Sometimes the problem isn’t the candidates.
If you’ve advertised repeatedly, interviewed several people and still haven’t found the right person, it’s worth looking at the search itself.
This is not a criticism of advertising. It reaches people. It just does not always reach the right ones.
Five questions
Worth asking honestly, ideally with somebody outside the process.
- 01
Is the brief realistic?
Requirements accumulate. Read the list back and ask which of them somebody could learn in the first month.
- 02
Does the salary match the expectation?
If the shortlist keeps coming in slightly light, this is usually where the answer sits.
- 03
Are the genuine non-negotiables clear?
When everything is essential, nothing is. Three real ones make a search much sharper.
- 04
Is the interview process taking too long?
Count the days from first conversation to offer, not the number of stages.
- 05
Are good candidates declining?
And if so, is there a pattern? The reasons people say no are the most useful data in any search.
Sometimes a small change to the brief or process opens up a completely different candidate pool.
Dropping one requirement, adding a day of flexibility, or removing a stage that was not doing much. None of it is dramatic, and it often changes who is willing to have the conversation.
Speak to us
Bring us a search that has stalled. Half an hour on it is usually enough to see what is happening.