MeyerHaugen has been using position podcasts as an integral part of their recruitment process since 2018. As this article is written, we have produced and published a total of 878 position podcasts across industries, roles, and levels. Feedback from both candidates and clients has been consistently very positive. This is based on the qualitative feedback we receive daily. Now, with new technology, we can also extract more quantitative data.
MeyerHaugen transcribes all exploratory conversations (the first interview with the candidate). Subtitling everything said in the interviews provides a very exciting data foundation for analysis. This article is based on analyses of transcripts from 150 exploratory conversations conducted in 2025. The exploratory conversation is the candidate's first interview in the process – before assessments, tests, and formal interviews. In this material, candidates mention the job podcast unprompted. This precisely is what makes the findings particularly interesting.
The article summarises what the candidates actually say, and what the data tells us about the effect of job podcasts as a recruitment tool.
The job podcast is used – actively and consciously
A clear pattern in the material is that the careers podcast is not perceived as marketing, but as decision support. Candidates describe how they listen to the podcast before applying, between interviews, and in some cases, also in the final stages of the process.
Several people refer to it as something they «go back to» to double-check their own assessments. This is markedly different from how job advertisements are normally used – often as a first filter, but rarely as an active point of reference later on. The job podcast works differently: it provides context, connection, and depth, and is consciously used when the candidate needs to consider whether the role is actually the right fit.
Better prepared – for what really matters
The transcriptions from the exploratory interviews show that candidates who have listened to the job podcast meet the first interview with a completely different starting point. They ask fewer clarifying questions about formalities and more questions about the actual content.
The candidates express that they have already understood:
- Role and mandate
- What are the expectations for the role in the first year?
- Leadership style and decision-making logic
- how cooperation and priorities actually work in the organisation
This leads to more precise exploratory conversations. The conversations delve deeper more quickly, and both the candidate and the recruiter spend less time on superficial introductions. More candidates directly state that the conversation felt «more relevant» precisely because they already knew what they were getting into.
Self-selection reduces errors – early in the process
Another clear finding is candidates who choose to withdraw after listening to the job podcast. In the transcripts, this is not described as a negative experience, but as an important clarification.
Candidates explain that the podcast made it clear that:
- The responsibility was greater than desired
- The pace was higher than expected.
- the context or values did not align
The result is self-selection, before the process becomes resource-intensive. For employers and recruitment partners, this means fewer irrelevant candidates progressing further. For candidates, it means fewer processes where the role isn't the right fit for them. The data points to an important effect: the job podcast helps to reduce the risk of incorrect hires by clarifying expectations earlier than traditional methods.
From job description to actual working day
Many candidates articulate a well-known recruitment challenge: the gap between job advertisements and the actual working day. In exploratory interviews, advertisements are described as necessary, but insufficient. Job advertisements rarely provide a realistic picture of complexity, dilemmas, and priorities.
The "Stillingspodcasten" podcast fills this gap. When leaders, CEOs, or chairpersons speak openly about challenges, decisions, and expectations, candidates gain insight into what the job is really like. Not just the title of the role, but what it demands.
Words that recur in the material are «nuanced», «concrete» and «honest». Several candidates explicitly state that the podcast gave them a more accurate picture than the job advertisement alone.
Relationship and trust before the first interview
One of the more interesting findings in the data is how positional podcasts affect the relationship even before the first meeting. Having heard how central people in the organisation think, the threshold for being open in the exploratory conversation is lowered.
Candidates describe that they:
- Dare to ask more demanding questions
- are more honest about their own insecurity
- finding the conversation more balanced
The assessment conversations are increasingly becoming a dialogue, not a one-way interrogation. This also applies to candidates who do not proceed further in the process. The transcripts consistently express that the process is perceived as orderly, respectful, and predictable.
A modern method – not an experiment
MeyerHaugen has produced and published 878 job podcasts since 2018. The data we find through this analysis confirms and summarises our experience of how job podcasts are effective.
Taken together, the data points clearly in one direction: the job podcast adds value because it improves decision-making quality – early in the process. Candidates understand more before the first interview. Employers meet better-prepared and more suitable candidates. Uncertainty is reduced on both sides.
An analysis of 150 exploratory interviews in 2025 shows that this is not about communication for communication's sake. The job podcast functions as an operational tool in recruitment efforts – a means that strengthens insight, precision, and trust in a phase where decisions are otherwise made on weak grounds.
This is where the value lies. Not in the format itself, but in its effect on the quality of the recruitment process.
