According to Foundry's 2026 State of the CIO Executive Summary, lack of in-house AI expertise was the number one challenge organizations faced when implementing AI initiatives, cited by 40% of IT leaders surveyed. As enterprises race to move beyond AI experimentation and into large-scale deployment, many IT leaders are discovering that technology isn't the biggest obstacle; it's talent. AI has become a boardroom priority. The report found that accelerating AI-driven innovati

AI can be an incredible tool in your job search, but there's a right way and a wrong way to use it. One of the biggest trends we're seeing in interviews today is candidates relying on AI tools in real time to answer questions. The problem? It's becoming increasingly obvious. The answers often sound polished, structured, and technically correct, but they're missing something critical: your experience. When candidates use AI during an interview, responses tend to come across a

Somewhere along the way, hiring turned into a marathon. What used to be a straightforward three-step process has ballooned into five, six, sometimes seven rounds of interviews, plus assessments, presentations, and “one last conversation” with someone who wasn’t even part of the original plan. It’s burning out the people you most want to hire. Not just candidates who are actively job-hunting. The ones you lose fastest are the passive candidates: high performers who weren’t lo

In today’s talent market, competition isn’t just high... It’s relentless. Candidates have options, and the best ones have a lot of them. Yet, many organizations still approach interviews primarily as an assessment process rather than an opportunity to attract and persuade top talent. Research consistently shows that candidate experience influences acceptance decisions, and candidates often evaluate companies just as heavily as companies evaluate them during the hiring process

Our Panaro Group team had the opportunity to volunteer with Feeding America yesterday, and it was a great reminder of how impactful a few hours can be when you come together as a team. We spent the morning packing boxes of healthy food for individuals and families in need. In just a short time, our team packed over 7,000 pounds of food , helping provide meals for more than 6,000 people in our community. Giving back is something we care deeply about, and it was meaningful to

Our most recent LinkedIn poll revealed that competing for talent in a tighter market is on top of today's challenges in hiring, among options like leading organizational change, retaining top performers, and hiring the right people. Recruiting in a tight talent market requires more than simply posting a job and waiting for the right candidate to apply. When skilled professionals have options, companies need to be intentional about how they approach compensation, communicatio

Many recruiting teams live inside Outlook and Teams all day, but Microsoft 365 has a handful of built in tools that quietly solve some of the biggest workflow headaches we deal with: scheduling, feedback collection, documentation, and even burnout. A lot of people do not realize these features are already included in their license. Below are a few that can make your recruiting process smoother, more organized, and a lot less manual. Bookings Let candidates pick their own int

First impressions in hiring rarely happen in a single moment. They’re built across small interactions: an application, an email, a recruiter call, a scheduling message, an interview. Individually, these steps seem minor. Together, they shape how candidates are perceived throughout the process. The good news is, strong first impressions don’t require dramatic gestures. They’re built through consistency and clarity. Here are a few fundamentals that matter more than people re

Our team is compiling our list of volunteering opportunities and plans for the southeastern Wisconsin area for the coming year, and we wanted to boost a few to the community. HAWS *Waukesha, WI and Delafield, WI The Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County leads the community in animal welfare and assures sanctuary for animals in need. They offer several opportunities for corporate teams to volunteer and fundraise! More information: https://hawspets.org/corporate-vo

Abbie Timmerman, President of Panaro Group Panaro Group , a premier boutique executive search and recruiting firm in Milwaukee, is proud to announce its 30th anniversary alongside a leadership transition. Effective January 1, 2026, Abbie Timmerman has been promoted to President, taking the helm of the firm as it enters its fourth decade of service. Founded in 1995, Panaro Group has spent thirty years building a reputation for excellence, integrity, and a personalized approach

Considering a career change this year? You would be far from the only one. Most workers today move through multiple jobs and even multiple careers over the course of their working lives. The reasons vary, but for many, it comes down to misalignment: burnout, values, flexibility, hitting a pay ceiling, or simply looking for something new. It can be a daunting move. Change can feel risky, especially if you have already invested years into a particular role or industry. There i

The last few weeks of the year can feel like… organized chaos. Work slows down because people are out, but our personal lives speed up. We’re traveling, shopping, planning meals, wrapping up projects and presents, trying to relax, and trying to stay on track. Some people love this season, some don’t. Either way, staying focused can be harder than usual for many. A little preparation helps us protect our attention, our energy, and the work that still needs to get done. Small

If you’ve been looking for a job for a while, you know the feeling. You refresh your email for updates that never come. You rework your résumé again, hoping this version will finally get noticed. You sit through interview after interview, only to be met with silence. It’s exhausting, and it’s not just you. The job market has been difficult across nearly every industry this year. The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 4.4% in September 2025, the highest it’s been since 2021.

Panel interviews can feel intimidating. You walk into a room or log into a call, and there are three, four, maybe five (or more!) faces looking back at you. Each person has their own lens, their own priorities, and their own definition of what a strong hire looks like. It is a lot of energy in one space. Luckily, panel interviewers do understand that there is a level of nerves with these meetings. They have probably been on the other side of them as well. But what many candid

The world feels loud lately, but gratitude is one way to take back a little calm and perspective. November is a month that always seems to slow the world down a little. People start reflecting on what they’re thankful for, and in recruiting, that spirit of gratitude shows up too. Behind every interview, offer, or email is a real person who remembers how they were treated. When candidates describe positive hiring experiences, they rarely talk about the job posting or the pa

Every profession has its spooky stories. In recruiting, we just call them "Wednesdays". Between ghosting candidates, shifting priorities, and never-ending requisitions, these moments are part of the job. In the spirit of the season, here are a few recruiter scenarios that send shivers down our spines, plus the simple ways to handle them. The Vanishing Candidate A missed interview can throw everything off, but it’s best not to assume the worst. Life happens! Time zones, emerge

This week, we’re proud to spotlight our Founder & CEO, Kathy Panaro, featured on The Impact of Leadership podcast with host Patrick Booth. In this episode, Kathy shares the story behind her slogan, " People Before Profits ", and the lessons learned from building a 100% woman-owned recruiting firm from the ground up. From the emotional weight of hiring your first employee to the importance of reflection and delegation, Kathy opens up about what it really takes to build a bus

If you’ve ever found yourself Googling “how to be more confident at work” , this one’s for you. Confidence shows up in many forms, but one of the most powerful is the ability to speak about your own accomplishments. True confidence allows others to see the value you bring. A Harvard study and research from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that even when men and women perform equally well, women promote themselves less often and less boldly. When asked to rate

Feedback is like a mirror in the workplace. It reflects where teams are strong, where they’re stuck, and how they can improve together....

The 2025 Bank of America Workplace Benefits Report revealed that only one in three employees say they understand their Social Security...