5 Rules for Hiring When Great Job Candidates Are Scarce

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Key Takeaways

Rushing to hire in a tight market often backfires, leading to costly turnover and wasted resources.
Instead, slowing down to clarify the role, expand sourcing and prioritize alignment over perfection builds a stronger team and long-term hiring strategy.

When the market is tight and great candidates are scarce, the temptation to “just fill the role” is real. You’ve got work piling up, a team stretched thin and clients or customers waiting.

Unfortunately, rushing a hire almost always costs you more in the long run. From turnover and retraining to the hidden drag on morale, settling for a warm body in the seat is almost always a detour that can set your business back in the end.

Instead, hiring smart in a tough market means slowing down just enough to align on what you actually need, adjusting your strategy to attract the right candidates and building the systems to make the process easier next time.

The hidden costs of a bad hire

When good candidates are hard to find, many business owners compromise. But that compromise comes with a price tag.

Studies estimate the cost of replacing an employee can run from 50% to 200% of their annual salary when you factor in recruiting (which alone can cost up to 25-50% of a year’s salary), onboarding and training time, and lost productivity. Hiring someone who leaves in six months is essentially lighting a year’s salary on fire.

A poor fit often impacts the rest of your team as well. Low performers or people who aren’t aligned with your values can drag down morale, frustrate your strongest employees and ultimately cause them to leave, too.

First, know what you actually need

One of the most common hiring mistakes is starting the process without real clarity. You know you’re overwhelmed, but what specifically do you need this person to do?

Before you draft a job description, sit down and list every task on your or your team’s plate that feels unsustainable. I call this a “time audit,” and it helps immensely in identifying where your time is drained or where things could be delegated.

This initial audit and identification of job responsibilities is a must. When you know exactly what success looks like in the role, you set yourself up to attract the right fit and filter out the rest.

Time to write a job description

In a scarce talent market, your job description is actually a marketing post as well as a way to signal to the right candidates what you stand for and why they should be interested in working for you.

The best job descriptions lead with impact, sharing how this role connects to the company’s mission and how it will help the company continue to move forward. This includes highlighting growth opportunities, since talented people want to see where the role could take them, not just what it demands.

This is your chance to be honest about the role. Painting a picture that’s too rosy only sets you up for mismatched expectations and can attract the wrong candidates. For example, if the role requires attendance at the occasional weekend event, be upfront about that in the description to make sure you’re filtering on those who can actually fit the need.

The more specific and authentic your job posting, the better chance you have at attracting candidates who are in it for the right reasons.

Expand your sourcing strategy

When the talent pool is tight, you can’t rely on a single channel. Smart hiring requires proactive sourcing across multiple channels to find the right fit.

Start by leveraging your network. The best candidates often come through referrals. Share your role with your client base, industry peers and existing team members. A warm recommendation can cut your hiring time in half and attract the right fit off the bat.

Post in the usual places online, and also look for industry-specific job boards or newsletters that already reach your ideal candidates. This can help target the right candidates who may get lost in a larger, generic job board.

Consider where you can be flexible regarding traditional requirements. In uncertain markets, great talent may be hesitant to commit full-time, or you may have to offer remote or contract roles instead. Offering fractional roles or a contract-to-hire model also lets both sides test the fit before locking in, which can be a huge benefit.

Interview for alignment, not perfection

In a tight market, you may not find a candidate who checks every box. That’s okay. What matters most is alignment on values, work ethic and ability to learn. Skills can be taught, but work ethic, problem-solving and judgement cannot.

Shift your interview focus toward behavior questions around things like how they handled challenges in past roles or what they do when priorities shift. Give them a real scenario from your business and ask them to problem-solve around it live so you can watch their process.

So many employers focus on finding the perfect background in a candidate, and of course, skills and experience are important. But remember that you’re not just looking for the right resume items — you’re looking for someone who will thrive in the way your company operates.

Build your hiring process into a long-term talent strategy

By building your hiring process into a long-term strategy, you build a system that supports hiring and retention long-term, so you don’t have to scramble next time a role comes up.

To start, document your full interview process now, and systematize your onboarding. It’s much easier to document while you are actively doing it, and it gives you a foundation to work from next time you have to hire.

In parallel, continue to invest in your employer brand year-round. Make sure that you’re showing up consistently across platforms, including your website and social media, so that you are generating interest and brand reputation as you grow. This helps attract and hire the best talent over time.

When great candidates are scarce, it’s tempting to hire the first person who says yes. But trust me, rushing the process only creates more pain later. Resist the urge to panic-hire because, at the end of the day, the cost of a bad hire is always higher than the cost of waiting for the right one.

Key Takeaways

Rushing to hire in a tight market often backfires, leading to costly turnover and wasted resources.
Instead, slowing down to clarify the role, expand sourcing and prioritize alignment over perfection builds a stronger team and long-term hiring strategy.

When the market is tight and great candidates are scarce, the temptation to “just fill the role” is real. You’ve got work piling up, a team stretched thin and clients or customers waiting.

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