Your Role Isn’t Hard to Fill. Your Requirements Are.
Your Role Isn’t Hard to Fill. Your Requirements Are
Every hiring manager wants to find “the perfect candidate.” The problem? Perfect often means impossible. When a job posting asks for an exact combination of niche skills, years of experience, and industry background, you might be unintentionally searching for a unicorn, a candidate so rare they barely exist in the market.
This is one of the most common reasons positions stay open for months. Even if someone fits 90% of the description, they may never apply because they assume the missing 10% disqualifies them. That’s not a talent shortage, that’s a self-imposed bottleneck.
Let’s take a simple example: A sales manager role that requires a specific software certification, experience in your exact industry, fluency in two languages, and a proven track record with a specific type of account. You might find a handful of candidates nationwide who meet all of those boxes, but will they be in your city, in your budget, and open to a move?
Instead of holding out for the mythical “perfect” hire, consider what skills are truly must-haves versus what can be trained or learned on the job. Transferable skills, cultural alignment, and growth potential often matter more than ticking every single requirement.
Companies that adjust requirements see two big benefits:
A larger, stronger candidate pool.
Faster hiring decisions, because you’re comparing more viable applicants instead of waiting for one “dream” résumé.
Recruiting isn’t about settling. It’s about strategically expanding your options so the right person doesn’t slip away. The sooner you open the door to “excellent and trainable” instead of “perfect and rare,” the sooner you’ll fill your role with someone who grows into exactly what you need.
