“Don’t Tell Me About Yourself” is where old-school hiring meets a modern reality check. Hosted by Expert Interviewers Co-Founders Lorna Erickson and Victoria Gates, this show blends their combined 40 years of real-world experience with the unfiltered commentary that made 340K+ people laugh, cringe, and rethink how interviews actually work. Each week, they tackle the biggest news in hiring, from chaotic interview moments to ghost jobs and questions that should have been retired decades ago. Whether you hire, apply, or just love a good interview trainwreck, this show is for anyone who’s ever sat on either side of the interview table. Real stories. Real data. Real talk about how to make interviews actually work for everyone. Because great hiring isn’t luck—it's a skill.
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Does Every Candidate Deserve Interview Feedback?
2026/10/21
Episode Description:
Everyone says candidates deserve feedback. But what happens when the hiring manager can't actually explain why someone was rejected?
In this episode of Don't Tell Me About Yourself, Expert Interviewers co-founders Victoria Gates and Lorna Erickson debate whether every job candidate deserves interview feedback, why companies are so hesitant to provide it, and what candidates should realistically expect after being rejected. From ghosting and generic rejection emails to legal concerns, gut-feeling hiring decisions, and poorly documented interviews, they explore the difference between communication, transparency, feedback, and coaching. You'll learn how much feedback candidates should receive at different stages of the hiring process, why internal candidates need additional consideration, and how recruiters and hiring managers can give more useful, evidence-based feedback. Because if you can't explain why you rejected someone, the bigger problem might be how you made the hiring decision in the first place.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Not every candidate needs personalized interview feedback, but candidates deserve clear communication about where they stand in the hiring process.
Candidates often want closure more than coaching. A timely update or rejection can prevent unnecessary confusion, frustration, and speculation.
Companies hesitate to give interview feedback because of time constraints, legal concerns, uncomfortable conversations, poor documentation, and unclear hiring decisions.
Poor feedback doesn't necessarily mean poor candidate performance. It may indicate that interviewers lack the evidence needed to explain their decisions.
Communication, transparency, feedback, and coaching are different levels of candidate engagement. Communication is the baseline, while personalized feedback and coaching require more time and investment.
The further a candidate progresses through the hiring process, the more specific and individualized their feedback should become.
Applicants and candidates completing initial recruiter screens should receive timely updates and clear decisions, even when personalized feedback isn't practical.
Final-round candidates deserve meaningful, job-related feedback that explains how their experience and interview responses aligned with the role's requirements.
Internal candidates may need additional feedback and development guidance because rejection can affect their ongoing working relationships and future career opportunities.
Generic rejection explanations like "we went in another direction," "you weren't a fit," or "we needed someone more senior" provide little useful information without specific context.
Effective interview feedback should connect directly to predefined job criteria, observable evidence, and the skills or experience required for the position.
Hiring managers must be able to explain why they selected or rejected a candidate. If the decision was based primarily on gut feeling or personal chemistry, meaningful feedback becomes difficult.
Feedback is valuable, but communication is non-negotiable. Silence should never be a company's rejection strategy.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Does every candidate deserve interview feedback?
01:41 – Why candidates want feedback after rejection
02:54 – Why candidates are left without answers
03:50 – Interview feedback versus basic communication
05:16 – Why companies hesitate to give feedback
07:53 – How poor documentation prevents useful feedback
09:17 – When hiring managers can't explain their decisions
10:38 – Communication, transparency, feedback, and coaching
13:15 – The bare minimum every candidate deserves
15:37 – How much feedback should candidates receive?
16:37 – Giving honest feedback during recruiter screens
18:17 – What candidates deserve after an interview
19:24 – Why finalists need personalized feedback
20:24 – Should internal candidates receive more coaching?
22:41 – What to say instead of generic rejection phrases
25:22 – Why good feedback starts before the interview
26:34 – Feedback is valuable, communication is non-negotiable
KEYWORDS
candidate feedback, interview feedback, interview rejection, why companies don't give feedback, how to give interview feedback, candidate experience, candidate ghosting, rejection email, hiring manager feedback, recruiter communication, candidate rejection, internal candidate feedback, structured interviews, evidence-based hiring, hiring decisions, interview scorecards, hiring manager training
How Many Interviews Is Too Many?
