Fix the Brief. Fix the Call. Fix the Hiring

Why 80% of Hiring Problems Start Before Sourcing ?

Most companies believe their hiring struggles come from a lack of candidates.

Bad news: the problem almost never comes from the market.

It comes from the system.

More precisely, from the two moments where everything starts (and often breaks):👉 the job brief,

👉 and the first call.

Two steps too often overlooked, even though they define the quality of everything that follows.

That’s what I shared at Sourcing Summit Amsterdam: Fix the Brief. Fix the Call. Fix the Hiring.

Here are the key ideas.

1. The brief is not a job description

Let’s be honest: in 80% of cases, the brief you get looks like this:

“We’re looking for someone senior, dynamic, autonomous, and hands-on.”

Translation: nobody really knows what they’re looking for.

The brief is often treated as a formality — a quick chat before “launching sourcing.”But that’s a strategic mistake.

The brief is the moment when you define the problem to solve.And if you don’t know clearly what problem you’re solving, it’s impossible to find the right person.

A good brief answers three questions:

1. What’s the real need? (not the job title — the business problem)

2. How will success be measured in 6 to 12 months?

3. What can we compromise on? (level, salary, stack, pace, etc.)

When these answers are missing, sourcing becomes blind shooting.And managers end up saying:

“We just can’t find good candidates.”

When in reality, we don’t know what we’re looking for.

2. The call is not a filter, it’s a lever

The second critical point: the prequalification call.Also called the “screen call,” “first touch,” or “intro call,” depending on your playbook.

Too often, it’s seen as a filtering step — a moment to tick boxes before sending the candidate to the hiring manager.

But the truth is: the call is your strongest conversion lever.

It’s not a filter.It’s a moment of connection and influence.

During that call, the candidate unconsciously decides:

“Do I want to go further or not?”

And that’s where many processes collapse.

A good call is not about:

• asking 25 closed questions,

• reading out the job spec,

• or trying to “sell the job.”

It’s about:

• actively listening to the candidate’s motivations,

• building relevance between the role and their journey,

• and projecting what the next step could look like.

The goal is not for the candidate to say “yes.”It’s for them to think:

“I want to know more.”

3. Hiring is a system, not a funnel

Most teams still recruit as if the process were linear:

Brief → Sourcing → Call → Interviews → Offer

In reality, each step influences the next:

• The brief defines who you search for.

• The sourcing defines who you contact.

• The call defines who stays in the loop.

• The process defines who signs.

If one piece is weak, the whole thing collapses.

👉 You can have the best sourcing strategy in the world — if the brief is blurry, you’ll search in the wrong place.

👉 You can have a great employer brand — if your first calls are cold or robotic, you’ll lose the candidate’s energy.

👉 You can offer a solid package — if the process drags or feels inconsistent, the candidate will already have said yes elsewhere.

Hiring is not a funnel to “optimize” step by step.

It’s a system to balance.

4. Discipline over panic

In 2025, everyone’s talking about AI, automation, augmented sourcing.But before adding tech, you need to add discipline.

Because AI will never fix:

• a poor brief,

• an improvised call,

• or a chaotic process.

Technology amplifies what already exists.If your system is flawed, it will just make you fail faster.

The future of recruiting won’t come from magic tools.

It will come from clear, repeatable methods, where every step serves a defined purpose.

5. The takeaways

👉 The brief isn’t a formality — it’s where success is defined.

👉 The call isn’t a filter — it’s a conversion and engagement lever.

👉 The process isn’t a sequence of steps — it’s an interconnected system.

👉 And the future of recruiting isn’t AI — it’s rigor.

So before looking for more candidates…Look for more clarity.