By Sverre Haugen
For many years, we have recruited the way we have always done it. An employer needs a new employee, writes a job advert, publishes it on a job portal, and waits for applications. The advert describes requirements and expectations – and the job applicant must read between the lines, submit their application, and hope for the best. But this old-fashioned recruitment paradigm struggles with one fundamental weakness: poor information flow between employer and candidate.
The candidate's perspective
The best candidates on the market – and perhaps especially those who are not actively seeking employment – react quickly and negatively to poorly worded job advertisements. Advertisements that offer too little insight, use overly generic descriptions, and provide insufficient information about what the job actually entails. To top it all off, the advertisements rarely mention who the manager one will be working for is. This weakens candidates' ability to assess whether positions are a good fit.
Improving this will not only help candidates. An employer also wants candidates who understand what they are getting into. Those who arrive for an interview with the wrong expectations are, at best, a poor investment of time – and at worst, can lead to a bad hire.
Recruitment podcast as a tool
When MeyerHaugen invented the job podcast, we wanted to create something that truly communicated the value and realities of a job – with real voices, real reflections, and real insight. We wanted to highlight the authentic, close-up picture we get of leaders when they talk about the recruitment they are undertaking.
The concept is simple: when we undertake a recruitment, we invite the hiring manager for a conversation about the position. We record this conversation and publish it as a podcast, which is then attached to the job advertisement. The conversation isn't about buzzwords or HR rhetoric – it's about the job, the people, the ambitions, and not least, the manager's perspective on this recruitment.
By listening to the podcast, the candidate will get answers to questions they might otherwise wonder about until the first interview: Who will I be working for? What is important to the manager? What kind of culture exists within the team? Why is this role important now?
A tool that works
Since we started our jobs podcast, we have produced around 900 such jobs podcasts. And we don't do it because it's trendy. We do it because it works – and it works very well!
Firstly: We observe that far more candidates accept dialogue after listening to a job podcast. This is particularly true for candidates we approach directly – passive applicants who weren't really considering changing jobs, but who become curious after hearing a real person talk about real challenges.
Secondly, candidates who progress in the process are better informed. They have heard the manager themselves describe the role, and they have made an active choice to engage. This leads to higher relevance and more precise expectations – something that benefits both parties.
Thirdly, the recruitment process itself is faster and more in-depth. Instead of spending the first 20 minutes of an interview explaining the job, the manager and candidate can get straight to what really matters – motivation, suitability, and how collaboration will work in practice.
More than recruitment: employer branding and internal pride
We also see effects that extend beyond specific recruitment. Managers say they appreciate the opportunity to articulate their own expectations and reflections. Many share the podcast internally – and it functions as a small, but effective employer branding machine: «This is us, this is what we stand for.»
And it doesn't stop at hiring. Previous job podcasts can give prospective candidates deeper insight into the organisation, culture and leadership style – like a sort of open database of genuine, inside stories.
A better end result
Recruitment podcasts not only ensure better-informed candidates, more efficient processes, and satisfied managers. They ensure a better end result. The best candidate is not necessarily the one with the most experience or the right keywords on their CV. It is the one who truly understands the job, feels motivated, and matches the culture – and who has actively chosen to engage in dialogue with the employer.
And this choice becomes easier when the job is communicated with warmth, insight, and humanity.
Recruitment isn't just about finding people – it's about building relationships, understanding individuals, and creating great matches. The jobs podcast isn't a silver bullet that solves every tricky recruitment, but it is a tool that makes the recruitment process more accurate, more efficient, and more human.
And in a time when everyone is shouting loudly to attract the same candidates, it might not be a disadvantage if you get the candidates to listen to you… Literally.
