Successful Staffing - A Note To The Hiring Managers (Updated 2025)

While this blog normally focuses on the candidate / consultant employment process, it seems important to address the folks that are responsible for the hiring decisions as well. [In this post I will use the term: "Hiring Managers" this term is broad based and covers anyone that is involved with the decision making process.] 

For years I've watched the industry with interest, and have thought that it would only be a matter of time before hiring managers were more likely to consider candidates that were a bit outside their desired requirements or even be willing to consider the dreaded REMOTE WORKER... God Forbid.  Remote workers are normally highly qualified individuals that can perform their responsibilities well from a home office environment.  It is truly unfortunate in 2025 that more hiring managers are not willing to consider remote workers, and we're even seeing companies who have had success with remote workers since COVID, now requesting these people come back to an office.  Good Remote employees typically work more hours and save the company more money than onsite employees doing the same job.  

In other instances it might be necessary to consider a new employee that has less than the necessary requirements.  Most sharp candidates can pick up new skills quickly.  Nothing is more frustrating to both the recruiter and the candidate than to have a hiring manager say "This candidate only has 2 years of XYZ experience, we need someone with 5 years or more."  Usually those responses are made without the hiring manager ever speaking with the candidate to see if they might actually have enough know-how to be a beneficial member of the team.  Also, there have been many times when a highly qualified candidate has been declined because they weren't available on the exact start-date required, yet the hiring manager will find they are still seeking "the right candidate" weeks after the original candidate could have been on the job.  Commonly the hiring manager will come back after their desired start date has passed and inquire if the original candidate is still available, which of course they are not. (It is worth noting that the same can be said about hiring an apparently "over-qualified" candidate)

When I was responsible for both account management and recruitment I would provide my clients with the following analogy:  "There is a pond... and standing around that pond are 1500 Recruiters, all with baited hooks in the water, and in the pond there are 3 Big Awesome fish and NONE of those fish are hungry.  It is a waiting game to see which hook has the most attractive bait when one of the fish finally needs something to eat."  It just so happens that in that pond there are also dozens of slightly undersized fish that are very hungry, and when the big fish are so scarce, it is often worth while to go with a  smaller fish. 

Timing is another issue.  When a highly qualified candidate resume is received, an initial interview should be scheduled immediately and when the interview goes well any additional interviews schedule be conducted as soon as possible - taking weeks or months to get through an interview process is a sure-fire way to lose good candidates to other companies.  Additionally, an offer should be made within 24 hours after the final interview if all parties agree they want to hire the candidate.  The interview process plays a huge role in the % of hires made.  

To sum it up:
> A sense of urgency from the hiring manager is paramount to the % of hires made.
> Willingness to think outside the box and consider candidates that have most but not all of the requirements or highly qualified candidates that can work remotely is imperative.
> Timing is key...
> Remember that your recruiters want to fill the positions as badly as you do.  Working together and listening to each other is the best way to make hires. 
> The shorter the time between resume submittal to interview to offer, the higher your success rate will be.


*Copyright - Expressed permission must be granted by the blog owner to recreate, copy or use this material* - but please feel free to share the link if you enjoyed the content!