Category: Sales Hiring
Why over-engineered briefs lead to weak shortlists and slow hiring decisions
A very tight hiring brief is not always a sign of clear thinking. Sometimes it is the opposite.
A business wants:
- deep sector experience
- a specific product background
- experience with the exact buyer group
- proven new business capability
- leadership potential
- credibility with senior stakeholders
All within a salary band that the right person is unlikely to accept.
At that point, the problem is not the candidate market. It is the brief.
When a brief becomes the problem
If only a very small number of people could realistically meet the requirements, one of two things is usually true:
- The brief has been over-engineered
- The business has not properly decided what matters most
Both create friction.
Shortlists become thin.
Strong candidates are ruled out early.
The process slows down.
Frustration builds.
The assumption is often that the market is the issue.
Sometimes it is.
More often, it isn’t.
What a strong brief actually looks like
A strong hiring brief is not about asking for everything.
It is about clarity.
- What is essential
- What is adaptable
- What can be learned
Without that clarity, the process becomes a search for a perfect profile that does not exist.
The impact on hiring decisions
When the brief is unclear or over-specified:
- candidates are assessed against the wrong criteria
- trade-offs are not understood
- decisions become inconsistent
Even good candidates can look wrong if the framework is off.
Where better hiring starts
Better hiring does not start with the search.
It starts with the definition of the role.
When there is clear alignment on what the role actually needs to deliver, the rest of the process becomes more straightforward.
The shortlist improves.
Decisions become easier.
Outcomes are more predictable.
That is where most hiring processes need to be tightened.