2026/10/14
Episode Description:
Five rounds. Nine interviewers. Six weeks. And the final hiring decision still comes down to a “good feeling.” Sound familiar?
How many interview rounds does it actually take to make a good hire? In this episode of Don't Tell Me About Yourself, Expert Interviewers co-founders Victoria Gates and Lorna Erickson break down why hiring processes become unnecessarily long, whether more interviews actually improve hiring decisions, and how recruiters and hiring managers can design a more efficient interview process. From recruiter screens and panel interviews to executive approvals and hiring debriefs, they explore how to eliminate redundant interviews without sacrificing hiring quality, candidate experience, or confidence in the final decision.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Why interview processes get longer: Fear of making the wrong hiring decision, groupthink, unnecessary approvals, and poorly defined evaluation criteria can all contribute to interview bloat.
2. More interviews don't automatically mean better hires: Google's research on its own hiring process found diminishing returns after four interviews, demonstrating why adding rounds doesn't necessarily improve decision-making.
3. Every interview round needs a purpose: Recruiter screens, hiring manager interviews, panel interviews, and executive conversations should each evaluate something specific rather than repeat the same questions.
4. Panel interviews can improve efficiency: When structured properly, panels bring different perspectives together, reduce repetitive questions, and allow interviewers to evaluate the same evidence.
5. The right number of interviews depends on the role: Hourly, entry-level, individual contributor, management, and executive positions require different levels of evaluation.
6. Internal candidates still deserve a structured process: Familiarity, previous performance, and internal reputation shouldn't replace consistent, evidence-based evaluation.
7. Uncertainty isn't a reason to add another round: Before scheduling an additional interview, identify exactly what information is missing and how the next conversation will uncover it.
8. Structured interviews need structured decisions: Interview scorecards and independent evaluations help prevent hiring debriefs from becoming exercises in groupthink.
9. Hiring teams need clear responsibilities: Each interviewer should understand what they're evaluating, what evidence to collect, and how that information contributes to the final decision.
10. The goal isn't fewer interviews at any cost: It's fewer pointless interviews and a hiring process that respects everyone's time while producing better-informed decisions.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Five rounds, nine interviewers, and one gut feeling 01:25 – Why interview processes become unnecessarily long 04:03 – What should each interview round actually evaluate? 07:38 – Are panel interviews helpful or just intimidating? 11:13 – Does adding more interviews improve hiring decisions? 13:31 – How many interviews are needed for different roles? 19:35 – Should internal candidates follow the same process? 21:28 – How to design a more efficient interview process 23:20 – Why structured debriefs and scorecards matter 25:20 – How to eliminate unnecessary interview rounds
KEYWORDS
interview process, interview rounds, hiring process efficiency, structured interviews, hiring decisions, candidate experience, panel interviews, interview scorecards, hiring managers, recruitment best practices
Did Anyone Actually Teach You How to Interview? with Danielle Farage
2026/10/07
Episode Description: We train managers on leadership, performance, and compliance, but when it comes to interviewing, many are handed a resume and expected to figure it out. In this episode, we’re joined by future of work expert Danielle Farage to talk about why interviewing is still treated like an assumed skill, what happens when new managers are not given the tools to hire well, and how poor interviews affect hiring decisions, candidate experience, employer brand, and manager confidence. We also share what every new hiring manager should know before interviewing their first candidate and officially launch the New Hiring Manager Playbook, a practical guide built to help managers prepare, interview, and make better hiring decisions without needing years of experience first.
Get the New Hiring Manager Playbook for $29.99:https://expert-interviewers.mykajabi.com/new-hiring-manager-playbook
Created by Expert Interviewers in collaboration with Danielle Farage and delivered through Adobe PDF Spaces, the Playbook includes practical guidance, checklists, scripts, and interactive support designed for first-time interviewers and hiring managers who were never formally taught how to interview.
