The Hidden Cost of Doing "More with Less"

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The Hidden Cost of Doing “More with Less”

A constant refrain at work and across company seems to be “do more with less.” 

We talk about efficiency, getting lean, being responsible with our resources. But often, this means, “we expect the same results with fewer people and less time.” 

And it’s a recipe for burnout. I’ve been feeling this myself lately y’all. It feels more and more like the new normal for those of us in recruiting (and I’d imagine just about every professional is feeling this!)

My team has shrunk, but we’re actually making MORE hires than we did in 2023 when I had a team twice the size of my current team! And typically, that means sacrificing on candidate experience which is something I’m not willing to skimp on. 

You all hear me talk about technology and AI a lot on here and this is why - because my team has had to lean into tools to help us keep up. 

This is the cost of “doing more with less”. 

The team at LinkedIn sponsored today’s issue, and their Hiring Assistant is one of the tools that has been helping me gain efficiency and see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Early data from the pilot phase shows that recruiters using LinkedIn were able to look at 62% fewer profiles, and save 30% on the time it takes to fill a role. That’s the kind of impact that AI is supposed to have on our productivity!What AI is (actually) doing in recruiting

For most people, “recruiting” sounds like constant phone calls and interviews. But if you're in the role, you know how much time is spent trying to find the right people in the first place.

That used to mean writing long Boolean search strings, testing filters, revising again and again, just to hopefully get a decent list of candidates.

Now? I paste in my hiring manager notes, and LinkedIn’s Advanced AI-Assisted Search helps me pull together a targeted list based on the intent of what I’m hiring for, not just exact matches on titles or buzzwords. It even picks up on traits and qualifications that aren’t always written on someone’s profile.

It saves me time, sure. But more importantly, it helps me find people I might have missed before.

Opening doors instead of gatekeeping

But the other piece that is always top of mind for me is operating as someone who opens doors for unconventional but extremely qualified candidates. And I think the other untended impact of doing more with less is that we end up taking shortcuts and getting more rigid.

This is the other area where I see Hiring Assistant adding value - it can help expand the talent pools you’re sourcing from or bring forward profiles that are similar to the ones you share as ideal profiles, connecting dots that you may have missed.

Of course humans are in control at every step but an AI assistant that gets you to expand what you see as a “strong match” can help build larger candidate pools and unlock people that may not have hit your desk if you were relying only on referrals or candidates from a narrow set of companies.

If you’d like to test out LinkedIn’s Hiring Assistant, try it here.

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

First of all, congrats! Lots of people are struggling to even land interviews in this job market so you’re doing great!

In recruiter screens, we’re usually looking to:

1. Verify that your roles/experience line up with the role

2. Make sure the major boxes are checked - location, compensation, work authorization, technical requirements, etc.

3. Check some basic alignment with how the team operates - communication, experience with remove work, etc.

If you’re struggling at this stage, there could be a few things:

1. I’ve seen some folks be so focused on making the “perfect” resume that they misrepresent their experience a bit. This comes out in the recruiter screen and can be disqualifying.
   If this resonates, I would make sure your resume accurately reflects your experience.

2. There’s some gap in skills that emerges once you’re talking to the recruiter. For example, when people are overly verbose and the recruiter knows the hiring manager will see that as a flag, they may decline someone at that stage.
   If this resonates, I’d practice your “pitch”. Can you explain your interest in the role in 60 seconds? Can you walk through the highlights of your resume in under 2 minutes? Are you walking in able to talk through why this role and this company interests you?

3. There’s a mismatch between candidate expectations and the role. I see this happening a lot more - people apply for jobs they are overqualified for with hopes that the role will be upleveled or there’s more flexibility on compensation. Then in the recruiter screen, it’s clear they aren’t actually excited about the role they applied for so the team ends up declining them.
   If this resonates, I would encourage you to apply for jobs you genuinely want to do and be able to speak to that in the interview.

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