It’s been a while since I’ve actually had some time to sit down and put some thoughts on paper. Now that I had a chance to think about it, hiring expectations seemed like a common problem recruiting professionals run into from time to time.

So let’s paint a picture.  Your client has a great internal recruiting team, great external recruitment vendors (you happen to be one of them); your client is also plugged in on LinkedIn and other major networks.  Then why is the role open for 20 years (my expression for a long time)? Ok let’s call it 6 months.   

Are these skills rare and out of this world? Nope. The market is on a solid even keel for supply and demand for these skills. Is the salary out of whack compared to what the market and your client’s competitors would pay? Nilch, its right in line there… Let’s dig deeper… Aha, what about the job description? Is it written for a job on another planet and it’s totally crazy …? Nada. Not that either; the job description actually makes sense and is comparable to what your client’s competitors would write - damn you would want the job if you were qualified.

Sooo …, what’s the problem? Could it be Hiring Managers, hiring sponsors, however you wanna spin it, the decision makers... Yes, your client might be the one with the problem?  You’ve  made some great hires with your client in the past, you understand how they like to work, you get the culture of the environment and the personality fit of the candidates they like to hire.

But occasionally your client puts on the blinders, much like a race horse on the track, with that narrow vision, on wanting that “God’s gift to mankind candidate” while back on Planet Earth, you’re trying to find candidates that fit atleast 80% to 85% of a requirement assuming you got the culture fit down.

I get it.., I’ve been there, in that same Hiring Manager’s position - where I want to find the super killer recruiter who will deliver that 1:1 submission to hire ratio every time or that SEO guy that understands ROI and delivery of results - nailing the online traffic numbers with his eyes closed … But sometimes we have to wake up from the day dreaming and get back to reality.

Hiring managers must manage their expectations with what the market will bear and, accept the fact that we are not going to get everything we want with respect to the perfect fit for a role. 

So let’s say you want in a candidate, UNIX, Windows and Mobile development experience (and Ryan Gosling in a suit and, hopefully smiling) - but 90% of the requirement requires Windows development experience – guess what, perhaps you might want to drop the mobile development requirement and settle for shorty who only has the Windows/UNIX experience an accent but speaks well and is promotable. 

Jokes aside, This is not rocket science and you just might get the role filled in not six months but two by being realistic about your hiring expectations and trusting your resourcing business partners a little bit more.