Key Takeaways:
Becoming a manager does not automatically make someone a skilled interviewer.
Interviewing is often treated as an assumed skill instead of something managers need to learn and practice.
Many interviewers inherit their approach from previous managers, outdated question lists, or their own experiences as candidates instead of receiving formal training.
A poor interview process can lead to bad hiring decisions, cause companies to lose strong candidates, damage employer brand, and hurt a new manager’s confidence.
Candidates are evaluating the company and hiring manager during the interview just as much as the company is evaluating them.
Hiring managers should prepare before every interview by understanding the role, reviewing the candidate’s background, knowing what they are responsible for assessing, and preparing useful questions.
Interviews should be treated as a two-way conversation rather than an interrogation or test of whether a candidate knows the unwritten rules.
The interviewer owns the meeting and is responsible for asking good questions, following up, and collecting enough evidence to make a hiring decision.
A candidate who interviews well is not automatically the candidate who will perform best in the job.
New hiring managers need practical support they can use before, during, and after an interview.
The New Hiring Manager Playbook was created to give first-time and undertrained interviewers the most important tools they need to get started.
Your first few interviews should not have to be your training. Interviewing is a skill, and skills can be learned.
Timestamps
00:00 Why managers are expected to interview without training
04:15 What happens when a new manager makes a bad hire
06:12 Why interviewing is treated like an assumed skill
09:28 What’s at stake when managers interview poorly
13:40 Signs an interviewer needs more support
18:20 Why “I’ll just wing it” is a problem
21:38 What every new hiring manager should know
22:36 Why interviewing should be a two-way conversation
26:34 The interviewer’s responsibility in the conversation
28:22 Why we created the New Hiring Manager Playbook
33:10 What’s inside the Playbook + Adobe PDF Spaces
34:17 The New Hiring Manager Playbook launch
Keywords
hiring manager training, new manager training, interview training, how to interview candidates, interview skills, hiring manager interview questions, candidate experience, interview preparation, structured interviews, New Hiring Manager Playbook
Is Your Interview Panel Just a Group Vibe Check?
2026/09/23
Episode Description:Interview panels are supposed to bring more perspectives, reduce bias, and lead to better hiring decisions. But adding more interviewers does not automatically create more structure. In this episode, we break down why panel interviews often turn into repeated questions, conflicting standards, loud opinions, and groupthink. You’ll learn how to prepare interviewers before a panel, assign clear areas of evaluation, improve the candidate experience, score candidates independently, and run a debrief that focuses on evidence instead of who liked the candidate most.
Key Takeaways:
Adding more interviewers does not automatically make an interview process more structured or objective.
A successful panel should not be five people interviewing the same candidate. It should be five people collecting different pieces of evidence.
Interviewers should know exactly which skills or competencies they own before the candidate enters the room.
Repeating the same questions wastes interview time and prevents the team from evaluating other important job-related criteria.
Candidates notice when interviewers are unprepared, distracted, contradicting each other, or unclear about their role in the process.
A panel interview can become a candidate’s first preview of how meetings, communication, and decision-making work inside the company.
Interviewers should score candidates independently before discussing them with the rest of the panel.
The first or loudest opinion in a debrief can influence everyone else, especially when interviewers have different levels of seniority.
Disagreement between interviewers can be useful when the team goes back to the evidence instead of averaging scores or trying to reach immediate consensus.
Having a structured interview process is not the same as having a structured hiring decision process.
Calibration means interviewers are using the same definitions and standards to evaluate evidence, not that everyone has to give the candidate the same score.
Good panel interviews define success before the interview, focus on job-related evidence during it, and use independent scoring followed by an evidence-based debrief afterward.
Timestamps
01:21 Why interview panels make companies feel safer03:20 Why more interviewers do not mean more structure05:09 Why a successful panel starts before the interview05:59 The problem with repeated interview questions07:21 How candidates know a panel is unprepared09:27 When the debrief becomes a group vibe check10:21 What hiring managers told us about debriefs11:29 Why interviewers should score candidates independently12:41 How seniority and loud opinions influence decisions15:09 Why disagreement can improve a hiring debrief16:48 Structured interviews versus structured hiring decisions18:22 What a good panel looks like before, during, and after21:28 Are panel interviews actually bad?
