The Hiring Standard
Research, perspectives, and practical guidance on how to build teams that perform.
Content worth your attention
What is Time to Hire? Definition, Formula & How to Reduce It
Time to hire measures the days between a candidate entering your pipeline and accepting your offer. Most organisations track it. Few understand what actually drives it. And cutting it without improving decisions can do more harm than good.
You've been managing applications. Not making decisions.
An ATS moves candidates through your pipeline. Tracking candidates isn't the same as making better hiring decisions.
What is Cost of Hire? Definition, Formula & How to Reduce It
Cost of hire is the total investment required to fill a role. Recruiter time, assessment tools, agency fees, and the cost of a bad hire. Most organisations track the visible costs. Very few account for the hidden ones. The hidden costs are almost always larger.
Frida Ihreblom: From Amazon, Spotify and King to Alva
Frida Ihreblom spent a decade in Talent Acquisition at some of the world's fastest-growing companies. She's worked in TA teams of hundreds, hiring thousands of people per year, and seen firsthand what works at scale. Now she's on the other side, helping Alva's customers solve the problems she used to live with.
Anna Brodin: From Psychologist to Building a Department at Alva
Anna Brodin is a licensed psychologist who joined Alva Labs as a Customer Success Manager. She goal was never to build a department, but when customers kept asking for something that didn't exist yet, she saw the gap, made the case, and created Professional Services from scratch. Here's how ownership, science, and a flat organisation made that possible.
Sumit Bajracharya: Building the Interface of AI-Driven Hiring
Sumit Bajracharya is a Senior Frontend Engineer at Alva Labs. He moved from Nepal to Stockholm for the role. His thing: turning complex data into interfaces that feel intuitive. At Alva Labs, that means building the product layer where psychometric science, AI scores, and hiring decisions come together on screen.
Sourcing vs Screening: Where to Focus Your Hiring Energy
Sourcing fills your pipeline. Screening fills your roles. Most teams over-invest in the first and under-invest in the second. That imbalance is where hiring quality breaks down.
What is Structured Hiring? Definition, Research & How It Works
A method where every step follows a predefined, evidence-based framework. Research shows it can more than double the number of high performers in your hires.
Why Hiring Decisions Fail (and What to Do About It)
Most organisations hire based on interviews, CVs, and instinct. Research shows these are poor predictors. Roughly half of all hires underperform or leave within 18 months.
Alva x Legora: Lead the Shift – When TA Becomes a Business Engine
Why hiring still isn’t driving business impact – and what it takes to build a system that does. Insights from Alva Labs’ fireside chat with Legora.
Cognitive testing in the age of AI
Discover how Alva Labs adapts to maintain trust and accuracy in the recruitment process in the AI era.
See candidate results in a new light: clear, contextual, and job-aligned
Discover Alva's Candidate Results Pages: clearer insights with AI-powered summaries and a more intuitive candidate profile for better, faster, and evidence-based hiring decisions.
Dr. Sackett’s research proves it: why structure beats scattered tools
Discover why structured hiring methods outperform scattered tools, based on Dr. Paul Sackett's latest research. Learn how to make better, fairer, and faster hiring decisions.
Alva Labs among the first in the world to be certified for responsible AI governance
Alva Labs becomes one of the first globally to earn ISO/IEC 42001 certification for responsible AI, setting a new standard in ethical recruitment tech.
Half the team, double the results: VTD's hiring transformation
VTD cut hiring time by 68% and halved their recruitment team using Alva's data-driven assessments. See how they revolutionised blue-collar hiring.
Bridging theory and practice: How to close your Hiring Execution Gap
Discover how closing the Hiring Execution Gap can increase high performers from 31% to 60% without additional recruitment costs. Implement research-backed hiring systems.
Closing the Hiring Execution Gap: Insights from our Summit in Oslo
Discover insights from the Hiring Revolution Summit 2025 on closing the "Hiring Execution Gap" – improve your talent acquisition results with proven methods.
Schibsted HR leader joins Alva Labs board ahead of expansion
Alva Labs expands, appointing seasoned HR leader Antonia Brandberg Björk to its board to drive international growth and revolutionise the future of hiring.
Knightec x Alva Labs: Data-driven recruitment shapes the future of tech
Knightec’s data-driven recruitment, using Alva Labs' assessment tools, has raised their NPS by over 40% and is driving the future of technology.
Product update: Structured interviews just got easier
It has never been easier to run a world-class interview process in Alva Labs with our new, improved Alva Interview features.
First in the world to receive global DNV certification for psychometric assessments
Alva Labs achieves global DNV certification for psychometric assessments, ensuring scientifically validated and fair hiring tools that promote diversity and efficiency in recruitment processes.
Debunking common misconceptions about psychometric assessments in recruitment
Debunking misconceptions about psychometric assessments in recruitment: Learn how the five factor model enhance hiring decisions with scientific validity and fairness.
