Rebuilding Candidate Trust in Public Sector Executive Recruitment

The 2026 Job Seeker Nation Report from JazzHR makes one thing very clear. Candidates are not just frustrated with hiring. Many are losing trust in it.

For cities, counties, and other public sector organizations, this should be a serious concern. Trust is a fundamental requirement in all recruiting from the front-line to the very top of an organization.

Municipal executive recruitment runs on trust, especially when experienced city managers, police chiefs, finance directors, HR directors, and other senior leaders are being asked to consider leaving stable positions and move their family to a new location.

According to the report, candidates are becoming more cautious, less willing to leave stable employment, and more skeptical of the process itself. The report describes this shift as the “Great Pause,” with candidates stepping back from the job market because the process feels slower, less predictable, and harder to trust. The report found that openness to new opportunities dropped to 43%, active job searching fell from 42% to 35%, and 62% of active job seekers said they would not leave their current role without another job lined up.

That is not just a labor market issue. It is a trust issue.

Clear Career Professionals specializes in executive recruitment for local government and public sector organizations. Our work includes city manager recruitments, police chief recruitments, finance director searches, HR director searches, and other leadership positions where candidate trust, process integrity, and organizational fit matter.

At Clear Career Professionals, we believe the answer is not to make recruiting colder, faster, and more automated. The answer is to make the process more human, more transparent, and more intentional.

Why Human Review Still Matters in Executive Recruitment

One of the most important findings in the report is that 34% of candidates believe they have been automatically rejected by AI. The report also found that 91% of candidates believe companies should be upfront about when and how AI is used in hiring.

Clear embraces technology. We use it in many applications because it helps us operate efficiently, communicate effectively, and keep costs reasonable for our clients.

But we do not use technology where it becomes a detriment to the human side of recruitment.

Clear does not use AI to screen out candidates. Every resume and cover letter gets reviewed by human beings. In many cases, those materials are reviewed by more than one person. We are not looking for keyword matches alone. We are looking for leadership ability, career progression, communication skills, judgment, experience, and alignment with the needs of the organization.

Technology can support the work. It should not replace the judgment.

Public Sector Candidates Want a Process That Feels Human

The report found that candidates increasingly judge employers based on transparency, responsiveness, quality of information, and how human the process feels. Transparency as a factor shaping candidate opinion rose to 42%, responsiveness rose to 39%, and quality of information rose to 36%.

That is exactly where the Clear Way is different.

When we conduct semifinalist interviews virtually, they are not automated screenings or one way video exercises. They are live interviews with members of the Clear team. Just as important, those interviews are conducted by people who are either currently serving in the type of role being recruited for or have previously served in that role.

That matters.

A city manager candidate should be interviewed by people who understand city management. A police chief candidate should be interviewed by people who have held a top cop job. A finance director candidate should be assessed by people who have been through budget season year after year and have a clear understanding of what is needed in the role.

A strong recruitment process should still feel human because the candidates are human.

Communication Builds Trust in Municipal Recruiting

The report found that 32% of candidates experienced ghosting by hiring managers or recruiters, and 42% of those candidates said it happened more than three times. The report correctly identifies this as a trust issue.

Clear recognizes that a lack of communication with candidates is one of the biggest impediments to candidates wanting to work with you.

Kevin Boese, Vice President of Candidate Relations, leads the Clear team responsible for keeping candidates informed. Active candidates receive weekly update calls for every position, and candidates are notified when their status changes.

That does not mean every candidate receives the answer they hoped for. It means they receive communication, clarity, and respect.

In executive recruitment, the candidate who is not selected today may be the right candidate for another community tomorrow. They may also be a future client, colleague, peer, or referral source. How they are treated matters.

A Better Application Process for Executive Candidates

The report also found that nearly 70% of candidates expect the application process to take less than 30 minutes. It also found that candidates may abandon a process when it feels too long, repetitive, or low value, including when they are required to manually reenter resume information, join a talent network, or create a profile just to apply.

Clear does not require a traditional application just to enter the process.

For most recruitments, we simply ask for you to attach your resume and cover letter. That is intentional. A resume helps us understand experience and career progression. A cover letter helps us understand interest, communication ability, and motivation for the specific role.

We are not trying to create hoops. We are trying to gather information that actually helps the client while making it as easy as possible on the candidate.

Clear Recommends. The Client Selects.

Another important distinction is that Clear does not make the final hiring decision.

Our role is to recruit, evaluate, communicate, and make recommendations. The client makes the selection.

Candidate materials are forwarded to the client, and our work is designed to help the client understand the candidate pool clearly and fairly. That protects the integrity of the process and respects the authority of the hiring organization.

This is especially important in public sector recruitment, where transparency, process integrity, and public trust are not optional.

Executive Recruitment Should Reflect the Real Opportunity

The JazzHR report also points to another serious issue. Candidates are leaving jobs early when the role does not match what was communicated during the hiring process. The report found that 46% of workers who left a job within the first 90 days did so because the job or company was not consistent with what had been communicated during hiring.

That should concern every organization.

Recruitment should not be about selling a fantasy. It should be about helping the right candidate understand the real opportunity, including the strengths, challenges, expectations, leadership environment, and community context.

That is one of the reasons Clear developed PositionCast™ episodes for our podcast, The Clear Voice. For public sector executive recruitment, a job brochure can explain the basics, but a conversation can bring the opportunity to life. For local government recruiting, candidates need to understand more than the duties and minimum qualifications. They need to hear about the organization, elected body expectations, leadership culture, community priorities, current challenges, and what success will actually look like in the role.

Better information leads to better decisions.

Trust Is Now a Recruiting Advantage

The report makes a strong case that candidate trust is becoming one of the most important factors in recruitment. Candidates want clarity. They want communication. They want to know whether AI is being used. They want to understand the process. They want to know where they stand.

That should not be controversial.

Clear has produced a short YouTube video linked below to explain our process and we are currently building out a candidate resource page that should be live in the coming months. This is to help candidates understand our process and give them some tips and tricks to elevate their application documents and better prepare for their interview.

At Clear Career Professionals, we believe the future of recruiting is not less human. It is more human, supported by the right technology, used in the right places, for the right reasons.

We will continue to use technology where it improves efficiency and keeps costs reasonable for our clients. But we will not use technology as a substitute for judgment, communication, or relationships.

Candidates deserve a process that respects their time. Clients deserve a process that protects their reputation. Communities deserve leaders selected through a process built on trust.

That is where Clear stands. That is the Clear Way.

Clear Career Professionals provides executive recruitment, municipal recruiting, leadership development, organizational reviews, and consulting services for cities, counties, and other public sector organizations. To learn more about our current opportunities, recruitment services, or PositionCast™, visit Clear Career Professionals.

Article Source: This article is a response to findings from the 2026 Job Seeker Nation Report from Employ, JazzHR, Lever, and Jobvite. The report can be accessed through JazzHR at:

https://www.jazzhr.com/2026-job-seeker-nation-report/