Keywords
panel interviewinterview panelpanel interview questionshow to conduct a panel interviewpanel interview best practicesinterview debriefhiring debriefinterview scorecardstructured interviewsgroupthink in hiringhiring manager interview traininginterview biascandidate evaluationinterview calibration
Did You Really Ever Have A Shot At That Promotion?
2026/09/16
Internal interviews can be harder to evaluate fairly than external interviews because managers already know the candidate, their reputation, their past mistakes, and their current performance. In this episode, we explain how to interview internal candidates fairly, how to avoid predetermined promotion decisions, why strong performance in a current role does not automatically predict success in the next one, and how to give useful feedback when an employee does not get promoted. You will also learn how structured interviews, clear job criteria, and neutral interviewers can improve internal hiring decisions.
Key Takeaways:
If the hiring decision is already made and no interview could change the outcome, do not put employees through a performative interview process.
Having a frontrunner for an internal role is different from having a predetermined winner.
Internal candidates can have both advantages and disadvantages because managers already know their strengths, weaknesses, reputation, and past performance.
Being successful in a current role is not evidence that someone will automatically succeed in the next role.
Internal promotions should be based on the requirements of the new job, not tenure, likability, loyalty, or whose turn it seems to be.
Familiarity and personal chemistry can easily replace job-related evidence when managers evaluate internal candidates.
Internal candidates need specific feedback when they are not selected so they understand what skills, competencies, or experience they need to develop.
Feedback like “you are not ready yet” or “someone else was stronger” is too vague to help an employee improve.
Internal and external candidates should still be evaluated against the same job-related standards and structured interview criteria.
A neutral interviewer can help hiring teams separate familiarity, internal history, and bias from evidence about whether someone can do the job.
Timestamps
01:22 Was the internal job actually open?
02:27 Frontrunner versus predetermined promotion
03:04 When an internal interview is already decided
06:09 Why internal interviews become awkward
07:22 Why high performance does not guarantee promotion success
09:11 Internal candidate advantages and disadvantages
11:29 How gut feeling affects internal hiring
16:45 Why internal candidate feedback matters
19:41 How to give useful promotion feedback
24:49 How to reduce bias in internal interviews
Keywords
internal interviewinternal candidate interviewinternal promotionpromotion interviewhow to interview internal candidatesinternal hiring processinternal candidate feedbackstructured interviewspromotion decisionshiring manager interview training
Can You Believe These Interview Questions Still Exist?
2026/09/09
Some interview questions refuse to die. We break down why hiring managers still ask questions like “Tell me about yourself,” “What’s your greatest weakness?” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?” even when they often provide very little useful evidence about whether someone can do the job. You’ll learn what these questions are actually measuring, what to ask instead, why structured interviewing leads to better decisions, and why the best interviewers focus less on finding the perfect question and more on asking better follow-ups.
Key Takeaways
Many outdated interview questions survive because they are familiar and easy to ask, not because they are effective.
“Tell me about yourself” is often too broad to produce consistent, job-related information.
Questions about weaknesses commonly produce rehearsed answers instead of useful evidence.
Understanding what candidates liked and disliked about past roles can reveal more than asking where they see themselves in five years.
“Sell me this pen” and other hypotheticals are weaker than asking about real past experience.
Animal questions, brain teasers, and other non-qualifying questions add little value to hiring decisions.
Structured interviews help hiring teams evaluate candidates more consistently.
The best interviewers are not the ones with the most creative questions. They know when to follow up.
When candidates speak generally, ask them to walk you through a specific situation.
A good interview is about collecting evidence you can actually use to make a hiring decision.
