All Posts

Last week I wrote about ghost jobs, postings that sit online with no real intention behind them. I called it a problem I'd seen firsthand. This week, the data caught up with me, and it's worse than I expected: the real story here is 90% vs. zero. 90% of hiring managers admitting it happens, versus zero accountability for the candidates it affects. Resume Genius's 2026 Hiring Trends Report surveyed 1,500 hiring managers and found that 90% admitted their companies intentionally

Job seekers have a name for it now: ghost jobs. Postings that sit online for months, sometimes years, with no real intention of hiring anyone. Companies use them to build a talent pipeline "just in case," to make investors think they're growing, or simply because nobody remembered to take them down. Whatever the reason, the result is the same, candidates pour real time and real hope into applications that were never going anywhere. But ghost jobs aren't the only way companies

There's a term making the rounds right now: job hugging. It describes what's happening across the workforce as people cling to the jobs they have, not because they love them, but because the market feels too risky to leave. The data backs it up — over half of U.S. workers now identify as job huggers, and the number has climbed sharply in just the past few months. On the surface, this looks like good news for employers. Fewer people quitting means fewer seats to backfill, fewe

Every plant manager and tech leader I talk to right now is fielding the same pitch: automate this, let AI handle that, reduce your dependency on hard-to-find talent. It's an easy sell when skilled labor feels scarce and expensive. But I've been doing this long enough to know that automation doesn't remove the need for skilled people — it raises the bar on who you need. Why Automation Doesn't Replace the Need for Skilled People A machine can execute a process with precision. W

Right now, a lot of good candidates are stuck — unhappy where they are, but not moving, because the market has them spooked. There's actually a name for this: job hugging, staying in a role you'd otherwise leave out of fear rather than loyalty. A February 2026 ResumeBuilder.com survey of over 2,000 U.S. workers found 57% now identify with the term — up from 45% just six months earlier. As a recruiter, I feel this shift in real time. Candidates hesitate longer, and more than e

For twenty years, the message to young people was consistent: get a four-year degree, or you're falling behind. Meanwhile, in Manufacturing and Construction, I'm watching the opposite problem play out in real time. Companies are desperate for skilled welders, machinists, electricians, and project superintendents — and there simply aren't enough people coming up through the trades to fill those roles. This is the skilled trades shortage gap, and it's reshaping how smart compa

Hiring manager comparing AI resumes vs real resumes during candidate screening

For the past year, headlines have been dominated by Big Tech layoffs — tens of thousands of roles cut at companies like Amazon, Oracle, and Meta as they restructure around AI.

Manufacturing Investment vs. Manufacturing Jobs: Why I Still Believe in the Long Game

When it comes to Hiring Manager and Recruiter Feedback, I will always choose the hard conversation — because every candidate deserves a real answer. You've sourced the candidate. You've had the conversation. You've submitted them to your Hiring Manager with confidence. Now what? If you're a recruiter, you know this next part all too well — the waiting. And if you're a candidate, you know it even better.

When it comes to Sourcing vs AI we choose to source, because we believe in Human Conversation. If you've applied to a job on LinkedIn recently, you've probably seen it: "You're one of 800 applicants." Eight. Hundred. Applicants. Here's the uncomfortable truth nobody likes to say out loud — there is no recruiter on earth who is reading all 800 of those resumes carefully. Some get filtered by keyword software before a human ever sees them. Some get a glance. Many get nothing