Don’t Forget How It Feels

It’s easy to forget how it feels.

Refreshing your inbox.
Waiting for a reply.
Waking up each morning thinking, maybe today.

The interviews.
The silence.
The delays.
The conversations that never come back.

The self-doubt that creeps in while you try to stay positive.

If you’ve been job hunting recently, you’ll recognise this.
The market has been tough.

And it has highlighted how fragile some hiring processes really are.

This isn’t about blame.
It’s about memory.

If you’ve come out the other side and started a new role, try not to lose sight of that experience.

Use it.

Not to criticise.
But to improve things for the next person.

We talk a lot about candidate experience.
We talk about employer brand.

Those ideas matter.
But they start with simple choices.

When you’re hiring, it helps to slow down before you begin.

• Be clear on what the role really needs

• Decide who genuinely needs to be involved

• Set out a clear process

• Build a timetable and do your best to stick to it

Things will change.
Priorities shift.
That’s normal.

But dragging people through six stages when three would do rarely helps anyone.

You can be thorough.
And still respect people’s time.

Most hiring problems aren’t complex.
They come from unclear decisions, slow responses, and processes that drift without ownership.

If you remember how it felt, those decisions tend to change.

And so does the experience you create.