Timestamps
01:04 The interview questions that won’t die 02:21 Why outdated interview questions survive 03:55 What to ask instead of “Tell me about yourself” 06:50 Why the weakness question misses 10:04 The problem with five-year questions 12:25 Why “Sell me this pen” fails 15:31 Retiring animal and brain-teaser questions 18:35 Why structured interviews work better 19:27 The interviewing skill that matters most 20:59 How to ask better follow-up questions
Keywords
interview questions to avoid best interview questions how to interview candidates structured interviews behavioral interview questions hiring manager interview training better interview questions interview follow-up questions
Do Recruiters & Hiring Managers Need Couples Therapy?
2026/09/02
Season 2 is back, and we’re starting with one of the relationships that can make or break the entire hiring process: recruiters and hiring managers. We break down why the two sides so often end up frustrated with each other, where the partnership starts to fall apart, and how that disconnect impacts candidates. You’ll learn how to define success together, set clearer expectations, improve communication, clarify ownership, and turn hiring from a handoff into an actual partnership.
Key Takeaways
Recruiters and hiring managers often want the same outcome but blame each other when the process breaks down.
Many hiring problems start in the initial intake meeting when expectations are vague or assumed.
Recruiters and hiring managers need to define what success looks like before candidates enter the process.
Changing requirements or scorecards mid-process makes hiring slower and less consistent.
Candidate motivation matters just as much as whether someone can technically do the job.
Candidates feel internal misalignment through delays, repeated questions, and poor communication.
Clear boundaries and proactive communication build stronger hiring partnerships.
Recruiters bring market knowledge, candidate pipelines, and candidate communication expertise.
Hiring managers own interview quality, decision quality, and meaningful feedback.
Hiring works best when recruiters and hiring managers treat success as shared responsibility.
Timestamps
00:52 Why recruiters and hiring managers clash 01:44 The biggest recruiter frustrations 04:33 What hiring managers complain about 07:03 How candidates feel the disconnect 08:40 Where hiring partnerships break down 11:00 Why candidate motivators matter 15:26 Coaching hiring managers in real time 17:48 Trust, boundaries, and communication 22:35 What recruiters and managers each own 28:10 How to run a better kickoff meeting
Keywords
recruiter hiring manager relationship recruiter hiring manager partnership hiring process alignment hiring manager responsibilities recruiter responsibilities recruiting intake meeting candidate experience hiring process communication interview process alignment recruiting collaboration
You’re Losing Candidates and Customers with Daniel Birkholm
2026/05/20
In this live episode, you’ll learn why most companies are overlooking the biggest risk in their hiring process: candidate experience. Daniel Birkholm shares how focusing only on hired candidates ignores the majority of people interacting with your brand and why that can hurt both hiring outcomes and business performance. This is a practical look at how to measure candidate experience, improve hiring quality, and build a more sustainable recruiting strategy.
Key Takeaways:
Most companies reject 95% of candidates and ignore their experience
Poor candidate experience can damage your brand and revenue
Happy candidates are more likely to become customers
Negative experiences spread faster than positive ones
Candidate experience impacts quality of hire
Feedback loops are critical to improving hiring
Many teams focus too much on efficiency over experience
Data-driven hiring leads to better outcomes
Candidates can still have a good experience even if rejected
Measuring experience helps create more sustainable hiring
Keywords: candidate experience, hiring metrics, candidate NPS, recruitment feedback, employer brand impact, hiring strategy data, talent acquisition metrics, candidate journey, recruitment analytics, hiring experience improvement
Follow Daniel at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielbirkholm/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
AI Won’t Fix What You Can’t See with Tom McCarty
2026/05/13
In this live episode, you’ll learn why AI won’t fix your organization if you don’t understand it first. Tom McCarty shares how most companies struggle with fragmented, outdated data and why visibility into your organization is the foundation for better decisions. This is a practical look at how to prepare for AI, avoid costly mistakes, and refocus HR on higher-impact work.
