🍒 Hiring Manager: I Want to Choose from Two Perfect Candidates
Let’s consider a situation in which a recruiter presents a final candidate for a role. Everything about the candidate is great, and the hiring manager is satisfied.
But there’s one issue: the hiring manager sees only one person before them and would like to choose from at least two, so they ask to see more.
⚖️ On the one hand, having only one candidate can make it feel like there’s no choice.
⚖️ On the other hand, there’s the risk of losing both options. Finding a second strong candidate can take time, during which the first candidate may lose interest, find another job, or raise their salary expectations.
This risk is especially high when hiring for C-level roles or niche positions, where there are few candidates on the market — and even fewer actively seeking new opportunities.
💼 NEWHR Case Study: A company was hiring for a critical position. The hiring process consisted of five stages, the final one being an interview with the CEO.
The leadership team had been working with this CEO for years and understood exactly what they were looking for, filtering candidates thoroughly to present only the best fit.
“One candidate made it to the final round. The CEO acknowledged the candidate’s strengths but hesitated to decide, saying, ‘I want to choose from at least two.’ By the time a second candidate was found and taken through all stages, the first had moved on. As a result, several months passed before the offer stage”, recalls Olga Makarova, executive search consultant at NEWHR Recruiting.
When there are many stages, more candidates should enter the pipeline early on. To get two excellent candidates to the finish line, you might need around ten at the start, estimates Oksana Prutyanova, head of analyst and data scientist recruitment at NEWHR Recruiting.
“Sometimes, it’s better to show a good, even if not perfect, candidate than to keep searching for two perfect ones”, concludes Olga Makarova.
What could the recruiter do?
💡 Show the candidate pipeline. Explain to the hiring manager that the finalist is far from the first applicant. Clarify the process of market analysis, candidate evaluation, and filtering.
Since the hiring manager or executive only sees the finalists, they may assume they were among the first applicants.
💡 Present other candidates with different profiles so the hiring manager can personally compare them to the finalist.
💡 Remind them of risks and costs. Failing to fill the position means company resources will continue to be spent, and there’s a chance of losing a good candidate or facing higher salary demands if they wait.
💙 NEWHR Recruiting agency can help you find tech talent at any level to suit your business needs. To get in touch, fill out the form on our website or email us at contact@new.hr.
