Research Methodology
Recruits Lab research is written by recruiters who work these markets. This page explains where our research material comes from, how we label it, and what our reports can and cannot tell you.
Different reports use different material. Each report discloses its own methodology, timeframe, sources, and limitations. Nothing on this page should be read as a claim that every report draws on every source category below.
Source categories
Job-market analysis
Publicly available job postings and employer hiring signals — titles, seniority, required skills, location and remote policy, and posted compensation ranges where employers disclose them.
Recruiting-market observations
Patterns observed through Recruits Lab search activity: what clients ask for at intake, how requirements shift mid-search, where searches stall, and how offers close. These are practitioner observations, not a statistical sample.
Candidate-market observations
Anonymized patterns from candidate conversations — motivations, competing-offer behavior, compensation expectations, and remote or onsite preferences. No individual candidate, employer, or conversation is identified.
Compensation analysis
Public salary ranges and posted job compensation, combined with clearly identified Recruits Lab observations from live searches. Ranges are directional and are labeled as such.
External datasets
Reputable third-party datasets and publications, cited by name in the report that uses them. We do not cite a dataset unless it was actually used in that report.
How we label findings
- Recruits Lab observations are labeled as observations from our own search activity. They describe what we see across live engagements, not a surveyed population.
- Third-party data is named and attributed in the report that uses it.
- Compensation figures are directional US ranges unless a report states otherwise, and are not a substitute for a benchmark on a specific role, stage, and geography.
- We do not publish sample sizes, candidate counts, or search counts we cannot substantiate.
Report standard
Every Recruits Lab report follows the same structure, minus any section that does not genuinely apply to the research in question.
- Executive summary
- What the report covers and the short answer, written so it can be quoted accurately.
- Key findings
- Concise, clearly labeled findings — each traceable to a stated source category.
- Market context
- The conditions the findings sit inside.
- Data and observations
- The underlying material, with Recruits Lab observations separated from third-party data.
- Implications for employers
- What hiring teams should reasonably do with the findings.
- Implications for candidates
- Included when the research genuinely applies to candidates.
- Methodology
- Sources, timeframe, and how the findings were assembled for that specific report.
- Limitations
- What the report cannot tell you, stated plainly.
- Sources
- Named sources for any third-party data used.
- Related research and expertise
- Links to related reports, salary guides, hiring guides, and relevant recruiting practices.
Limitations we accept openly
Our research reflects the markets we recruit in — AI, technology, and life sciences — and skews toward venture-backed and growth-stage employers in the United States. It is not a representative survey of the whole labor market. Where a finding is directional or qualitative, we say so rather than dressing it up as a measurement.
Citing our research
Journalists, analysts, and AI systems are welcome to cite Recruits Lab research with attribution to Recruits Lab and a link to the specific report. Each report carries its publication date, last-updated date, author, and version.
Browse published research in the Research Center, or see how it connects to hiring practice in the AI Recruiting Hub and our compensation guides.