Key Takeaways:
You need a clear view of your organization before using AI
Most companies rely on outdated, static data snapshots
Workforce planning requires real-time, accurate data
AI should remove administrative work, not replace people
Skills-based thinking is critical for the future of work
Not every part of a role can or should be automated
Missing small parts of a role can create major issues
HR should focus more on strategy, not spreadsheets
AI can help HR return to people-focused work
HR must lead change management in AI transformation
Keywords: workforce planning, HR data visibility, AI in HR, organizational design, HR analytics strategy, skills based workforce, HR transformation AI, people analytics, future of work HR, HR decision making
Follow Tom at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mccarty-9709426/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
It’s Not Losing People, It’s Enhancing Them with Rosie Parra
2026/05/13
In this live episode, you’ll learn how AI is already reshaping HR and why companies need to act now to keep up. Rosie Parra shares how her team is approaching AI with a focus on education, guardrails, and protecting the human side of work. This is a practical look at what leaders should be thinking about as AI adoption accelerates and expectations shift.
Key Takeaways:
AI is already here, not something coming in the future
Companies that delay AI adoption risk falling behind
AI should enhance employees, not replace them
Education is critical to help teams use AI effectively
Guardrails are necessary to protect sensitive data
AI adoption requires both internal and external learning
HR teams must balance speed with responsibility
Employee experience and retention still matter most
Engagement and tenure remain key HR priorities
Leaders need to proactively prepare for AI regulations
Keywords: AI in HR, AI adoption workplace, HR technology strategy, AI and employee experience, HR leadership AI, AI data privacy HR, workforce engagement metrics, HR innovation strategy, future of work AI, HR digital transformation
Follow Rosie at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosie-parra-295aa831/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
Learn more www.shaker.com
AI Isn’t Terminator, It’s Avatar with Peter Lynch
2026/05/06
In this live episode, you’ll learn how to use AI in your organization without losing your culture or replacing your people. Peter Lynch shares why AI should be viewed as a tool to enhance employees, not eliminate them, and how a human-first approach is driving real adoption across his organization. This is a practical look at how to scale AI responsibly while protecting what makes your company work.
Key Takeaways:
AI should enhance employees, not replace them
A human-first approach drives stronger AI adoption
The “last mile” of human interaction should not be automated
AI works best when paired with company culture
Usage rates are a key signal of successful adoption
Skills-based hiring expands your talent pool significantly
Hiring for skills is more effective than hiring for titles
AI should automate tasks, not eliminate roles
Leaders should rethink work as “reimagination,” not reinvention
Expanding employee impact is better than reducing headcount
Keywords:
AI in HR, human first AI strategy, AI employee productivity, skills based hiring, AI adoption workplace, HR and technology integration, AI workforce strategy, talent acquisition skills hiring, future of work AI, HR leadership AI
Follow Peter at https://www.linkedin.com/in/realpeterlynch/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
Video Isn’t Optional Anymore with Omar Khateeb
2026/05/06
In this live episode, you’ll learn why video is one of the most overlooked tools in recruiting and how it directly impacts hiring results. Omar Khatib shares how companies are using employee-generated video content to increase applications, improve conversion, and reduce reliance on expensive recruiting channels. This is a practical look at why video works, what most teams misunderstand, and how to start using it effectively.
Key Takeaways:
Video content increases clicks, applications, and conversions
Most HR teams aren’t trained to think like marketers
Video helps candidates “experience” the job before applying
Organic social video can drive massive free traffic
Employee-generated content builds stronger employer brands
Adoption grows over time as employees see others participate
Video can reduce reliance on staffing agencies
Authentic content matters more than polished content
Candidates choose jobs based on brand perception
Companies that ignore video risk falling behind
Keywords:
video recruiting, employer branding video, candidate experience video, recruiting conversion rates, hiring with video content, social media recruiting, TikTok recruiting strategy, LinkedIn video hiring, employee generated content, recruitment marketing strategy
Follow Omar at https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar5ateeb/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
It’s Not Adoption, It’s Reinvention with Zachary Parris
2026/04/29
In this live episode, you’ll learn why AI isn’t just another tool for HR, it’s forcing a complete shift in how teams think and operate. Zach Parris shares why HR needs to move from program-based work to product-based thinking, how non-technical teams can build with AI, and why usage is now the most important metric. This is a practical look at how AI is changing HR from the inside out and what leaders need to do to keep up.
