Field notes on hiring
in the AI age

Sharp dispatches on candidate screening, one-way interviews, and what changes when every resume is AI-polished. Written by the team building Truffle.

Essays: 398
Cadence: Updated weekly
Bylines: 4 columnists

What is AI screening?

Truffle is an AI screening tool for high-volume hiring. But what does AI screening actually mean? Here we break down the definition, how it differs from an ATS, and discuss how we think the category evolves.

Drew Wilkinson 6 min read

Read the dispatch

By topic · 99

Candidate screening software

See all 99 essays

Sep 2026 9 min read

What a low assessment score actually means before the interview

A low score on a hiring assessment gets read like a grade, and that's the wrong instinct. Here's what a low score on each assessment type actually signals, and when it's a reason to still bring someone in.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 8 min read

What a 30-second Candidate Shorts clip actually shows you

Candidate Shorts pulls the sharpest 30 seconds out of a candidate's full interview. Here's exactly what that clip is built to prove, and where the evidence runs out so you know what to check next.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

Resume screening examples that separate red flags from good signals

See what a real resume red flag looks like next to the good signal it gets mistaken for. Paired examples with real phrasing show the difference between a fact worth worrying about and one that isn't.

Sean Griffith

By topic · 97

Interviewing & screening practices

See all 97 essays

Aug 2026 9 min read

Why a great interview doesn't mean a good hire

A 2017 meta-analysis of 2,515 interviews found charm moves the interview score and barely moves the job performance that follows it. Nerves do the same thing in reverse. Here's the part of the interview that structure alone can't fix, and what actually closes the gap.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 10 min read

Interview no-shows are built into the live interview format

A no-show doesn't happen because a candidate is flaky. It happens because a live interview requires a future commitment, and every future commitment has room to break before it's kept. Here's the fix that removes that risk instead of managing it.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

Bookkeeper vs accountant, and which one you actually need

Every comparison draws the same line: bookkeepers record, accountants advise. That's true, and it still won't tell you who to post the role for. Here's the actual trigger that decides it, and how to screen for whichever one you land on.

Aliye Menzies

By topic · 54

Recruiting tech & ATS

See all 54 essays

Sep 2026 10 min read

Screening tools that integrate with Ashby: resume screening, async interviews, and assessments

Ashby runs the pipeline. It doesn't judge the pile. Here's how screening actually plugs into Ashby's assessment API, what lands on the candidate profile for each of the three methods, and the one thing to check before you pick a partner.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

Applicant tracking system vs candidate screening software for small businesses

Most explainers comparing the two are written by ATS vendors who also sell you the second thing. Here's what each one actually does, and which job is breaking on your desk right now.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

The recruiting agency software a one-person book actually needs

Every best recruiting agency software list ranks tools by category and assumes you're buying for a desk with headcount. A one-person book buys differently: one tool for whichever moment in the deal is actually costing money right now.

Sean Griffith

By topic · 30

AI recruiting & automation

See all 30 essays

Aug 2026 10 min read

Deepfake candidates are already clearing technical interviews

A cybersecurity company ran four separate video interviews before hiring a state-linked impostor, and missed it every time. Watching harder in the room won't save you either. Here's how to build a hire that doesn't rest on one performance.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

False positives and false negatives in AI candidate screening, explained

AI screening gets some candidates wrong in two different ways, and only one of them ever gets caught. Here's the difference, and why nothing should get auto-rejected because of it.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 8 min read

Do you still have to review every candidate with AI screening software?

AI ranks and surfaces the evidence. You still make every call. Here's exactly what that looks like once a few hundred resumes land in your inbox.

Sean Griffith

By topic · 40

Hiring metrics & ROI

See all 40 essays

Aug 2026 10 min read

How to know when you actually need hiring software

Most buying guides tell you to wait for a certain number of hires a year before software is worth it. That number is measuring the wrong year. Here are the three signals that actually predict the tipping point, and they can all show up on your very first hire.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 10 min read

Is hiring software worth it for a 10-person business

Every buying guide says wait until your hiring volume justifies the cost. That test was built for a recruiting department. Here's the breakeven that actually applies at 10 people, priced in hours, bad hires, and dollars.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 9 min read

What a bad hire actually costs a small business

The number everyone quotes for a bad hire is the price of finding out late. It says nothing about when you could have known, and that timing question is exactly what separates a screening process from an interview you hoped would work.

Sean Griffith

By topic · 38

Hiring by industry

See all 38 essays

Sep 2026 10 min read

How to hire fitness instructors fast during peak season

Peak-season hiring advice for gyms is really front-desk advice. Instructor roles pull a thin, high-trust pool, and speeding up the wrong way costs you the room, not just the hire.

