees, and before you know it, everyone in the industry knows it’s a shit place to work, and the investors can’t understand why you can’t make your deadlines and can’t close on talent.

If you are hiring, you need to remember this: YOU represent the brand, the company, the culture. Every interaction, every touchpoint is a chance to build or damage your brand. In many cases, YOU are the only person that applicant will ever meet from that company. S/he will walk away from that interview with an impression of the company that is inextricably intertwined with their impression of YOU.

If CEOs, BODs and executives knew how hiring managers were KILLING their company’s reputation and brand, they’d end the practice of 1:1 hiring manager interviews immediately.

Hiring Managers Have Little/No Knowledge about the Job Itself

This is not as uncommon as you might think….

Consider the idea of the hiring manager is a hold-over from the by-gone manufacturing and trade-based economy. In this context, a shop steward or tradesman had a certain knowledge, expertise, and could evaluate the skill of the applicant’s expertise. That’s just not the case in corporate and service industries.

It’s not uncommon to encounter hiring managers who know nothing about the work I’m going to do, nor any of the projects I’ll be working on, nor little about the team or client. I’ve lost count of the number of hiring managers I’ve asked specific questions to about the work, tools, team, budget, and they cannot answer a single one!!

No one who is serious about his career is going to accept a job when his boss cannot tell him a single thing about the work! (That’s provided the hiring manager has even given you time to ask about the work. For some, your questions are superfluous because your buy-in is simply not required.)

Candidates consistently complain of long interview cycles, and “culture” fit interviews with people who know nothing about interviewing, the work, the group, or the project — it’s a waste of everyone’s time. If you cannot speak to the work, the tools, the projects or the goals, you shouldn’t be interviewing anyone.

Hiring Managers are Easily Bribed, Kickbacks are Not Uncommon

The potential for abuse is greatest with 3P managed service providers. In these situations, we have mid-level managers, many of whom don’t have the authority to pick up the tab for lunch without prior approval, “supervising” hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in CapEx 3P consultants and vendors. The entire structure is a recipe for corruption. No wonder so many companies see a marked decline in quality and customer satisfaction when managed service providers take over.

Consulting companies sell bodies; they need to keep that T&M SOW funded, that H1b employed, and that project in their pipeline. Engagement managers are going to do whatever it takes to seal the deal. Hookers, drugs, off-the-radar personal “assistants.” I’ve seen hiring managers dump their entire workload on to 3P contractor (unbeknownst to their managers). This allows them to spend more time on important things: Like travel with their mistresses…

How to Fix It – Implement a Hiring Committee

Yep, I said it. A hiring manager puts in a request to Central Casting, and it’s fulfilled. That person meets both the requirements, and the company’s needs. Now, m-a-n-a-g-e them….

The hiring team model is popular in organizations serious about talent. Hiring committees are used at Amazon, IBM, and a myriad of other organizations, big and small. Why? It protects the company from bad hires, nepotism, and cronies. It ensures a transparent and quality recruitment process. It protects the company’s reputation and brand and ensures the company is well represented in all external touchpoints.

BTW, managers aren’t just stuck with whomever is given to them; they have the ability to ask for a change or request termination. But, you can’t cherry pick resources, hire someone you want to have a beer with, or abuse your H1b contractors. Your turnover is tracked, quantified, and duly noted. As it should be…..

Eliminate 1:1 Interviews

If you don’t feel like you can get behind a committee, you should prohibit any 1:1 interviews until the Hiring Manager is fully trained and vetted. That means you actually need to have an interview training policy. In all cases, hiring managers should never be left on their own to interview prospective staff without the supervision of an HR professional.

The idea that anyone at any time can represent themselves as an agent of the company to external resources and vendors with absolutely zero oversight or feedback is absurd! The only reason this ridiculousness has gone on for as long as it has is because “that’s the way it’s always been….”

Send the Rejected Candidates a Survey

Interesting how hiring managers are only people in a company protected from “feedback.” That needs to change. If you really want to know what your recruitment process is like, hire a third-party to send any candidate who interviewed, but was rejected, a “Candidate Survey.”

I’d recommend the following questions (Strongly Disagree <-> Strongly Agree)

The interviewers were prepared and engaged.
I had adequate time to present my skills and experience.
I understood the job’s responsibilities, goals, and how my work fit into the department/organization.
The interviewer(s) represented the company and brand in a professional and positive manner.
The recruiter/interviewers communicated with me throughout the entire recruitment process.
My time was respected.
I left with a positive view of the company, brand, and culture.
The on-line application process was user friendly.
I would consider other employment opportunities at the company.
I would recommend my friends or other associates to seek employment at the company.

Stop wasting your IT talent with stupid pop-ups in the middle of an on-line app, and annoying notifications asking me to evaluate your application’s web page! I’m not your QA ! Log on, parse some resumes, and do it yourself! Better yet, Mr. Hiring Manager, Executive VP, CEO, and HR director — log into your application site and (try to) apply. That’ll tell you everything you need to know about the application experience.

The fact that organizations have zero feedback or metrics on the interview experience speaks to the issue.

Final Thoughts…

Companies spend millions of dollars on marketing and branding. They host sales conferences, publish brand guidelines, train and supervise sales staff during client interactions, and monitor external correspondence all to ensure that the company is on point, on message, and being represented in the best possible light.

However, these same companies allow anyone to interview. What is overlooked in this external touchpoint is the irreparable damage that “hiring managers” can do to a company’s image, brand, and reputation.

Many CEOs and BODs and would be stunned at the damage done to their company’s reputation as a result of a poor hiring process.

When you interview prospective talent, YOU are the company. Your manners, your questions, your professionalism ….they represent the company and its culture. Your culture IS your brand; and, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

If you see your company in this essay, make changes while you still can. Once your reputation is gone, you’re not going to get it back.

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March 23, 2025 1