Key Takeaways:
AI requires a shift from programs to products
HR teams need to think like product builders
Usage is the strongest signal of value
Non-technical teams can now build with AI
“Vibe coding” makes building more accessible
AI is an equalizer across organizations
Leaders must use AI themselves to understand it
Creativity and experimentation are now critical
AI is changing how HR delivers impact
First-principles thinking is essential right now
Keywords:
AI in HR, HR product mindset, AI in talent management, vibe coding HR, HR innovation strategy, AI adoption HR teams, HR technology transformation, talent leadership AI, HR metrics usage, future of HR
Follow Zach at https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyparris/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
AI Won't Fix a Broken Process with Stef Nikitas
2026/04/29
In this live episode, you’ll learn how to use AI in recruiting without making your process worse. Stef Nikitas shares how her team improved hiring speed, reduced interview no-shows, and kept human decision-making at the center while using AI tools. This is a practical look at what actually works, what to avoid, and how to think about AI in hiring the right way.
Key Takeaways:
Fix your hiring process before adding AI
AI can reduce interview no-shows through better scheduling
Candidates should control interview timing, not just managers
AI should support decisions, not make them
Legal and data privacy matter more than ever with AI
Candidate experience directly impacts your brand and revenue
Keywords:
AI in recruiting, high volume hiring, reduce interview no shows, candidate experience, hiring process improvement, recruitment automation, talent acquisition strategy, hiring metrics time to fill, AI compliance hiring, candidate scheduling tools
Follow Stef at https://www.linkedin.com/in/snikitas/
Sponsored by @shakerrecruitmentmarketing
How Many Interviews is Too Many?
2026/04/22
In our last episode of Season 1, we break down one of the most common assumptions in hiring: that more interviews lead to better decisions. We explore how interview processes slowly expand over time, often without intention, and why that actually creates confusion, delays, and weaker hiring outcomes.
We dig into what’s really driving long interview processes, from lack of clarity and alignment to low confidence in decision-making, and how adding more people and opinions often creates noise instead of better data. Through real examples and research, we highlight where interview processes start to lose value and how they impact both hiring teams and candidates.
Finally, we share what to do instead, including how to structure a more effective interview process, define clear roles, and focus on better evaluation rather than more evaluation, as we wrap up the season and look ahead to what’s next. While this episode marks the end of Season 1 we will be releasing live episodes over the next few weeks, and Season 2 will return this fall.
Key Takeaways
More interviews do not equal better hiring decisions
Lack of clarity and alignment causes interview processes to grow
After four interviews, returns diminish significantly
Too many interviewers create noise, not better data
Long processes often signal low confidence in decision-making
Candidates lose interest during slow, drawn-out hiring cycles
Repeating the same questions adds no value
Strong processes rely on clear roles and defined criteria
Decision ownership prevents endless interview rounds
Better interviews matter more than more interviews
Timestamps
00:00 Why interview processes keep growing
00:40 When interviewing stops helping decisions
01:13 Real example of excessive interviews
03:19 The real problem is decision-making
05:08 Why more data creates more noise
07:49 Diminishing returns after four interviews
10:27 Hidden costs of over-interviewing
12:15 Candidate experience and drop-off
15:28 Signs your interview process is broken
23:51 Why better interviews matter more
Keywords
how many interviews is too many, interview process best practices, hiring process improvement, why hiring takes so long, reduce interview stages, candidate experience, structured interviews, recruiting efficiency, decision making hiring, interview process optimization
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Podcast reviews
Read Don’t Tell Me About Yourself podcast reviews
5 out of 5
8 reviews
★★★★★
20yearrecruiter 2026/02/16
AI
Great points on how to use AI rather than rely on AI in the hiring process!
★★★★★
victoriaamore 2026/02/09
10/10
Great topics great gals!
★★★★★
Angela8040 2026/01/30
Amazing
Such a good listen!!
★★★★★
Sean61675 2026/01/30
10/10
These ladies are the best!
★★★★★
LDooneE4 2026/01/29
Hiring experts!
It’s a refreshing take and practical skills on how hiring managers can improve! Candidates can breathe, easier, knowing that these two are out there ...