Spark Hire, Inc.

"One?of?our?values?and?core?characteristics?at?[MERU]?is?collaboration," explained MERU Head of Talent, Erin Beasley. "When we're talking about bringing in the right people, I like to have as much perspective as possible. So, it's just a constant iterative process to get us to our go-forward plan." That's just a small taste of Season 3, Episode 1 of The Speed to Hire Show where Spark Hire CEO, Josh Tolan, sat down with Erin to discuss how MERU is navigating some of the most common hiring challenges in 2025. As a people-driven organization with a leaner talent acquisition team, MERU places a significant emphasis on three primary hiring tasks: ?? Assessing for cultural fit ?? Collaboration with hiring managers ?? Candidate and stakeholder engagement throughout the entire hiring process Ready to learn more about how they do this? We thought you might be. Click here to check out the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eZD4xgkW

?? Screening isn’t just about weeding out unqualified candidates — it’s about paving the way for confident, informed decision-making during the selection phase. ?? Join Spark Hire CEO, Josh Tolan, as he sits down with Gary Schwake and talent acquisition expert Jennifer Howell, SHRM-CP for a workshop that explores the laundry list of challenges associated with screening and selection in the hiring process. ?? The event will be streamed live here on LinkedIn on March 20 at 11am Central Time. Bring your questions and get ready to engage with other hiring professionals! #screening #hiring #recruiting #LetsTalkHiring #SparkHire

Hiring isn’t just about filling a role—it’s about creating a process that aligns with what the organization, hiring managers, and candidates need to succeed. But too often, organizations struggle to strike that balance. ?? Organizations want culture-aligned, high-performing employees who stick around. ?? Hiring managers need a process that ensures they’re getting the right candidates—not just a stack of resumes or a bunch of interviews. ?? Candidates seek transparency, clear expectations, and a reason to say yes to your offer. So how do you create a hiring process that delivers on all fronts? It starts with a stakeholder-led approach. Let's dive into real-world strategies along with insights from Erin B. on how to make hiring work for everyone involved.

64% of global HR professionals feel the job search is harder than in previous years, according to LinkedIn research. So, no — it’s not just you — screening and selecting the right candidates in 2025 is more complex than ever before. Here are a few things you can do to tackle this growing complexity: ?? Create a data-driven foundation for hiring with smart tools and best practices ?? Make the entire process more straightforward with repeatable strategies based on role type, industry, and seniority level ?? Introduce the right kind of friction in the hiring process, without hurting the candidate experience ?? Align your hiring team by identifying key stakeholders early and clarifying their roles within the recruitment puzzle Interested in learning more about how to do all of the above? Check out our Comprehensive Guide to Candidate Screening and Selection, where we reveal strategies to streamline your hiring process, frameworks to reduce bias, and considerations for building a meaningful hiring system that attracts highly qualified talent. Click below to get started: https://lnkd.in/eXyZB-tN

??Hot off the press: Spark Hire CEO, Josh Tolan's latest edition of The Speed to Hire Newsletter. Interested in learning how to reframe a critical part of your hiring process to build a winning strategy in 2025? We thought you might be. Grab a cup of coffee and dig in! ??

“For MSPs, time is probably the most valuable thing we have, and it’s the resource we have the least of," explained ECMSI Chief Information Officer, Dave Galiato, "The time savings and organization Spark Hire provides are the biggest reasons to try it. It’s made our hiring process efficient and stress-free.” Hiring efficiently isn’t just about filling roles quickly, it’s about making data-driven decisions to streamline the process and find the right fit. For ECMSI, a leading managed IT service provider, leveraging Spark Hire made all the difference. By incorporating one-way video interviews, they were able to: ?? Reduce their time-to-hire while maintaining a high standard of candidate quality. ?? Improve team collaboration among hiring managers with a streamlined process. ?? Create a more engaging candidate experience, helping them stand out in a competitive job market. Ready to optimize your hiring process in 2025? Learn how Spark Hire can help you track key hiring metrics and elevate your process. ?? Check out ECMSI’s full success story here: https://lnkd.in/gaADD6Dv #HiringEfficiency #HRTech #VideoInterviews #RecruitmentSolutions #HiringInnovation

Struggling to find the right balance in your recruitment tools? You're not alone. When you have multiple recruitment tools to help you, it can be tough to juggle multiple logins and switch between tools while managing the influx of candidates, interviews, and scheduling. This can make your hiring process more complicated than it needs to be. HR Tech should make your job easier, and it can. Consolidating your HR tech stack can: ?? Help you stay within budget ?? Improve efficiency by reducing tech fatigue ?? Balance automation with a personal touch Recruitment tools should make your life easier—not more complicated. But figuring out which ones truly add value can feel overwhelming. Phil Strazzulla breaks it down in this episode of The Speed to Hire Show. ?? Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/e3TCmHe9 How are you simplifying your tech stack in 2025? Let us know in the comments!

Finding the right culture fit is tricky. Many hiring managers face the challenge of deciding between prioritizing a candidate’s skills or their cultural fit. Both are important, but how do you strike the right balance? In this article, we explore: ?? Why relying too much on cultural fit could lead to unconscious bias. ?? How to focus on skill-based hiring while fostering an inclusive and adaptable workplace. ?? The long-term benefits of blending both assessment approaches to build high-performing teams. Read the full article for actionable tips on how to navigate this hiring challenge: https://lnkd.in/gFKBrMTy

I hope I'm wrong. The Chicago Bears are in the midst of an interview process for their Head Coach opening. Here's how the numbers break down: ? Avg. time to hire for an NFL Head Coach is 26 days ??? The Bears knew they'd have an opening at least 5 weeks ago (when they fired their previous coach) ?? Their hiring committee consists of 7 stakeholders including 2 people senior in title to the hiring manager, but with less football experience/IQ ?? 14 (at a minimum) candidates I repeat. 14 candidates. Each candidate = a full day interview. Top coaches will be off the market well before 26 days. The media says they're "aimless". I actually don't think that's the case. After all, they have seemingly defined their ideal candidate profile. I blame misaligned hiring stakeholders and a poor screening process. NFL fan or not, I hope this breakdown of the Chicago Bears' hiring process fumbles shines a bright light on the importance of getting screening & selection + hiring stakeholder management right. Let me know what you think!

What will prevail as the biggest hiring challenge in 2025? As we look forward to another new year, we know for certain that hiring will face new challenges, evolving how we meet and recruit candidates. From rethinking candidate engagement to leveraging new, innovative HR tools, the landscape is constantly changing. Let us know what you believe will be our greatest challenge as an industry in the new year by voting in our poll and sharing your thoughts in the comment section below! Let’s start the conversation about what lies ahead. #HiringChallenges #Recruitment2025 #TalentAcquisition #AIInRecruitment #HiringTrends #SparkHire