Leo Tognetti’s Post

🎯 How to Make Recruiters Wait For You — The Right Way Most people act powerless during screening calls. They try to please. They hope to be liked. They forget that timing isn’t only the company’s decision — it’s also about how you show up. Here’s what high-growth candidates do differently 👇 1️⃣ They earn curiosity. You don’t need to sound bold. You just need to make the recruiter think, “Hmm… this person might be exactly what we’re missing.” 2️⃣ They say it with calm clarity: “Don’t make a final call until you’ve talked with me.” Not arrogance. It’s confidence earned through preparation and progress. 3️⃣ They back it up. They talk about what they’ve been building, learning, testing. They share results and lessons — not just titles. 4️⃣ They sound like they belong. They’re humble, well-dressed, on time, and informed. They’ve read the room — and the company. 5️⃣ They handle surprises with grace. Because growth is their default mode. They expect the unexpected — and smile through it. You can’t always control the company’s timing. But you can control the impression that makes them pause before hiring anyone else. That pause? That’s respect you earned. Comment “PAUSE” and I’ll send you my guide: “How to Earn the Interview Before It Happens.”

The 5 interview process mistakes that are quietly killing your culture (and your growth): 1. Leading with legal fear – NDAs before trust 2. Silence as strategy – week-long gaps with no comms 3. Urgency without reciprocity – candidates rushed, you delayed 4. Large assignments / takehomes – extracting value before commitment 5. Hiring for comfort – choosing “familiar” over capability Fix these, and your process becomes a competitive advantage. Full article with examples + fixes in the comments ⬇️

A little while ago, a candidate reached out to me on LinkedIn for advice. He’d been out of work for a few months and had made it all the way to final stage interviews for a regional manager role. On paper, it looked ideal - great package, strong company reputation and a role he was well suited for. But when we spoke, he told me he was planning to walk away before the final round. I asked why. “They haven’t made any effort to get to know me,” he said. “I don’t feel like a person - just another box to tick.” It wasn’t a dramatic moment or a clear red flag. Just a pattern of being overlooked. He felt like no one had really seen him - no one had taken the time to understand who he was or what he could bring to the table. And despite being out of work, he decided not to move forward. There’s a lesson in that. Just because someone’s looking doesn’t mean they’ll say yes to anything. People want to feel valued. They want to feel heard. Especially when they’re at their most vulnerable. So if you're hiring - and a candidate drops out at the final hurdle - perhaps ask yourself what kind of experience they had along the way. Because when a candidate is out of work and still says no…that tells you everything you need to know.

Don’t walk out of the interview without asking these questions: 1. Why is this position open? You want to know whether the previous person quit, was fired, or was laid off. Pay attention to how they answer. Do they dodge? Speak poorly about the last hire? Or give a clear, professional response? If this is a new role that they never hired for in the past, it’s a good opportunity for you to follow up with clarifying questions, such as: What does success look like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days? 2. What goals should I achieve in the first 6 months if I were to get hired? This shows you’re already thinking about how to succeed. At the same time, it reveals their top priorities. Listen closely: are the goals realistic, or would they require nights and weekends to hit? If you’re new to the field, research typical benchmarks so you can tell. There are plenty of other great questions to ask, but these two are excellent for drawing out the information you need to evaluate the position. What are your favorites?

Consider this a wake up call: Most founders don’t realize their most expensive hire is themselves. You post the job. You interview. You lose 80 hours. That’s 80 hours you could’ve spent building revenue, not sifting through resumes. In today’s talent market, time isn’t money. It is survival. Partnering with top recruiters buys you time, expertise and a deep network. If you’re spending your time doing a mediocre job hiring, who’s leading?

Once, I made a mistake. I hired too fast. The person didn’t really fit our values , and their energy started to affect the whole team. It was a tough lesson. But there are some hiring mistakes I see companies repeat again and again, like 👇 1️⃣ Extremely long hiring process. Hiring in a hurry rarely ends well -but making it too long can cost you the best people. 2️⃣ Going silent between interviews. When candidates don’t hear from you for weeks, they assume you’ve lost interest, and often move on. 3️⃣ Forgetting to sell the vision. People want to know what makes your company special , and why they should care. At the end of the day, hiring isn’t about WHO CAN SURVIVE your process. It’s about having a real conversation where both sides feel excited about working together. What’s your experience? 👇

Stop asking, “Who’s going to hire me?” Start asking, “Where can I lead?” Because the truth is, the job market isn’t broken. It's changed, but it is full of opportunity. The professionals who are getting hired right now aren’t chasing job postings. They’re identifying problems that need solving and positioning themselves as the person who can fix them. That’s what leadership looks like. If you’ve ever looked around your industry and thought, “Why hasn’t anyone solved this yet?” That’s your sign to be that person in your next interview. You don’t need to fit into someone else’s job description. You need to clearly articulate how you fill a value gap, and the ROI that brings the company. Because leaders aren’t hired to maintain the status quo, they’re hired to rebuild what’s broken. So stop trying to get hired. Start showing up as the solution.

I can’t stop thinking about what just happened. A recruiting company put me through three rounds before even showing my profile to their client. I did everything right. Stayed professional. Stayed patient. Finally, they said the client wanted to meet me. I prepared for days. Cleared my schedule. Showed up ready. The client never showed up. No message. No apology. Just silence. Then the recruiter called me — on a Sunday morning — saying, “Let’s do one more quick interview before we reschedule.” I agreed. They asked new questions that were never part of the role. Hours later, I got a one-line response: “The client decided not to move forward based on your answers.” No feedback. No respect. Just another candidate crossed off a list. And here’s what hurts most: Recruiting firms sometimes forget that companies need our skills just as much as we need opportunities. Too often they focus only on pleasing the client, forgetting the professionals who make those clients successful. We’re not disposable. We’re not backup plans. We’re professionals showing up with integrity and hope. If you work in recruiting, respect the process on both sides. You’re not just filling roles. You’re shaping someone’s career and trust.

Two recruiters started around the same time. One was a natural: quick thinker, great communicator, sharp instincts. Could close a role in half the time and make it look effortless. We said, “She’s got it.” The other was… okay. Not the fastest, not the smartest but she showed up. Every single day. Did her sourcing, wrote proper notes, followed up without being told, tracked her numbers, stayed on top of things. Six months in, the talented one was still in phases. A killer month followed by a complete dip. Great with clients but poor with consistency. Always saying, “I’ll get back on track.” The other one just kept at it. Same effort. Same routine. No shortcuts. And slowly, the results started stacking up. Clients started trusting her. Candidates kept coming back. She wasn’t loud but her desk was always busy. A year later, the difference was clear. The “average” recruiter had built something the talented one couldn’t: rhythm, reliability, and momentum. This experience made us go back to the old saying: Consistency beats talent every time. And that’s what we started looking for in interviews, during probation, in discussions. People who display Consistency of effort in whatever they do. Even if they're less talented, they're worth the bet.

The question that removes surprises from your hiring process… A few years back, I’d lose offers late in the process. Not because the candidate wasn’t right, but because I hadn’t asked the right questions early enough. Now I always start with: “What do you need from a role to say yes with confidence?” Or: “What would make this an absolute no-brainer for you?” Once we know that on day one, the rest of the process is simple. We plan interviews around it: work pattern, flexibility, culture, growth, money, whatever matters most. If a role doesn’t tick those boxes, I’ll say so. Better to be upfront than waste anyone’s time. Since doing this, I’ve had fewer stalls, almost no last-minute declines, and quicker decisions on both sides. Five minutes of honest questions beats five weeks of guessing. What’s the one question you wish every recruiter asked first?