The Hidden Friction Blocking Good Candidates

Ask a hiring manager why a role is hard to fill and you will often hear about candidate quality. Ask the candidates who applied and were screened out, and you will hear something different: processes that were confusing, requirements that seemed disconnected from the job, application steps that assumed resources and flexibility many candidates do not have.

The Credential Inflation Problem

Many job postings require degrees for roles that were historically filled by workers with lower credential levels — and where performance data shows no correlation between degree attainment and job success. This phenomenon, sometimes called credential inflation, has been documented across a range of industries. Employers who have removed degree requirements from eligible roles report no decline in hire quality and a significant expansion of their candidate pool.

Application Process Friction

Multi-step application processes that require candidates to submit information multiple times, complete assessments of dubious validity, or schedule interviews on short timelines that assume workplace flexibility create barriers that have nothing to do with candidate quality. Workers in hourly jobs — who are often the candidates employers most need — face the highest friction from processes designed around the schedules of office workers.

The Reference and Network Filter

Heavy reliance on employee referrals as a hiring channel is efficient from the employer perspective but systematically reproduces the existing demographic composition of organizations. Workers with strong professional networks — who tend to be workers who are already well-positioned — are advantaged relative to equally qualified workers with smaller networks. Employers who want to expand their talent pool have to deliberately invest in channels that reach workers outside their existing network.