Read practical guidance for employers evaluating people and candidates explaining their experience. Our articles examine the decisions behind a useful search: what the role requires, what evidence matters, and how recruiter, employer, and candidate work together.
For employers
Explore hiring briefs, candidate presentation, interview questions, and the commercial relationship with a recruiter. Each resource is designed to make your next conversation more useful.
Before You Hire a Recruiter, Agree on the Search
For candidates
Understand the difference between clear presentation and inflated claims. Learn how to describe responsibilities, explain accomplishments, and review the materials used in an employer introduction.
A Strong Résumé Should Make the Evidence Easier to Examine
Use the practical tools
Explore the Hiring Resources for a role brief, interview guide, and presentation checklist. These are working aids, not validated hiring assessments.
Stay informed
Choose the free Employer Hiring Brief, the Candidate Opportunities Letter, or both. Newsletter choice is separate from applying for a role or joining the candidate network.
Recruiting market snapshot: August 2026
· Data released September 29, 2026
These BLS estimates describe the U.S. total nonfarm labor market. They are seasonally adjusted and preliminary, not Ivy Recruiter outcomes.
- Job openings
- 7,079,000 vacancies; 4.3% rate. A snapshot on the last business day of August.
- Hires
- 5,192,000 payroll additions during August; 3.3% rate.
- Quits
- 3,066,000 voluntary separations during August; 1.9% rate.
- Layoffs and discharges
- 1,641,000 involuntary separations during August; 1.0% rate.
How to read the measures
The openings rate divides vacancies by employment plus vacancies. Hires and separation rates divide monthly events by employment. The graphic rounds counts; the exact estimates appear above.
Openings are a stock, while hires and exits are flows. These counts do not track the same candidates and are not a conversion funnel. Their difference alone does not establish recruiting competition or hiring success.
Primary sources: BLS September 29, 2026 JOLTS release, tables 1, 2, 4 and 5, and its technical definitions. Research is attributed to BLS; AIRS/ADP did not author or sponsor this analysis.