What does a modern hiring stack look like in 2025?

The way companies hire has changed a lot. A few years ago, recruiters would post a job, wait for resumes, screen people one by one, and conduct interviews over days or weeks.

But today? Things have changed a lot.

Companies now hire for roles across different time zones, with candidates applying from all over the world. Some roles get hundreds of applications within a day. Recruiters are under pressure to find the right person quickly, without spending hours screening every resume.

That’s where hiring stacks come in.

So, what is a hiring stack?

Think of a hiring stack like your kitchen setup. You’ve got your knife, your pan, your blender, your oven; each thing has its own job, but together, they help you cook a great meal.

A hiring stack works the same way, it’s a set of tools that help a company hire someone from start to finish. It usually includes:

• A way to attract people to apply (like job boards)
• A way to screen applicants early and test their skills  (like an AI interview)
• A way to interview them
• A system to track everything in one place

The goal? Make hiring faster, smarter, and less stressful.

1. Candidate Attraction and Engagement

This could be a job board, your company’s career page, or LinkedIn. Some companies also use social media, email, or even content marketing to talk about their work culture and attract people.

It’s the top of the funnel. If the right people don’t find your job post, you won’t find the right hire.

2. Candidate Screening

Let’s say 200 people apply. You can’t interview them all. This is where skill-based assessments and AI interviews help. They give you early signals about who has potential.

An AI interview, for example, can quickly check a candidate’s skills, communication, and how the candidate solves problems. This doesn’t replace a human, but it helps you decide who you should talk to first.

Companies like HireHunch offer these kinds of solutions, helping recruiters focus on real-fit candidates faster.

3. Interviews 

Once you’ve shortlisted, it’s time for interviews. Some use Zoom or Google Meet. Others prefer structured interview tools like Hunchvue, which has coding environments, Whiteboarding, Code pairing, and proctoring all in one place.

Some companies even use interview panels or external experts for technical roles. Services like HunchSeve can be used as an interview as a service, where interviewers from the MAANG or equivalent tech companies handle your technical interviews. It helps you make the hiring process fair and consistent.

4. A system to track everything in one place

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is the nerve center of a modern hiring stack. It helps you manage all applications, see where each candidate stands, share feedback with your team, and make decisions without chaos.

Without this piece, even the best interviews and assessments can get lost in email threads.

What makes a good hiring stack?

A good hiring stack is not about having the most expensive or popular tools. It’s about using the right mix of tools that actually help your team hire better. It should make your work smoother and free up your time, not make things more complicated.

For example, your hiring stack should help you post jobs easily, screen people fairly, interview them properly, and keep track of everything in one place. If a tool slows you down or makes things confusing for your team or candidates, it’s probably not the right fit.

It’s also important that your tools work well together. When one step flows smoothly into the next, your whole process becomes more convenient. That means less time on repetitive tasks and more time talking to the right candidates.

Most of all, your stack should be built around your team’s needs. A small team might want to automate early interviews. A large team might focus on keeping everything organized across multiple roles. There’s no one-size-fits-all. What matters is that the stack supports your hiring goals and helps you find the right people without unnecessary hassle.

What recruiters care about now

Recruiters today care deeply about more than just filling roles quickly. Speed still matters, but it’s no longer the only goal. What matters more now is making better hiring decisions and creating a process that works for both the company and the candidate.

There’s a real focus on fairness. Recruiters want to know that every candidate is getting a fair shot, no matter their background. They care about whether the questions asked in interviews are consistent, whether the screening process is objective, and whether the tools they’re using help remove bias, not create it.

Candidate experience is also top of mind. People don’t want to feel like just another number in a database. So recruiters are working hard to build hiring journeys that are more respectful and human. That means clear communication, timely updates, and a process that makes candidates feel seen.

At the same time, recruiters are looking for tools that actually support them. The right tools help lighten the load, whether that’s by screening candidates automatically, helping with scheduling, or giving quick feedback summaries. These help recruiters to have more time to focus on conversations, relationships, and good decision-making.

Conclusion

Hiring will always come down to one simple thing: people. No matter how advanced the tools become, the goal stays the same: to find the right person for the role and make the process easier and fairer for everyone involved.

A modern hiring stack should support that goal. It should make the recruiter’s job smoother, the candidate’s experience better, and the entire process more thoughtful. It doesn’t need to be packed with fancy tools. It just needs to work. The best hiring stacks give you back your time, improve the quality of hires, and help you keep growing without losing the human touch that hiring really depends on.