How to make candidates love your hiring process
Learn how to make candidates love your hiring process and provide an exceptional candidate experience.
Product updates in Alva: Data retention and improved user experience
These updates to our platform that are designed to improve your experience and make the app more user-friendly.
How to master hiring for leadership roles
Learn how to master hiring for leadership roles and avoid the common pitfalls that lead to failure.
Recruitment with Speed & Structure: Noba's Success with Alva's Interview Templates
Noba's Precision Hiring Journey: Scaling Talent with Alva's Interview Templates
How Nobia mastered the art of volume hiring and candidate experience
Discover how Nobia elevated its talent acquisition with Alva Labs for volume hiring and a seamless, efficient, and enhanced candidate experience
Recruitment Automation Tech Stack: 4 Must-Haves for Modern TA
Master recruitment automation: Simplify tech selection & excel in hiring with our expert guide! 🚀 #HRtech #RecruitmentSolutions
How to pick the right recruitment assessment tool for your hiring needs
Unlock top talent with recruitment assessment tools - rooted in history, proven by research. Better predictors than resumes. Learn more now!
Are your hiring practices holding you back? Discover the power of evidence-based recruitment
Never make a bad hire again with this guide to evidence-based recruitment
Why your last hire failed- and what you can do about it
A poor hiring decision is expensive. Why do so many companies get hiring wrong? And what can be done about it?
How to spot, hire and keep a high performer
In this guide, learn what it takes to spot, hire, and keep a high performer on your team for years to come.
Talent Acquisition-Hiring Manager alignment: A best-practice guide
Unlock the power of TA-Hiring Manager synergy with expert strategies on creating a best-in-class process for faster, smarter hiring.
8 talent sourcing tactics to improve your candidate response rate
Master talent sourcing and overcome impersonal, rushed approaches. Get expert insights to attract top candidates and build a healthy talent pipeline.
How to Write Better Job Ads: 10 tips from a tech recruiting expert
Learn to write effective job ads that attract top talent with our guide. Stop losing candidates to poorly written listings.
How to use AI in recruitment
Learn how to use AI in recruitment to reduce time to hire, increase productivity and improve candidate experience. Get practical tips in our guide.
Master the art of interviewing: The ultimate guide to conducting great interviews
Looking to hire the best candidate? Learn how to conduct an interview that assesses candidates thoroughly, asks predictive questions, and wins them over.
Driving Equal Opportunity in Early Careers: Step Recruitment x Alva Labs
In this customer story with Step Recruitment, find out how Alva helped drive equal opportunity in early careers.
How to create a candidate-friendly interview process
Five tactics for creating an exceptional interview process for candidates.
How to Create a Take-Home Coding Test that won't scare candidates
Creating a take-home coding test can be tricky. Here are some tips on how to make sure your assessment is both effective and enjoyable for candidates.
Hiring Engineers in Tough Times: Guide for Talent Acquisition Managers
The Essential Guide for Talent Acquisition Managers. Learn 4 steps TAs can take to navigate economic downturn & grow engineering teams
How reducing your time to hire helps optimise your recruitment process
Quick and easy tips to reduce your time to hire, optimise your hiring process and secure the best candidates for the job.
Improving Mentimeter’s candidate experience with Alva’s coding tests
How Mentimeter improved its candidate experience and time to hire using Alva's coding tests.
How to refresh your employee onboarding
Step-by-step guide to improving your employee onboarding. Make your employees feel welcome from day one with a smooth onboarding process.
From DevSkills to joining Alva—a conversation with Anton Fenske on evaluating software engineers
Alva Labs sat down with Anton Fenske to talk about the brains behind DevSkills, Anton's journey to joining Alva, and how to evaluate engineering talent
How to build a strong employer brand and attract candidates
Why a strong employer brand matters and how to build a powerful employer brand from scratch.
Should you cut CVs out of your recruitment process?
Is the CV still useful in the hiring process? Or is it time to cut CVs out of the recruitment process? We explore why the CV is an outdated tool.
What can employee advocacy on social media do for your brand?
Employee advocacy on social media is a powerful way for employees to promote your brand, and build your employer branding.
Hiring velocity: the talent acquisition metric that matters
Hiring velocity is not the same as time to hire. Understand how this key talent acquisition metric can supercharge your hiring process.
'Good candidates have so many options right now:' Alva Labs' Lisa Sindsjö Grahn on today's recruitment challenges
Lisa Sindsjö Grahn is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Alva Labs. We talked with her about the challenges recruiters are facing in today's market.
Rejlers x TeamTailor x Alva: Collaborating to Increase Diversity
In this Customer Story, we explore how Alva and Teamtailor helped Rejlers update its Candidate Experience, increase diversity and hire for potential.
