When it comes to recruiting, a common mistake that companies and candidates alike make is focusing too much on the “sell” and too little on genuine, meaningful disclosure. Over-promising or sugar-coating reality can lead to frustration, mismatched expectations, and ultimately, higher turnover. The best way to build long-term successful relationships between a company and a candidate is to prioritize transparency from the start.
Compensation: What’s Realistic?
One of the most sensitive areas in recruiting is compensation. Instead of presenting the “ideal” scenario—where everything lines up perfectly, and the candidate earns the maximum possible—it’s important to be transparent about what the candidate will most likely earn. Share the minimum, mid, and maximum salary or package the candidate can expect based on actual data. Discuss the company’s compensation philosophy, including how bonuses or commissions are earned and whether they are realistically achievable.
Disclose the following:
• What the candidate can expect to earn in his or her first year, not just the best-case scenario.
• How the compensation structure is designed.
• The company’s compensation philosophy.
The Difficulty of the Job: What It Takes to Succeed
Every job comes with its own set of challenges. Be open and honest about the level of difficulty involved in achieving goals. Whether it’s a sales target, a product launch, or a specific project, candidates deserve to know what the challenges are.
Disclose the following:
• What success looks like in this role.
• The obstacles previous employees have faced.
Career Growth: The Reality vs. the Dream
While upward mobility and career growth are highly sought-after, companies often oversell the potential for advancement. It’s important to provide a realistic picture of what career progression looks like. Be honest about timelines, skill requirements, and opportunities for growth within the company.
Disclose the following:
• The average time it takes for someone to be promoted.
• The performance required to advance.
Turnover and Retention: Why People Leave
Turnover is an important signal of a company’s culture and the realities of a job. If turnover is high, candidates deserve to know why. Is it because of management changes, burnout, or lack of career advancement?
Disclose the following:
• The most common reasons people leave this role or the company.
• The steps the company has taken to improve retention.
Why Are You Looking? (Both Candidate and Company)
It’s critical to align on the “why” from both sides. Why is the company looking to fill this role? Why is the candidate looking for a new opportunity? More disclosure in this area can lead to a better match and avoid potential mismatches.
Disclose the following:
• Why did the last person in this role leave.
• What are the company’s biggest hiring needs right now.
Matching motivations and expectations can be the difference between a short stint and a lasting career.
Management Style: Who Will the Candidate Be Working For?
A candidate’s success is often closely tied to their relationship with their manager. Being open about management style, leadership philosophy, and how managers interact with their teams provides candidates with a clear picture of who they’ll be working with day-to-day.
Key Questions to Answer:
• How does the manager prefer to communicate?
• How are performance and feedback handled?
By sharing more about the leadership style, you’re enabling candidates to self-assess whether they’ll thrive under that manager’s guidance.
A Typical Week, Month, Quarter: Setting Expectations
The day-to-day reality of the job should never be hidden or sugar-coated. Share what a typical week, month, or quarter looks like in terms of workload, meetings, and key deliverables.
Key Questions to Answer:
• How does the work fluctuate across the quarter or year?
• What does a typical workday or week look like?
Candidates who understand the flow of work can better plan and determine if they’re suited for the demands of the job.
Travel: What’s Realistic?
If travel is a component of the job, be honest about how often it will occur. Companies sometimes downplay the travel expectations, only for new hires to find themselves on the road far more than they anticipated.
Key Questions to Answer:
• How frequently is travel required?
• What destinations or regions will the candidate be responsible for?
Being upfront about travel requirements helps candidates manage their work-life balance expectations.
Culture and Work-Life Balance: Be Honest About the Environment
Company culture is one of the most significant factors in employee retention and job satisfaction. Be transparent about the work environment, team dynamics, and what work-life balance really means within your organization.
Key Questions to Answer:
• How does the company promote work-life balance?
• What’s the general atmosphere of the office or remote team?
The more candidates know about the culture and how they will fit in, the more likely they are to find long-term satisfaction in the role.
Anything Else: No Surprises
Lastly, disclose any other information that could affect the candidate’s decision. Whether it’s a pending acquisition, leadership change, or new policy, transparency is key.
The more candidates know up front, the more they’ll appreciate your openness, and that leads to better long-term outcomes for both parties.
Conclusion: Building Trust Through Transparency
The days of selling a job with rose-colored glasses are over. In today’s market, candidates value transparency, and companies that prioritize disclosure over selling will build stronger relationships with their employees. Honesty about compensation, challenges, management style, and culture helps both sides make informed decisions—leading to better matches, lower turnover, and greater satisfaction.
Transparency isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also the best business strategy.