Why Hiring Is Broken?

We don’t “know that hiring is broken.” We know that some people find the process of finding a job frustrating, and that employers struggle to find the right people to hire. I attribute those problems to more demand than supply for competent candidates, and no reliable and quick way to determine how a candidate may perform in any specific role. Given those conditions, proxies such as credentials, experience, sample work, and whiteboard interviews get used instead.

The biases you list aren’t even unconscious. Poor spelling and grammar indicate either sloppiness or inadequate education, not qualities anyone hires for. A person who can’t put their own CV together doesn’t give a good impression regarding attention to detail, checking their work, or mastery of the tools and domain.

How do you think a potential employer might determine if a candidate “can create a great product for the company?” Why assume that creating a “great” product is even the employer’s main priority? How might a recruiter or hiring manager judge and rank multiple relevant qualities for hundreds or thousands of candidates?

A process that seems less than ideal and frustrating for some people isn’t necessarily “broken.” It may be the best we can do given the constraints and ambiguities of hiring and job hunting.