Rachel Hubbard

Sep 2026 9 min read

How to screen candidates for a nonprofit when hiring is your side job

Most nonprofit hiring advice tells you to add more process: better rubrics, more reference checks, longer timelines. That advice is written for someone whose job is hiring. At a lean nonprofit, it usually isn't anyone's job, and more process just means more hours you don't have.

Rachel Hubbard

Sep 2026 11 min read

Interview questions by industry look different for a reason

Healthcare, retail, and skilled trades each break hiring in a different way, so the interview questions that actually catch a bad hire look different too. What to ask (and verify) in each one, and why a single master list can't do the job.

Rachel Hubbard

By topic · 20

Employer branding & candidate experience

See all 20 essays

Aug 2026 8 min read

6 job description checklist items that stop unqualified applicants

Most job description checklists edit the same three sentences everyone else already edits. Here's the checklist for the half of the posting that isn't sentences at all.

Sean Griffith

Aug 2026 11 min read

Job ad headline examples that attract quality over volume

Most job title advice is built to get you more applicants. If you're already drowning in resumes, that's the wrong target. Here's how to write a headline that changes who applies, by role type, with real examples.

Aliye Menzies

Aug 2026 8 min read

How to keep candidates updated after a one-way interview

A completion confirmation feels like an update to you. To a candidate who finished a one-way interview and heard nothing since, it reads like silence. Here's how to actually close that gap.

Rachel Hubbard

By topic · 04

Product updates

See all 4 essays

Apr 2026 5 min read

April 2026: full assessment suite, plus a brand identity overhaul

Personality, Situational Judgment, and Environment Fit are now all live. Plus a redesigned brand identity setup and the usual round of cleanup.

Sean Griffith

Mar 2026 4 min read

March 2026: Reviews and Scorecards v1

Individual star ratings, structured recommendations, and team roll-up. The first version of structured team review in Truffle.

Sean Griffith

Feb 2026 4 min read

February 2026: Magic Review goes live

Side-by-side panel, keyboard shortcuts, no page reloads. The first version of the candidate review flow we built Truffle around.

Sean Griffith

By the columnists

Four voices. One publication.

Field Notes is written by the team building Truffle. Founders, operators, recruiters, and the people doing their own hiring on small teams.

Sean Griffith

Founder, Truffle

Sean began his career in leadership at Best Buy Canada before scaling SimpleTexting from $1MM to $40MM ARR. As COO at Sinch, he led 750+ people and $300MM ARR. A marathoner and sun-chaser, he thrives on big challenges.

Hiring strategy
Tool comparisons
Compensation

Rachel Hubbard

Senior people and ops lead

Rachel is a senior people and operations leader who drives change through strategic HR, inclusive hiring, and conflict resolution.

Strategic HR
Inclusive hiring
Conflict resolution

Aliye Menzies

Senior recruiter

Aliye is a people-first recruiter and team leader who supported $80M+ in revenue growth at Meta by guiding hiring and process improvements across emerging tech roles.

Recruiting
Emerging tech roles
Hiring process

Drew Wilkinson

Advisor, Truffle

Drew is an advisor to Truffle with more than a decade of experience managing integrated marketing programs and building great teams.

Positioning
AI screening
Go-to-market

Our manifesto

Hiring software was built for big hiring teams. Most hiring happens on small ones.

Whoever does the hiring on a small team gets the pile and none of the help. Here's who we build Truffle for, and why the decision should still be yours.

Read the manifesto

The full archive

398 essays · Updated weekly

Field notes on hiringin the AI age

What is AI screening?

What a low assessment score actually means before the interview

What a 30-second Candidate Shorts clip actually shows you

Resume screening examples that separate red flags from good signals

Why a great interview doesn't mean a good hire

Interview no-shows are built into the live interview format

Bookkeeper vs accountant, and which one you actually need

Screening tools that integrate with Ashby: resume screening, async interviews, and assessments

Applicant tracking system vs candidate screening software for small businesses

The recruiting agency software a one-person book actually needs

Deepfake candidates are already clearing technical interviews

False positives and false negatives in AI candidate screening, explained

Do you still have to review every candidate with AI screening software?

How to know when you actually need hiring software

Is hiring software worth it for a 10-person business

What a bad hire actually costs a small business

How to hire fitness instructors fast during peak season

How to screen candidates for a nonprofit when hiring is your side job

Interview questions by industry look different for a reason

6 job description checklist items that stop unqualified applicants

Job ad headline examples that attract quality over volume

How to keep candidates updated after a one-way interview

April 2026: full assessment suite, plus a brand identity overhaul

March 2026: Reviews and Scorecards v1

February 2026: Magic Review goes live

Sean Griffith

Rachel Hubbard

Aliye Menzies

Drew Wilkinson

Hiring software was built for big hiring teams. Most hiring happens on small ones.

Truffle is an AI screening platform built for the AI age

Field notes on hiring
in the AI age