3 Truths Candidates Wish Hiring Managers Knew
- Rise Hire
- Dec 10, 2025
- 2 min read
(2025 Hiring Insights to Strengthen Your Recruiting Process)
We spoke with top talent to uncover the truths today’s candidates want hiring managers to understand, and how these insights directly influence your ability to attract and secure top talent.
Hiring has changed. Candidate expectations have shifted, transparency matters more than ever, and the companies who adapt fastest win the strongest talent. While resumes reveal experience, they don’t tell the full story, and today’s candidates want hiring managers to understand what truly influences their decision to say yes.
Based on real candidate feedback, here are the truths shaping successful hiring in 2025.
Truth #1: Resumes Tell a Story, But Only the First Chapter
A candidate's background on paper only reveals part of their value. True potential often lies in qualities like leadership, problem-solving, collaboration, and cultural fit, traits that aren't always evident in bullet points.
Hiring managers who remain open-minded, especially when a trusted recruiter highlights a candidate's strengths, uncover talent they would have otherwise overlooked.
Truth #2: Timely Feedback Keeps Candidates Engaged
Top candidates will not wait around. Delays in communication, even small ones, can cost
you excellent talent.
A quick update, even if the answer is "not a fit," signals professionalism and strengthens your employer brand. Fast, clear communication keeps momentum high and ensures you don't lose candidates
to faster-moving competitors.
52% of candidates say the number one factor that hurts their hiring experience is slow communication from employers. (Indeed 2025 US Jobs & Hiring Trends Report)
Truth #3: Candidates Want the Real Version of the Role
Today's top talent places a premium on transparency. Research consistently shows that a clear,
well-communicated
hiring experience significantly increases offer acceptance, while poor communication and unclear expectations remain among the top reasons professionals step away from opportunities.
Candidates want clarity on several key aspects of the role, including:
• Team dynamics
• Challenges they may face
• Expectations and priorities
• What success looks like
• The day-to-day experience
Authenticity builds trust. When hiring managers share a realistic view of the role, the company attracts aligned, motivated candidates who are far more likely to thrive long-term.