The Talent Leader’s Playbook: 7 Strategies for Faster, More Effective Hiring

Hiring is slower than it should be. Job offers often miss what candidates actually care about. And AI is changing the application process in ways that leave both sides frustrated.

Indeed's newest research, based on a survey of thousands of jobseekers and employers across a dozen countries, points to seven recurring disconnects between what employers expect and what candidates understand. The good news: each one is fixable with better communication.

We pulled together insights from seven talent leaders, including specialists from Glassdoor, Jobs for the Future, Zapier, and Indeed itself, to build a practical playbook for closing these gaps. Here's a preview of what's inside.

Get the full playbook

7 disconnects (and how to bridge them)

1. Leadership skills are prized, but candidates don't showcase them. Employers rank leadership as a top skills gap, yet few candidates highlight it on their applications, often because they equate "leadership" with a title rather than behaviour. The fix: define what leadership means at your company right in the job post, and let interviews surface real examples of initiative and influence.

2. Employers want potential; jobseekers sell their past. Most employers say they're most confident hiring for a mix of experience, skills, and potential but most candidates only feel confident applying when a role mirrors their exact background. Spelling out priorities and asking for concrete proof of adaptability helps close that gap.

3. Boilerplate job posts turn candidates away. Vague listings and rigid, unnecessary requirements are top complaints from jobseekers. Rewriting job descriptions around purpose and capability, rather than degrees and years of tenure, attracts stronger, more diverse applicants.

4. Slow hiring loses the best talent. A meaningful share of employers say their biggest challenge is losing candidates to competitors, while a similar share of jobseekers say they'll walk if an offer doesn't come within two weeks. Sharper screening questions early in the process can cut down on wasted interview time later.

5. Career growth isn't the hook employers think it is. Employers often lead with growth opportunities and culture, but base salary remains the top factor for most candidates weighing offers. Leading with competitive pay and classic benefits tends to land better than tailoring extras to your audience.

6. AI is reshaping hiring, but eroding trust. Employers and jobseekers agree AI has a place in hiring, but they disagree sharply on where. Transparency about how and when AI is used, and giving candidates a choice, helps preserve trust.

7. Everyone agrees upskilling matters. No one agrees who owns it. Employers and jobseekers are evenly split on whether upskilling responsibility sits with leadership or with employees themselves. Publishing a clear learning policy and showing the payoff removes the ambiguity.

Test yourself

The full playbook includes a quick five-question quiz so you can score your own hiring strategy, from "The Riddler" to "The Bridge Builder", and get pointed next steps for closing your biggest gaps.

Get the full playbook

Each disconnect comes with a deeper specialist take and a concrete playbook you can put into practice this quarter, from rewriting a real job description line by line to building an AI transparency policy. Download the full guide to get all seven strategies, the complete data, and the self-assessment quiz.

The Talent Leader's Playbook is based on Indeed's Smarter Hiring Annual Report, surveying 6,837 jobseekers and 2,481 employers across 12 countries.