Alva Guide to the Big Five: Emotional Stability Explained
Ever wondered how Emotional Stability impacts recruitment? Alva explains it all.
Alva Guide to The Big Five: Agreeableness Explained
Ever wondered how Agreeableness impacts recruitment? Alva explains it all.
Alva Guide to the Big Five: Extraversion Explained
Ever wondered how Extraversion impacts recruitment? Alva explains it all.
Alva Guide to The Big Five: Conscientiousness Explained
Ever wondered how Conscientiousness impacts recruitment? Alva explains it all.
Alva Guide to The Big Five: Openness Explained
Ever wondered how Openness impacts recruitment? Alva explains it all.
Your Alva Guide to the Big Five Model of Personality
Why is the Big Five the soundest basis for psychometric testing? Learn more here.
8 strategies you need to build diverse staff retention
Need tips to retain your diverse talent? Here are the best strategies you can action today.
Your Ultimate Guide to Interview Scorecards
Learning how to select and interview candidates doesn't have to be hard. See how you evaluate candidates fairly with our interview scorecards.
How to engage a company wide shift to Hiring Manager Responsibility.
It’s easier to improve processes than retrain global staff. Here's how to engage Hiring Managers with bias-free recruiting.
How to keep every candidate engaged
Use these tips and email and SMS templates to keep your candidates warm and improve candidate engagement, at every stage of your funnel.
Chief Wellbeing Officers: why you need one (& what to do if you can't afford one)
CWOs
The 7 questions you need to ask your psychometric assessment vendor
Looking to start with psychometric assessments? Want a new vendor? Here are the 7 questions you need to ask, every time.
The 7 hiring tools every startup CEO needs
Startup CEOs have to take an active role in the hiring process. But what hiring tools should they be using. We recommend 7 must-haves.
Where is Swedish Diversity & Inclusion heading in Swedish companies?
On 8 December, 2021, Alva Labs hosted its event focusing on Swedish Diversity & Inclusion. Here are the key takeaways from that discussion.
Why Psychological Capital is the insight you need to build 2022’s resilient team
Psychological capital can help you to build positive, focussed and resilient workforces. Learn how to start building psych capital today.
Stop saying soft skills!
Is it time to retire the term "soft skills"? Kajsa Ashland argues why today's skills are about handling ever-changing environments with high uncertainty.
Why Independent Contributors are key to your success
One-third of all promotions fail, meaning companies should reassess how they develop future leaders. Kajsa Asplund explains the soft skills that matter.
How to assess leadership potential
Alva Labs' Linnea Bywall dives into the factors that matter when it comes to assessing an employee's leadership potential.
The Horn Effect – what is it and how can you prevent it from damaging your organisation
The Horn Effect is a cognitive bias where negative aspects overshadow the more positive. We detail how to prevent it from damaging your organisation.
Your next promotion is going to fail unless you take action.
Women are 14% less likely to receive a promotion; what is the
Where is Your Talent Engagement Strategy Leaking? Plug the gaps before you lose your next great hire.
Leaks in your talent funnel are wasting your time and effort. There are many easy fixes you can make today to start saving time and retaining talent.
The 8 steps in the hiring process you should cheat on (and the 5 you can’t afford to miss)
Learn how you can cheat on some of the HR processes you've been told matter (and don't) - and free up time to check in on 5 processes you might be missing (at your peril)
Want to build psychologically safe teams? Hire a great manager.
Psychological safety at work is often discussed, but how can we try to hire people who love to manage the complicated beings that we call people?
Game-Based Assessments: The Future of Psychometrics or a New Shiny Thing?
Game-based assessments are being sold as a quick-fix to psychometric testing - but what is the evidence?
DevOps 101: Who they are, what they do and how to hire them.
DevOps helps your tech to be reliable, resilient and on-top of emerging trends. Here's a quick guide to what they do - and what skills your next hire needs.
Employer Branding 101 for Start-Ups & small teams
Employer branding is essential for organisations of any size who want to find - and retain - the best talent. But how can HR teams of 1 or 2 build a brand?
How recruitment bias harms your business
Learn how recruitment bias puts your company's bottom line at risk.
Why SEB chose Alva to join their path to increased diversity
Sam Joukhadar refers to the saying: Hire for talent, train for skills. To do that, he believes companies need to adopt a strategy or a diversity and inclusion policy. Read about how SEB changed their hiring process together with Alva
Why you don’t need a values test in recruitment
It has become increasingly common to use recruitment tests that try to determine candidate's cultural fit. How do values relate to personality? And are values test really the way to go to work with your culture?
How To Pick The Perfect Hiring Test For Your Business
Using a personality test for recruitment can be a powerful way to evaluate a candidate's potential and likelihood of excelling in a role.
How to maximise your recruitment ROI
How can you maximise your recruitment roi when hiring? In this guide to recruitment ROI, we walk you through everything you need to know.
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