Engineering hiring is both a process and a numbers game. Without measuring the funnel, managers make decisions based on feeling rather than data.
Funnel metrics from application to offer
The hiring funnel metrics: application-to-phone-screen conversion rate, phone-screen-to-onsite conversion rate, onsite-to-offer conversion rate, offer acceptance rate, and time-to-hire (days from job posting to accepted offer). Tracking these metrics by role type, hiring manager, and recruiting source identifies where the funnel is leaking. A low offer acceptance rate indicates a compensation or process problem; a low onsite-to-offer rate indicates interviewer calibration issues.
Sourcing diversity
Passive candidate sourcing (posting on LinkedIn and waiting) produces a narrower and more homogeneous candidate pool than active sourcing. Measuring sourcing by channel, inbound, LinkedIn outreach, employee referrals, university recruiting, diversity job boards, and the conversion rate by channel identifies which channels are effective for which role types. Employee referrals typically have high conversion rates but low diversity; diversity-focused sourcing requires active outreach.
Interview-to-hire signal quality
The predictive validity of the interview process is measurable: track performance review scores of hires 6 and 12 months after hire and correlate with interview feedback. Interviewers whose positive feedback predicts high performer hires have high signal; interviewers whose feedback does not correlate have low signal. Using this data to calibrate interviewers, adjust interview formats, and retire unproductive interview stages improves hiring quality over time.
Candidate experience as a brand signal
Every candidate who interviews at your company forms an opinion of it. Candidates who have a poor experience, disorganised scheduling, unclear process, no feedback, interviewers who arrive unprepared, share that experience publicly (Glassdoor, LinkedIn, peer networks). The engineering talent market is small and interconnected. The investment in a respectful, well-organised, prompt hiring process produces compounding returns in candidate quality and employer reputation.