The Broken Hiring System Isn't New: A Throwback to Facebook, 2011

Throwback to me in 2011 at Facebook's new headquarters advocating for candidate experience.

The chalkboard sign that I'm holding up says: Remember. Your candidates might be past, present, or future customers. Candidate experience is critical.

That was 15 years ago.

Today I'm still absolutely DEVASTATED by how people are treated in the hiring process.

You've heard this story before...

You apply for a role. You wait. You wait some more. You hear nothing. (Not even a no.)

So you start to think... "Maybe my resume isn't good enough." "Maybe I'm not qualified anymore." "Maybe there's something wrong with me."

There isn't.

The system was already broken in 2011. It's STILL broken in 2026.

And the companies hiring today know it.

They've seen the numbers.

They know thousands of people will apply to a single remote six-figure role.

They know most of those will hurry to apply within the first 24 hours.

They know 75%+ of resumes will never be seen by a human.

They have the data. They bought the ATS software.

And they choose, every single day, to leave people in silence.

Not because they have to. Because it's cheaper and easier.

I've been advocating for candidate experience since I held up this sign 15 years ago. And I'll keep doing it until I no longer can.

Because the people being ground up inside this process aren't statistics.

They're your past customers. They're your present customers. They're your future customers.

And one day they're going to remember exactly how you made them feel.

For the full framework, read The Theory of Hireability™.

If this hit close to home, come get the whole framework at TheoryOfHireability.com.