Talent Shortage? How to Rethink Your Hiring Wish List

“Where’s all the talent!?”

We were back to square one. Our top prospect had just accepted another offer, leaving our Operations Manager role unfilled. What was supposed to be a 4-6 week hiring process was now entering month four, and I could feel my client’s frustration mounting. This search had been tough. Matt and I had interviewed over 15 qualified candidates together (I’d screened more than 40 myself), but each time something broke down at the finish line—timing, cultural fit, competing offers. These kinds of challenges aren’t unusual in recruiting, but I could sense Matt’s confidence in the process was beginning to waver.

As a recruiter with five years of experience at this time, I’d learned when to trust my instincts and when to let the market speak. Hiring outcomes are shaped by compensation, experience, and geography. Ignore any one, and your search can stall. I’ve recruited in both Manhattan and Lake Charles, Louisiana—and I’ve seen firsthand what happens when these practical realities are overlooked.

This time, all three factors were working against us. The salary was below market. The talent pool was restricted to candidates within a 30-minute drive of a town with fewer than 10,000 residents. And we needed someone with specific experience in transaction management, CRM, and real estate operations. I love selling opportunities, but we were trying to land a big fish in a very small pond. We had plenty of interest, but no one and nothing was sticking. It became clear that we needed to reassess. We had to separate true must-haves from wish list items.

Of course, none of our expectations were unreasonable in isolation. Everyone wants to hire the best person for the job. But when everything is a top priority, nothing truly is. If we wanted a different outcome, we needed to zoom out, get honest, and have a candid conversation about what was realistic—and what had to change.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I had hit a turning point in my recruiting career. My go-to approach—“find a way or make one”—had gotten results, but it was wearing me down. I began to wonder if there was a smarter, more strategic way to deliver value, one that was more aligned with a shifting talent landscape and more sustainable for me and my clients.

We were already back at the starting line so I chose to use that to our advantage. I sat down with Matt again, this time to go deeper and get even more context. I wanted to better understand the why behind each requirement, if these were truly “non-negotiables” and how to draw a clearer line between what he truly needed in this hire and his hiring wish list. It was time to get honest about trade-offs and build a strategy that reflected the market we were actually hiring in.

We revisited some key questions:

• What are the core outcomes this role must achieve?
• What values does your company live by, and how should this hire reflect them?
• What behaviors, mindset, or personality would mesh well with your leadership style?
• Should this hire complement your strengths or mirror them?
• Do you value speed or precision more?
• On a scale of 1–10, how critical is real estate experience?
• Could someone from a similar industry bring the right skills and attitude?

I’d come into the meeting with some anxiety, but once we got talking, the energy shifted. Matt welcomed my guidance. We realized that in our push for polished resumes and perfect qualifications, we might have overlooked emerging talent—someone who aligned with the company’s culture and had the potential to grow into the role.

A New Hope

A few weeks later, Michelle began to stand out. She had spent 10 years as a travel coordinator—not an obvious match—but her personality was magnetic, and she brought a professionalism that stood out. She did the little things, followed up consistently, aced several assessments, and came prepared to every interview. Direct real estate experience was still on Matt’s mind, but it had slid lower on the priority list. A window had opened to explore her candidacy further.

We still had questions: Would her skills complement Matt’s? Would the chemistry be right? The only way to know was to keep going. I proposed we conduct the Life Story Interview. “Let’s hear her story,” I said. “Let’s listen how she’s handled challenge, change, and setbacks. If she’s not a fit we will move on. What do we have to lose?”Matt agreed.

And then it happened. Michelle told us about a life-altering car accident that had shut down a highway and landed her in emergency surgery. She’d broken her wrist and shattered her ankle, requiring months of painful rehab just to walk again. “Robo-Meesh,” (her new self ascribed title) told her story with such humor, grace, grit, and reflection. It was clear: Michelle didn’t just bounce back, she grew. She had hit an inflection point and demonstrated resilience, growth mindset, and the will to win. At that moment, Matt and I both knew. If this woman could rebuild her body, mind and spirit, she could certainly handle the pace of a busy spring market.

The Right “Who”

Michelle turned out to be the unicorn we were searching for — even if her experience didn’t check every conventional box on our wish list. I’ve always believed that a growth mindset is the most critical quality in a candidate, and also the hardest to identify. Anyone can say they’re growth minded and it’s easy in the interview process to get what you’re looking for. You need to question yourself just as much as any candidate in your process. In Michelle, we didn’t find the “perfect résumé,” but we absolutely found the right person for the role that Matt truly needed.

“Meesh” has grown into that empire builder — the integrator, right hand, operations boss — and exactly the partner Matt was hoping for. Five years later, she’s still there, having more than proven her value and easily outperforming the odds any business owner takes when betting on someone unconventional. Since then, I’ve had many of Matt’s peers ask me to “find them a Michelle.” My answer? Yes — but only if they’re willing to rethink what great talent looks like, and search in the places others would overlook.