Last Sunday, I asked someone at church a question that most of us ask without thinking.

"Did you do anything fun this weekend?"

I expected the usual answers. Maybe a trip to the beach, dinner with friends, or time with family.

Instead, they smiled and said the most enjoyable part of their weekend was having fewer errands to run for their kids. They sat on their back porch with a cup of coffee, read a book, and didn't feel rushed to get to the next thing.

That was their idea of "fun".

The more I thought about it, the more I realized they weren't describing excitement. They were describing relief. That conversation stayed with me all week.

On Wednesday, I wrote about a discussion that unfolded in the comments of one of my LinkedIn posts. The conversation centered on AI, resumes, recruiters, candidates, and hiring managers. Everyone had an opinion, but one question stood out above all the rest, per Jana B.

Who is the hiring process really serving?

I've been thinking about that question ever since.

As recruiters, it's easy to see hiring through the lens of open positions, time-to-fill metrics, interview schedules, and offer acceptance rates. Hiring managers see deadlines, project demands, and the pressure of building strong teams. Candidates see something entirely different.

They see possibility. They see uncertainty. They see hope.

Sometimes they see the chance to finally build a different future for themselves and their family. None of those perspectives are wrong. They're simply incomplete on their own.

One of the unexpected gifts of writing every week is realizing that publishing isn't the end of the conversation. It's often where the learning begins. People leave comments. They disagree. They add experiences I haven't considered. They ask questions I wasn't asking myself. they even troll.. argh.

If I'm paying attention, those conversations shape the way I think. The truth is, the more I study recruiting, the less interested I become in having all the answers. I'm becoming much more interested in asking better questions. Not questions that help me fill a position faster.

Questions that help me understand another human being more completely.

I've started to believe that's true outside of recruiting too.

The best leaders ask better questions. The best spouses ask better questions. The best parents ask better questions. The best friends ask better questions.

Because great conversations aren't measured by how much we say. They're measured by how much we understand when they're over. Maybe that's why I keep coming back to the same simple belief.

Better hiring starts with better conversations. And better conversations have a way of changing both people involved.

Thank you for reading, for challenging my thinking, and for being part of these conversations each week.

I appreciate every comment, every message, and every perspective you share. Many of the ideas you read here don't come from sitting at a keyboard. They come from the conversations we have together.

Have a great weekend.

Brandon Labonte