'Caring is free' — out-caring competitors gives an unfair advantage in recruiting, because candidate-satisfaction data shows the top driver is that the company genuinely wanted them and made them feel they belonged; so stay focused on the one person, not the numbers.
Adam explains his principle 'caring is free': the strongest predictor of candidate satisfaction is feeling genuinely wanted, so extreme intentionality and care is a free unfair advantage, and recruiters should focus on hiring 'the one' rather than getting caught in funnel numbers. ✦ AI generated
Adam Ward · Lenny's Podcast · 2026-08-09 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 35:55
“I've heard that you often say caring is free.”
We can care more about that candidate than anyone else. That's in us... when you look at candidate satisfaction scores, the number one thing that's always there is the company generally wanted me. They generally like like they made it feel like I belonged there. And so, the more that we can care for our candidates and demonstrate that, I think it's an unfair advantage and it's in all of us... I remind my team like we're trying to hire one person for this role here, not 10. So don't get caught up in the 10. Get focus on the one.
verbatim transcript · starts at 35:55
35:53tactics out there that are of varying degrees of cost. But out caring other companies that like when I've built recruiting teams, that's something that we've always talked about. Like, we can care more about that candidate than anyone else. That That's in us. That's within us. We can do that. And I think it hit like um over the history of time, when you look at candidate satisfaction scores, the number one thing that's
36:15always there is the company generally wanted me. They generally like like they made it feel like I belonged there. And so, the more that we can care for our candidates and demonstrate that, I think it's an unfair advantage and it's in all of us. And so it that is like an effort and that is a extra step type of thing. It's the extra uh intentionality that you take that I
36:38think um in a very somewhat feeling like transactional business like recruiting, if you're doing this like step-by-step funnel of doom, you kind of get caught up in the steps. You get caught up in the numbers game. I need to reach out to 100 to get to 20. I need to have 10 hiring manager screens to get four on-site. You know, you you get caught up in the numbers and you
36:55lose the human element. You're looking for the one. You know, so I I tell remind my team like we're trying to hire one person for this role here, not 10. So don't get caught up in the 10. Get focus on the one. >> That is such a big reframe in this way of thinking. As you said, instead of this funnel of we need 200 people at the